Last night the ticket fairy blessed me with club seats. I've had club seats for other teams and at other arenas, but this was my first trip to watch the Thrasher's at Phillips from the club side.
Commoner's like myself have heard many rumors about the club section. Sure, there are the rumors about an impressive array of food and beverages, but this wasn't my mission. The rumor I most wanted to investigate was the presence of hot water in the bathrooms. I've never before felt compelled to wash my hands the moment I enter the arena, but last night that is exactly what I did. I am sad to report that the water in those bathrooms is indeed hot. My question for the members of the Spirit Group is this: Your most passionate fans are those that are in their $10-$50 non-club seats before the puck drops for the opening face-off. Why then is all the hot water in your building reserved for the
fans that stumble down to their seat mid-second period, talk constantly about non-game stuff, and leave mid-third period? Don't get me wrong, I'm not begrudging hot water for the corporate representatives who help stuff money into the Spirit bank account. But why aren't the rest of us worthy? Is there some segment of the fire code that prevents the arena from installing enough large hot water heaters to service all the restrooms? Did the architects of Phillips fail to include enough mechanical space for the number of hot water heaters needed? Is the water from non-club bathrooms perhaps melt from the rink that you otherwise could not dispose of?
One of the master pieces of Phillips Arena, from my perspective, is the ladies room found near section 320. There is a huge glass window in this restroom that overlooks what I believe is the area known to football fans as
Falcon's Landing. At night there is just the right combination of lights and colorful banners to make the view quite pleasing. Imagine how nice that would be if you weren't shrieking from the cold water that blasts from the sink. Why shriek you ask....no matter how well aware I am that the water will not be warm, cold water always shocks the system in an uncomfortable manner. For those concerned about the food and drink rumors the food appears to come from the
Buckhead Life group of restaurants. Translation: Yummy but pricey. An unexpected plus of the club section is that the
Spin to Win line is very small. Sadly I discovered there are still pleanty of prizes on their wheel that aren't free tickets.
More importantly the game itself was great (and the view from our seats simply incredible). You can read about our impressive victory against the less-than-remarkable LA Kings
around the internet. I was worried prior to the game simply because our track record against Western Conference teams this season is appalling bad. This game even came with its own moments of anxiety. We entered the third period with a 3 -1 lead. Then, 2 minutes into the period, we give up a goal cutting that lead in half. If you've been watching our third period play over the last month you understand why this would give a Thrasher's fan with a queasy feeling. I needn't have worried. Marian Hossa provided 2 more goals to complete his second hat trick of the season and
Glen Metropolit scored a goal (his second point of the night) to make the final score 6-2. I know we can't get excited about defeating a team that is currently last in the Western Conference, but we were productive in the third period, played the game committing only 2 penalties (none in the third), scored on 2 of our 3 power play opportunities, killed off both of the penalties we took, and finally beat a Western Conference foe. I say hooray for that. In the novelty department it was also the first start for the NHL's lone Japanese player, goalie
Fukufuji got his first official start. My best laugh of the game came during the second period just after Fukufuji was pulled. Some fans sitting directly behind Fukufuji's goal in section 108 started a chant to taunt Fukufuji, calling him by name. The problem was that Fukufuji had just been replaced by Brust. These two amusing gentlemen sitting next to us turned to this group of fans and screamed at them for not paying attention. The fans briefly quieted. My personal pet peeve about other fans is coming to a game and not paying any attention to it, so I was more than happy to laugh at this exchange.
The biggest bummer of the game--yet again I witness a hat trick and find myself without a hat to throw. Someday I'll learn to always wear a cheap and aerodynamic hat to games.