And We're Off!

This is Fall? {sigh} Today looks like another scorcher. But then again, in a mere two months or so I’ll be pissing and moaning about the cold. I suppose I should just take the heat, coz I’m damned sure not about to get out of the kitchen, metaphorically speaking.

I do hope the wind stays down, though. Now that I’ve got my awning back I’ve come to rely upon it heavily in the “keep El Casa Móvil De Pennington cool” department.

Well, It’s begun, and we’re off to an auspicious start. Sorta.

The myth of Hockeytown officially passed away Wednesday.

Historians will mark the time of death at 7:44 p.m., at the conclusion of the first period, when at least a third of Joe Louis Arena sat empty on the evening of the regular-season opener with the defending Stanley Cup champions as the honored guests.

There was little, if any, foot traffic heading down the aisles. The late arrivals had already arrived.

Some club officials desperately sought false comfort, believing the masses of empty red seats were the result of ticket buyers staying home.

That's a valid explanation when Columbus makes its 22nd visit of the season and it's only December. But this was the season's first game against the foe that bounced the Wings out of the playoffs last spring.

There's clearly a disconnection between the Wings and a fan base that once crossed the border into blind obsession.

Wednesday's game snapped a streak of 396 consecutive regular-season sellouts -- dating to Dec. 10, 1996. That was the season that culminated in the Wings' first Stanley Cup in 42 years, as they embarked on a decade-long run of sustained excellence.

"It's more than a little disappointing," Nicklas Lidstrom said after the Wings outlasted Anaheim in an exciting overtime shoot-out.

Lidstrom just might be the master of understatement in this case. Still, a nearly 11-year run of sell-outs is nothing to be ashamed of. And I noticed the empty seats at The Joe while glued to the teevee last evening. One couldn’t help but notice, and it felt a little odd. There’s a whole helluva lot behind the “whys and wherefores” of the Wings' soft ticket sales… the state of the economy in Detroit (bad), the price of hockey tickets (high, even back in the day when I was going downtown for the games), and the slip-shod “they’ll always be there” attitude of the Wings organization towards the fan base. And that last reason is probably the biggest. One should never take anyone for granted…whether it’s your Mom, your best friend, your lover, or your fans.

Just sayin’.

Still and even…hockey season is here, and not a minute too soon. Prepare yourself, Gentle Reader, coz you’re gonna get more hockey than you probably want. Around these parts, anyway.

(photo credit: Detroit Free Press)

So. A good friend is in town (well, in the Big(ger) City^TM, that is) all week on business. She had offered to take me out to dinner sometime this week, and I accepted her invitation during a conversation we’d had Tuesday evening… last night was the agreed-upon night. And then it hit me, about a half an hour before the puck dropped last evening, and, coincidentally, about a half an hour before I was supposed to meet the lady: the season opener is on. Tonight. Oh, Lord…what to do? So, I did what any rabid hockey fan would do…I called and asked for a last-minute rain check. The lady knows me all too well, and…bless her heart…she understood.

What’s even better, Gentle Reader, is the fact that she offered to (a) stop by Ben’s Bar-B-Que and pick up a variety of goodies and (b) bring said goodies over to El Casa Móvil De Pennington, where we would (c) dine together and watch the game. And so it came to pass… and a Good Time was had by all.

I ask you, Gentle Reader, does it get any better than that? Well, does it?

Answer: No, it does not.