Today was the Calgary Flames Super Skills competition, and over 14,000 fans (my rough estimate) were treated to one hell of a show. First off, I want to say 'thanks a bunch' to any fans out there that came down; we had more folks at this event than lots of teams get for games, and it was a great sight to see.
After some confusion, I met up with MG and Alex, and although we didnt sit right next to one another, (general admission), we did witness the same fantastic sights. Anyone who has seen an NHL game live can tell you that everyone, everyone that plays in the league is absolutely top notch. Now, some guys shine more than others, and these are the truly special individuals, but let's not overlook the fact that all the guys that step out on the ice can play.
Speaking of sly segways, who knew Andrei Zyuzin was that good?
The often healthy scratch for the Flames dominated the hardest shot contest, beating the likes of Jarome and Dion, and had a very respectable fastest skater time too. On top of these achivements, Andrei had a sense of humor too. When asked how he felt about beating two of the leagues more feared shooters, he laughed as he responded "I am just trying to get back into the line up".
Great quote in my mind.
For any of you that couldn't make it, here is a quick run down of the big events;
-Huse had the sickest breakaway goal that I have ever seen. Someone, anyone, please post that on the web so I can watch it 30 times a day!
-Lombo was a bit sore from the recent back to back games, and didnt compete in any events.
-In case any of you were wondering, Darren McCarty cannot throw an autographed frisbee from the Flames bench into the stands across the width of the ice. Not even close.
-Friesen is fast. Very fast.
-Ritchie Regher, the guy for Thai.......land, won the accuracy with 4 out of 5.
-Autographs were next to impossible to get.
-The people that work the consession stands are quite possibly some of the stupidest people on earth.
-Harvey the Hound is the greatest Mascot in the history of the planet.
-Craig Conroy didn't attend at all. Probably looking at buying back his old house.
As fans, we all watch our teams, we have lots of emotion built into their achievements. When they win, we cheer, we high five, sometimes we even close down a well known road just outside our arena to have a 50,000 person party. Bottom line is we share in their victory. When they lose, we get mad, depressed, and in some cases, attempt to brag about the number of Stanley Cups won before we were born (see Montreal, Edmonton and Toronto fans).
With all we invest in our team, rarely do we get to have an interactive moment with them. 98% of the time, they play, we watch. During interviews they all say pretty much the same things, and with several noteable exceptions, none of their personalities come out. Today was a chance for us to get to know the team that we root for. We watched Ference trash talk the 'White Team', got to see the guys tease Iggy about his embarrassing 2 for 8 in the accuracy contest, see Mighty Mikka hanging with his kids behind the bench, and watch constant trade bait Zuyzin raise his hands in triumph after his 99+ mph shot.
Today was a chance for us to be a part of the Calgary Flames, instead of just a fan of them.
