Hockey Heaven!!

I'm sure most of y'all have heard a little something about the NCAA basketball tournament that just ended. March Madness has been and gone once again. Well, while everyone was filling out their brackets and watching college hoops, another sport was getting ready for their tournament. The college hockey championship, or the Frozen Four as it is appropriately called, will be in Washington, DC this year. It's the chance of a lifetime that I should be a short Metro ride away from the college hockey championship, but the tickets have been sold out since I moved here last year and they are selling on the secondary market for an arm and a leg. I have been wanting to go to this tournament so badly, and preparing myself for another disappointment of watching it on TV like I did the Winter Classic.

Nearly two weeks ago I watched the 16 best college hockey teams in the country on TV for the beginning of the tournament to narrow it down to four teams. I had no favorite team, no dog in the fight but I was on cloud 9 watching these college athletes play their hearts out. There was last-minute goals, double overtime, a puck actually went through the net and wasn't called a goal until they had continued to play another five minutes... the quarter finals were incredible and I have been trying so hard to find tickets in my price range for months. I was hoping that more tickets would be available after 12 teams were eliminated, but it didn't work out that way. I was bidding $100 on eBay for pairs of tickets that ended up selling for $300 and $400. Way out of my price range. I wanted to go badly enough to spend money I don't have and I started to doubt my better judgement when I found 4 tickets on eBay for $250 Buy-it-now priced. I jumped at the chance knowing I could sell 2 of the 4 and recoup my money, but this all happened yesterday at 5:00. The tournament starts tomorrow at 5:00 I had exactly 48 hours to get the tickets from Colorado, then turn around and sell them before the Frozen Four began. I felt a little sick to my stomach letting go of that $250, but the tickets have been so expensive, it was a pretty safe bet that I could sell the tickets and get some money back. Still, I had no control over the shipping and didn't have a buyer yet, so I was freaking out a little bit. Just a little.

Well, I'm still freaking out but this time it's because I can't believe I'm going to the tournament! I listed the tickets on craigslist, two tickets for $250 and immediately found a buyer. So, to clarify - here is the math. I bought four tickets for $250, kept two of the tickets and got my $250 back for the other two. I still have two tickets and the same amount of money I had when I started. Free tickets!! That is exactly what I could afford to pay!!

Technically, they weren't free. I paid $5 for shipping and gave someone $3 for Metro fare to deliver the tickets to the buyer. In the end I guess I paid $8 to go to this tournament. So, about the price of lunch. The tickets are for the two semifinal games and the final championship. There are four teams left. Tomorrow at 5:00 I will watch Boston University vs. Vermont and at 8:30 Miami (ohio) vs. Bemidji State. The winners from those two games will play for the championship game on Saturday.

I am taking a friend from Boston to the finals, so he's hoping Boston University wins the championship. The person who bought the two tickets next to me did his undergrad at Bemidji State - the underdog of all underdogs in this tournament. Personally, I liked Vermont's team and would love to see a Vermont vs. Bemidji State for the championship, but now I'm just babbling. Really, I just wanted to watch great hockey and I have some really great seats for what is going to be an awesome tournament. Did I mention I paid $8 total for the tickets??

I'm still waiting to find out what's the catch. Could I really be this lucky? I can't wait for this tournament!!!!

Alive and Zipping

Things in DC have died down since the inauguration and it's back to business as usual. A bad economy and a lack of good subject matter have kept me away from the blog recently. I'm hoping for an adventure next week when I drive to see a Bloodhound Gang concert. Arranging the road trip alone was a bit of an adventure, but a promising one. The concert is close to Baltimore, far from the leash that has tied me to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority since I moved to the city. I love DC and I love how easy it is to get around without having a car, but I couldn't pass up the chance to see my favorite band again. The show is on Monday, February 16th and I've had tickets for months, but I was weighing my options for finding transportation to the concert. I decided it was time to sign up for a Zipcard.

A Zipcard is a great thing and probably new to those of you far away from a major metropolitan area. Around here it's no big deal, it's just a plastic card (like a credit card) that you use to unlock cars. I realize how ridiculous that probably sounds if you're new to this concept, but I assure you it's entirely legit. It's a car-sharing program and they have hundreds of cars located throughout the city. Once you have an account, you go online and reserve any available vehicle and if it's available, you take it for a spin. If you just need to run to the grocery store, you can rent a zipcar at an hourly rate, or you can rent it for the entire day. It's incredibly convenient, although it is a bit gimmicky. Members are referred to as "zipsters" and each vehicle has its own name and personality. I will be driving Matrix MacDaddy to the concert. I'm really looking forward to meeting this apparent Scottish Toyota. Who knew?

I signed up to be a zipster just for the concert, but I have to admit that the program makes me feel a sense of freedom I didn't have before. There are about 6 zipcars within a couple of blocks from my apartment and they have their own reserved parking spots. Now when I get home from the concert after midnight I don't have to worry about the Metro being closed or having to drop off a rental car at an airport somewhere, I can park my car a block away and get right to bed. Since I'm signed up and have my Zipcard, I can now reserve any car I want whenever it's available. That means if I'm at home watching a Taco Bell commercial and get a sudden craving, I can log onto the Zipcar website and hop in the car right outside and run through the drive-thru. Of course, that also means a bottom line of over $10 just for a bean burrito and some cheezy potatoes, but I must admit that there have been some nights when an accessible Taco Bell would be worth twice that much money.

In all likelihood, I will not have the budget nor the poor judgement to get a $10 burrito late at night, but I will celebrate the freedom of knowing I can do so. In the few months I've lived in Washington I really have been a slave to the Metro system and this gives me access to so much more of the city. It's not as cheap as the Metro, but the prices are pretty reasonable when compared to the price of owning a car and paying for fuel and insurance. I can't wait to see the BHG in concert on Monday and I am so excited to be able to drive again!

If you are reading this and you are in an area where they have Zipcars, I added a link to the Zipcar site where you can save $25 if you sign up. While I think it's a great program, the promo on this blog entry is completely selfish on my part. If you use the promotional code to sign up for an account, I'll save money on my account too.

TV ads are bad for your health

I didn't believe it was possible, but this television commercial actually causes me physical pain. There's nothing wrong with the ad itself; it's quite good actually. I just haven't had this feeling since I was seven years old. I watch the NHL Network, they show the commercial and I want to go so bad, it hurts. I'm instantly transformed into a kid again. All I can think is "I WANT THAT!!!" I want it SO BAD I'M GOING TO DIE IF I DON'T GET THAT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!

What is this all about? Well, there is a hockey game on New Years Day in Wrigley Field. Yes, baseball season is over so the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings are taking over Wrigley while the Cubs are away. It's going to be awesome and the Blackhawks actually have an impressive team this year. At the time of this post, they are only 5 points behind the Stanley Cup champion Red Wings with one game in hand. I realize that probably doesn't mean much to you non-hockey fans, so I will put it to you like this: in recent years, the Cubs have made the playoffs more often than the Blackhawks.

Speaking of non-hockey fans, I would like to know how many such people have tickets to this game. I have a hell of a time meeting anyone who gives a crap about hockey, but somehow there is a sold-out crowd willing to watch an outdoor hockey game on January 1st in the Windy City. Tickets on the secondary market are selling upwards of $250, and that includes seats on the rooftops. Who are these people paying money to freeze their arse off watching hockey? If they are that rich, could they buy me a ticket? I don't even need a seat. I could just lay down on the feet of the rich people and keep them warm. As long as I could see the game, I'm willing to make myself into a human foot-warmer for the rich folks. (Maybe I should put that on eBay or Craig's list... "human foot-warmer available for Winter Classic in Chicago.")

Okay, chances are I will not be able to sell myself as a human foot warmer, I will not get to see the Blackhawks play at Wrigley, and I will not die - just like I didn't die when Santa didn't bring me a pony or a little sister. But I will continue to weep every time I see that awesome commercial, and I will curse everyone who goes to this game and leaves early because it's "too cold." My friends and I would love to go to this game. We are true hockey fans - we would be in heaven to sit outside and get frostbite watching an outdoor hockey game. Unfortunately, we have that other trademark characteristic of most hockey fans - we can't afford $250 for a ticket.

So, have fun rich people! Buy yourselves a copy of Hockey for Dummies, memorize it, then you can set it on fire to keep warm in between periods. Because hockey is a cold weather sport, it moves fast and it's the greatest game on earth.

Go Hawks!!

Hockey hockey hockey

I have two tickets for tomorrow night's Capitals & Devils game and I can't wait. Last Saturday was the Capitals home opener and it was the saddest day of my life. Well, the saddest day in a long time anyway. I didn't have tickets to the game, I had no friends willing to pay any amount of money to watch hockey.

That wasn't the sad part, though. I was on the Metro going down to the bookstore around 6pm the night of the opener and I found myself surrounded by people in hockey jerseys and Capitals gear.

Hockey fans!
MY PEOPLE!!

I wanted to go so bad and I've been depressed about it ever since. I really need to meet some hockey fans out here.

While I haven't met any hockey fans in the last week, I did meet a New Jersey fan. I work with a native Jersey girl at the bookstore and eventually wore her down to go to the game, but the $25 seats were sold out and both of our budgets are pretty tight. I went on eBay to find some tickets and was nearly salivating. My Jersey girl friend is very independent and very responsible and I'm lucky that's the case. I kept finding great bargains like $120 seats for $90. I wanted lower level seats so bad I was salivating. In my irrational lust for great seats I would've had no problem maxing out my credit card for expensive tickets, taking a loss and selling the seat to my bookstore friend for $25.00. Luckily for my budget, cooler heads prevailed and she wasn't comfortable letting me pay the difference. We ended up buying $50 tickets for $30 a piece. We are both starting our careers and working at the bookstore part time to make ends meet, so even $30 stretches the budget a bit. But I don't care... I miss hockey. I also bought a pair of tickets for the game on the 28th, $19.99 for the pair.

This means I'll make it to at least 8 games this season. Anthony bought me a six-pack of tickets for graduation but I haven't picked out my seats yet. When I go tomorrow I'll look around and decide where I want to sit. I am not crazy about going to hockey games by myself. I love hockey too much, it'll be hard not to be able to nudge someone and say, "Did you see that!?!" Plus, I've been sitting next to J and Pops for so long, I'm not quite sure how other people will react to my random excited sounds. My cheers are completely spontaneous and involuntary, I hope I don't embarrass myself too much.

It'll be really different to watch an NHL game. It will be sad not to have all of my Quad City hockey friends to watch with. Instead of four rows from the ice I'll be more like 4 miles from the ice. Also, I need to learn how to be a Capitals fan. Right now I'm just a hockey fan, I want to see a good game more than I want to see the Caps win. Although I should probably mold myself into a Caps fan, just so I can fit in. I can only name about 2 players on the team, but GO CAPS!!

Hockey is finally here. Without having my friends and my old seats, the NHL is going to feel like a step down from minor league hockey. That's okay though. I'm just excited to be going to a game. Yay! Section 416 row H here I come!

I'm so excited for hockey. I don't know if I can get to sleep tonight.