So,after the zoo, it was back to the hotel on the C-Train to get ready for the big game - Canucks vs Flames.
Of all the hockey we were due to see on this holiday, this was the one that Connor and I were most looking forward to. All the razzmatazz and showbix and FIRE of the Saddledome, plus the element of rivalry between mother (Vancouver through and through) and son (Calgary all the way).
We went all out for this one, rival jersies (I was Linden, Cons was Iginla), temporary tattoos, the lot. It was a lot of fun! It generated a lot of bemused comments from the locals - mainly along the lines of "how did THAT happen???" - and the classic quote from one man to his friend..."that's one schizophrenic family right there" :):):)
We travelled to the game on the C-Train, and the journey in itself was an event. The train was full of Flames and Canucks fans (loads of Bertuzzi jerseys), and the walk from the train station takes you right through the Calgary Stampede rodeo halls, which is kind of cool.
The game itself was one of mixed fortunes and mixed emotions, and mixed teams it seems - I am pretty sure that the Canucks who dominated in the first period (shots 21-7 in our favour, score at period end 2-0), were not the same team that skated round the ice so half heartedly for the rest of the game, leaving us with a regulation 2-3 loss, and, it turns out, a broken spirit to carry forward to the next couple of games :(
Connor managed to miss Iggy's goal in the 2nd as he was doing a poo :) (great timing, kid) - but was there for the 2nd and 3rd Calgary goals, which resulted in much joyous high fiving with the couple next us, while I sulked quietly.
Said couple were incredibly nice people - and at the end of the game, the lady gave Connor a Flames jersey! Yes, a proper jersey, in perfect condition, that her son has outgrown. She wouldn't let me give her a penny for it, just asked me to give her son a call from England to say thank you. Connor was absolutely over the moon - what a lucky boy!!!
At least I got to see my Canucks win twice out of three games on this trip - if I had come over a few days later and seen the frankly horrible Avs and Wild games it would have left a sour taste, that's for sure.
This is why I love RAW format.....something went horribly wrong with this photo I took of the boys lined up for the anthem, and it came out like this....
A bit of exposure adjustment (never could have fixed this if it was a jpeg), and it's perfect:
Close up: (wibble)
And talking of Taylor Pyatt (yes, a little tiny bit of that wibble was his :)), someone must have really wound that boy up in the tunnel! Because he dropped the gloves with exactly 3 seconds on the clock lol
More piccies:
Don't cry Bobby, your beautiful little girl will be born any minute....
If anyone picks up this picture and tags it with some lame comment about Luongo throwing in the towel,I will be mightily pissed off. I am writing this blog entry on March 29th, and am frankly heartbroken after witnessing Roberto getting pulled 2 games in a row. If the Vancouver crowd turn on him during this rare period of behaving like a human being instead of a superhuman goaltending robot, I will never forgive them. The man is f**king exhausted!!! I wish he could pack his bags and get back to Florida for a few days to be with his beautiful wife and 24-hour old daughter and forget about hockey for a while. Let Sanford earn his keep. Sorry - rant over :)
So that's game over, my little hockey road trip over, and the vacation almost over.
Just one more blog entry to go....
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