Say you had a fever and the only prescription, was more cowbell? Well a Houston Aeros game would be just what the doctor ordered. No joke. Turns out cowbell also cures the anxiety that comes from getting lost in Downtown Houston for 15 min. Thank goodness I had factored in the extra 20 minutes of "driving around aimlessly" time before leaving the house. I even got to the Toyota Center in time to park, take a breather, and pick up my tickets from the box office with 3 minutes to spare. (Whoot! Whoot!)
I had just walked away from the ticket counter when I saw Josh. He was just so cute with his well trimmed beard and dark wavy hair. We greeted with a quick hug and headed through the inflated tunnel to the arena. Our seats were actually pretty decent.(Thank you Groupon!) We were right behind the goal and smack dab in the middle of the fan zone. I was so excited that Josh's first semi-pro hockey experience was going to be epic. If you have never been to an Aeros game it is an adventure, to say the least. The owners have thought of everything. Just in case a hockey game wasn't enough to get that testosterone pumping, add in some old war videos, a dog mascot, cowbells, fights, fist pumps, and some scantily clad cheerleaders. I'm not sure how all those things got trapped in the Toyota Center at the same time, but I am happy they did.
After a very southern national anthem, the puck was dropped and the game began. Neither Josh nor I knew too much about hockey, so we made an effort to watch the crowd for cues on how to react. Here's what I learned. . . if the you hear cowbells, cheer. Easy! Also, there is a chant that is shouted after we score a goal. It kind of gets muffled in the middle, but if you want to participate the last two words are "You Suck!". Now you know everything you should to sit in the fan zone. It's so fun!
As great as the game was, it was easy to tune it out and get lost in conversation. Josh was just so interesting. We had met a few months earlier through a mutual friend. I thought he was hilarious and super smart. . . almost too smart. I was a little intimidated. This kid already had his master's degree from a reputable university and seemed to have dabbled in just about everything from comedy to break dancing, and was now starting his own business. It wasn't hard finding something to talk about. The conversation was just fun and light. I was really comfortable with him, almost to a fault. We could go from talking about starting up a new business, to what we would tell our parents we did for a living if we were the Aeros cheerleaders. (I think Zamboni driver was the best answer.)
The time flew, along with the players fists. The ice got so heated that the officials would not longer let the players duke it out, but would stop the fights as they started because they were happening so often. It was funny how the fights would start with a few hits, and then end with what looked like hugging. I'm sure it was something more masculine like wrestling, but if the lights had been dimmed and a disco ball had been dropped, it could have easily passed for slow dancing.
The game ended with a final score of Aeros-4 and Ice Hogs-3. We won! Thank goodness. I did not want to see those fans upset. :) As we got up to leave I asked the people behind us to take a picture of us. When I clicked to review the pictures a little screen popped up saying "No Memory Card." Noooo!!! All those pictures I had taken to document the date never happened. Oh well. Josh was kind enough to use his phone to snap a quick shot of us. This is all you guys are gonna get. Sorry. My bad!
Thanks for tuning in!
Becca
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