From the Observation Deck

I’m watching an exciting first match of the Stanley Cup Finals. I checked Facebook earlier and of course there were cheers, waves, and shout outs. And because my friends are intelligent and enlightened, there were many well wishes for the Flyers.

Our boys are keeping up but they had me shouting something nasty when they let the Blackhawks score shorthanded. That’s a no-no and if they were in Philly the fans would have let them know they won’t be putting up with that. Flyers games are really fun to attend in person. I remember being at a game once and thinking after the first ten minutes that the team was moving slow, getting beat to the puck, and generally stinking up the ice. I wasn’t alone. The next minute what started as a low rumble-like sound escalated into full blown boos from the crowd. I’ve been a Philadelphia fan for a long time but even I was a bit shocked. Just for a second though. Because my hard earned dollars were paying to see those boys work for the win.

Whether they win or lose tonight I’m proud of them. (Except that shorthanded goal thing earlier—let’s forgive but not forget.)

Tune in on Monday night for game two. And until then, sing along…

There is just something special about playoff hockey. The checks are a little bit harder, the skating is faster, and the puck handling and passing is like watching a ballet of sorts. The goaltending is superb. In fact, you really can’t win the holy grail of hockey—the Stanley Cup—without superior goaltending. And finally, the boys all look extra gruffy. There’s an unwritten rule that hockey players don’t shave during the playoffs. Those boys are so superstitious they make gypsies look like conservative pragmatists.

I used to work for a hockey team. And I did some internship work for the Flyers Skate Zone. That meant going to all the Flyers and Phantoms’ home games, sitting in incredibly awesome seats, and working a table during the intermissions. During my stint in sports, I met some famous people, slipped on the ice once or twice, narrowly missed being caught in fights, and fractured my hand after being hit by a puck going, oh, maybe 90 miles an hour. It almost hit my face, so I count my blessings. Funny thing was—I got to claim worker’s comp for that.

Anyhoo. My all time favorite team in my favorite sport is in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers won Lord Stanley’s Cup a couple of years back in the 70’s. That team was called the “Broad Street Bullies” and Philly loved them. A few years later, my dad took us to a game and I was hooked. I managed to convince him to get us some season tickets. So my dad and I would go to the games together, and sit in the first row of the nosebleed section. It was awesome. I’m glad he wore headphones to hear the play-by-play because the guy sitting next to us threw the f-bomb around like … well a Philadelphia fan would.

I’m calling on all my friends to root for the orange and black. Here’s to the Broad Street Boys! Let’s go Flyers, let’s go!

P.S. I’ve gotten to kiss the cup. Twice. Visit the hockey hall of fame and you can see it too!

Flyers Fan Zone. All are welcome.

I came to the beach this weekend to hang out with my niece, nephew, and two great friends. Also in the mix was Grendel, Keelee (a.k.a. the little snowball, white lab), and Scoobie, Zenia’s puppy.

It’s been loads of fun and at the moment I see three dogs, two adults, and one kid down for the count. Lots of running and playing makes everyone a bit sleepy. Even I took a walk with the kid on the beach. Before heading to bed I had the kids talk to their Dad to say goodnight. Harmon got on the phone and asked Zenia to put Scoobie on. Thanks Harmon, your sister and aunt love you too.

The day started out by waiting for Shaun the plumber. Tyler kept asking when we could go to the beach and right in front of Shaun asked if we could go when “Steve the plumber was done.” While waiting for Shaun, a.k.a., Steve, he wanted to start a puzzle and gave up after ten minutes of getting bored by turning pieces over. I’ve started the outside but things are going a bit slow.

Maybe this guy could help us out.

So the dogs went romping on the beach and have been running around playing like crazy. Kind of like these guys.

But the day turned out beautiful. Tyler the skinny kid went swimming in ice cold water, we went to the arcade where the kids spent $10 playing games to get tickets to buy .30 cents worth of crap, then on to get a Bobbie for dinner at Capriotti’s and finally are back home watching movies.

We also watched part of the Flyers game and this is what we did after they won. Wahooooo–let’s do the wave!

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. I love the summer, and so does this guy!