Hit Me With Your Best Slap Shot
And just like that, he was able to suck all the fun out of the privilege of going to game. Yes, privilege. I discovered that after 6 years, the only reason I was finally allowed to attend the Bruins/Canadiens was because he put a ring on it. In fact, these were his exact words when telling me why I should consider myself lucky to attend this game with him:
“You’re allowed to go to Canadiens games now because you’re actually my wife. Before, when you were just my fiance there was a chance it wouldn’t work out.”
So that’s what I knew that this would not be an ordinary “fun night out” for the two of us at this game. Still, I wanted to be the best hockey wife I could be, but while retaining my usual sense of style.
First things first, I had to pick out my outfit. As you can imagine, I’ve acquired quite a bit of Bruins clothing and accessories over the years, but I’m always careful not to pile on too much of it at once because I think that’s a surefire way to make it look like you’re not a real fan. An over-abundance of fan wear just seems like you’re compensating for something. Like maybe if I throw on one extra hat of accessory it’ll totally make up for not knowing the name of team’s head coach (which is Claude Julien by the way- BAM!).
I settled on my skinny jeans with my black fur lined lace up boots (because the weather was meeeh that day and I’m always cold in the Garden) with my official black and gold Bruins jersey over a few layers, all in coordinating colors of course. I say “official” jersey because I actually have 2. Unfortunately I am not allowed to wear the other one because it is pink, which would push me into the dreaded “pink hat” territory, a place where no real fan wants to be.
I only bought the pink jersey because it was on sale and because I can fit into the extra large girl size. After wearing it for the first year or so that I was going to games with Steve, he finally bought me a real jersey (well, real in it’s color scheme- still kids sized. What?! It’s cheaper). And now my pink jersey is banished forever to my closet, because he wouldn’t dare be caught within 50 feet of the Garden with a chick in one of these. Sigh. I thought it was cute.
Anyway, next I had to decide on accessories. I have a lot of Bruins jewelry for all different occasions (you know, some formal, some fancy. In case there is ever a “fancy” Bruins event I get to go to…?). Some of it is gold, some silver, so I have to pick and choose my combinations strategically. On this day though, I had already lent like half my jewelry to someone for their Halloween costume so it made my choice a bit easier. I settled on my larger sized gold “B” earrings (yes, I have more than one size of the SAME earrings) and then transferred my essential belongings into my Bruins clutch purse. Okay I know it’s starting to sound like I’m wearing a lot of Bruins things, but that handbag was a necessity. Do you know what a pain it is to carry a hobo sized purse around that place?!
Next: Makeup! I decided to do a gold eye shadow with a thick amount of black liner. Black and Gold- get it?! I know, it’s starting to get crazy. I swear I’m done. Only I’m not, because I also wore gold lip gloss but I don’t think that was so obvious.
Last but not least, I needed outerwear. I put on my Bruins black track jacket that Steve gave me for my birthday and my white Stanley Cup Champions hat. Okay, I didn’t really need the hat but when we were planning out all the Cup merchandise we were going to buy (yes there was an actual day we spent doing that) I made a huge deal about wanting a white women’s hat that said “Stanley Cup Champions” on it that wasn’t the official one that came out the day after they won (it was so masculine and huge and not cute), and I found one (for a mere $40) and I’ve never worn it.
Also, Steve does this thing where he takes pictures of each page of his season tickets before he rips them up. So there was mini ticket photo shoot:
And then we finally got out the door! Unfortunately, we did not leave as early as Crazy wanted to and it was like half rainy out, so the traffic was terrible. Even though the game doesn’t start until 7:00, and usually then it’s still more like 7:15 or something, somebody likes to be in their seat with a Molson and chicken parm sandwich well before Rene takes the ice for the national anthem. I’ll give you a hint- it’s not me.
The antsy-ness reached it’s critical mass around Exit 17 on the pike, which is always the worst at that time of day. But he couldn’t handle that we were a mere few miles away with over an hour to spare. “I have to pee,” he said, annoyed. “This is why I have to get to games early so I can get my bodily functions situated.” It was 5:52. Also, I don’t want to know what that means.
Needless to say, we got up the escalators, through the refreshment line and in our seats just before Rene took to the ice. So we missed warmups, but luckily, we were there in time for the pre-game montage, which I enjoy watching as much as the actual game. After the lights came back on, I looked around the Garden and was shocked to see how few seats were filled.
Where was everyone?! Didn’t they know that we were playing our arch rivals, the hated Canadiens? Don’t these people have their own frantic husbands giving them lectures 3 days before and forcing them out the door as they are still applying their Bruins themed makeup? Don’t they realize that they pro shop will be open after the game so now really isn’t the time to stock up on B’s merchandise?!
If they didn’t know it, they eventually realized it and filtered into their seats within the first half of the period or so. But still. I’m a pink hat?! You people don’t even show up in time for the start of the game! Double standard?! I think so.
One of those people that eventually filed in was Steve’s season ticket seatmate Brian. Brian is a quiet fellow, and I’m 95% positive that for the first year they had these tickets, he and Steve didn’t utter one word to each other, and their seats touch. As someone who forms a bond with strangers that I meet once in a movie theater, I was appalled. Over time, they became “friends” in the sense they talk to each other during games and added each other on Facebook. Brian also usually brings a male relative to the games, and I think by now Steve has met more of his extended family than mine.
So I almost fell out of my hard yellow seat when Brian took his seat with… A GIRL. Yes, an actual female. At a Canadiens game! Oh, the irony. After lecturing me about the importance of choosing a buddy for these sort of games that is blood related or unable to separate without legal documentation, here was Brian, a fellow season ticket holder, with a girl that wasn’t his wife, fiance or girlfriend. SHE WAS JUST A FRIEND. I just about died.
Me: That’s weird. I don’t remember you telling me that Brian got married.
S: *Ignore.*
Me: And I don’t see a ring, so they’re definitely not engaged. That’s so odd. He doesn’t have a sister, right?
S: *Drink beer, consume sandwich.*
Me: So you’re telling me that guys sometimes take girls to Canadiens and other important games that they don’t have a life long connection to? That’s weird. He must not have read the rules or something. Make sure he gets a copy. Don’t you always carry a first edition of Who To Bring to a Bruins/Canadiens Game in your vest?
Okay so I didn’t technically say that. But I did point out that she wasn’t wearing a hint of Bruins memorabilia, just a gray turtleneck. Amateur.
Needless to say, this was an awesome game to attend. Spoiler alert: we ended up losing 2-1. But it almost didn’t matter, because this was the stuff that real hockey games are made of. I was at a game a few years ago and I saw someone shatter the glass, but until this Canadiens game, I had never seen so much actual fighting in person. You see, these two guys, Marchand (us) and Subban (them) had it out for each other for literally the entire game. They would fight, get shoved in the penalty box, wait out their time, then the second they entered the rink would just start killing each other again. And they did this no less than three times, so much so that they missed the rest of the games because they had more minutes off the ice than what was left in the period.
People were going crazy. However, amongst all the frenzy, there was the nicest family of four sitting behind us that was a very welcome change from the usual drunk college girls that spill beer in my hair. Like I said, we lost this game, so there were definitely some plays didn’t exhibit the B’s best Stanley Cup worthy skills. Usually, when they screw up, all we hear around us is drunken swearing. These people were like “oh, that’s okay, at least they tried.” I even snuck into the conversation between the teenage daughter and her mother when I eavesdropped them talking about Bruins nail polish. They even wanted to see all my iPhone pics of my B’s themed manicures. Well, whether or not they wanted to they saw them anyway.
Get Snappy
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