Or: My
Adventures with Grumpy Russians, Annoying Drums & Drunk Bimbos
The wind
whipped down from San Bruno Mountain through the parking lot of the Barn
causing my allergies to bloom out of control. I’ve been sniffing out of control
all day. Spring is here indeed.
Friday night
was the second game in the battle between the Bulls and Alaska Aces. And battle
it was…
Before
getting into the game, yesterday, Thomas Heemskerk was called up to San Jose
due to Sharks backup Goalie Thomas Greiss’ injury. So, it would be Taylor
Nelson with no one backing him up. The team frantically looked for someone to
back him up just in case something happened. They found a friend of Hans Benson
who owns a motorcycle shop to fill in. I’m very happy for Heemer; this is his
first chance to shine in the biggies. On a more selfish note, Alex Stalock should be there
from Worcester shortly, so we should be getting Heemer back soon, and that is
good for the Bulls.
 |
| Nick Walsh and Tristan King |
Warm ups was the usual cool social gathering time for fans. I love this time to get
some pics and say hi to my hockey friends. With so many new members, it was
nice to be able to get a bit more familiar with their faces, skating styles and
try to memorize their numbers. Was also fun watching a friend of the emergency
backup goalie laughing at him from the glass. I think the backup was maybe as
tall as I am and I’m only five feet, four inches.
 |
| Jordan Morrison & Dylan King |
As I was
doing my usual thing during the warm-ups, four older, very large guys walked up
to the glass, all wearing European jerseys. They didn’t say anything. They just
stuck together like an Eastern European wall, frowning while watching the Bulls.
 |
| Grumpy Russians |
I smiled
broadly and said “Hi!”. They said nothing and didn’t smile at all. A couple of
them kept their arms folded. OK, so they were Grumpy Russians, as was to call
them the rest of the night. Now, I understand that they probably couldn't speak
English, but everyone worldwide knows what Hi means. I’ve traveled to many
countries and the best way to get non-English speakers to open up is to be as
friendly as possible and welcoming. These fellas, though filled the stereotype
of stoic Russians.
The Aces won
this game 3-2, but as I stated earlier, it was a real battle! From the very
start the Aces seemed to have chips on their shoulders. One Ace player hit
Yanni Gourde super hard and Ian Schultz stepped up and fought him. Minutes
later, Mikael Tam was into it with another Ace player. The entire First Period
was filled with chirps from both sides. I think the Alaska management should
spend a bit more and get a better hotel because their players were really
cranky! Maybe they need a better night’s sleep before the game.
 |
| Schultz Getting Chippy |
The Aces
scored first and the Bulls kept up for most of it, but in the end the Aces had one
more winning goal. But it was a great effort. Taylor Nelson did an incredible
job. Yanni was his usual Roadrunner self, zipping through the Aces lines as if
they were in slow-mo. He scored first for the Bulls and Bryan Cameron made his
first Bulls goal in this game as well. The team plays together better than ever
in their brief history. There’s a great chemistry between the members. I
thought if they had had this line-up a few months earlier, how things would be so
different!
It was a
nice size crowd for the game. Friday and Saturday night’s games are the team’s
Eco-Friendly weekend. They gave away reusable grocery bags last night and Saturday
night’s game are travel mugs.
 |
| Attacking the Aces net |
I took a few
minutes and talked to one of the men who wear the ECHL jackets. Mike, his name
is and he told me how the ECHL officials work. They’re all volunteers. There’s
about a dozen of them and they do this because they love hockey. They’re hired
directly by the ECHL so there’s no connection between them and the Bulls and
thereby no bias in their decisions.
Also during
the game there was a drum group. They were talented and provided some
entertaining beats between the action and during the intermissions. However, I
do have a gripe. When the play resumes on the ice, they need to stop playing.
Throughout the game last night this drum group kept going on while the game was
in action. This was not only distracting for the crowd, but could have been a
hindrance to our players. So, if you want to do your thing during downtimes,
that’s good, but be aware of what’s going on in the game.
 |
| Me with Ian Schultz & Kory Falite |
I take the
free shuttle the team provides from BART. It’s an excellent idea and I love the
fact that I don’t have to be herded onto another MUNI bus to get to games. Last
night they must have been short on buses or drivers or both. One of the buses
used was a limo bus, which I had never seen before. Some drunk girls in front
of me squealed that they were going to be on the “good” bus. When it was
obvious that there wasn’t room for us on that bus and that we’d have to wait
for the next one. One of the girls had plowed her way onto the limo bus and threw
a fit and didn’t want to get off after she was told she would have to because
it was already full. The manager at the stop kept trying to tell her there wasn’t
room but she wouldn’t listen. The regular shuttle bus pulled up behind the limo
bus in the meantime so the rest of us readied to get on it.
“I don’t
want to get on that one,” she whined.
“OK,” I told
her, “then you can walk to BART. The rest of us will take THIS shuttle bus.”
She shut up
for a few minutes. But then, when I was talking about hockey to one of the cool
ushers who take the shuttle, she spouted that basketball is better. So I knew
as much about her as I ever needed to know. I laughed to myself, shook my head
and continued my conversation with the usher.
Over the
months since the Bulls started, the ushers have gotten into the swing of things
and do a great job. Most of them are friendly and I love greeting them when I
go to games. It wouldn’t be the same without them. I worked in the rock music business
for a long time, so I know how much it means to ushers when patrons are nice to
them. Be nice to your usher.
+++++
Bulls play
the final game against the Aces tonight, Saturday at the Barn. You’d better be
there, going to raise the roof.
Tomorrow,
San Francisco take on the Las Vegas Wranglers to avenge the beating the team took
from them last weekend.
GO BULLS!
