I’ve been an enthusiastic hockey fan for many years. I never played on any organized team and I never really watched as a kid growing up in Connecticut. I think it was when I was about 16 that I started watching and really found myself being drawn to the Detroit Red Wings. At that point, I was living in Indiana which isn’t exactly known for being hockey-centric. I have no ties to the city of Detroit; the Red Wings just sort of became my team for reasons no one’s really sure of.
Seven, by contrast, grew up in the Chicago area and was born and raised a Blackhawks fan. Anyone familiar with NHL history knows that this is like a Red Sox fan dating a Yankees fan (or Bears/Packers or Celtics/Lakers, whichever sport you’re familiar with). We routinely blow each other some shit but are fans of the sport above all else. I’m ecstatic to be with a woman who loves hockey like I do.
I call her Seven here, by the way, because that was her number through her athletic career and continues to be her lucky number. She has a Chris Chelios replica Blackhawks jersey…number 7. But I digress.
After making the decision to set and then pursue a few somewhat lofty goals, I modeled one after something my father always wanted to do. As baseball is his sport of choice (followed closely by hockey), he’s talked for many years about his plan to visit every Major League ballpark for a game and he’s made some pretty significant progress toward it. I’m way behind where he is but, then again, he’s also had quite a head start and has gotten to see games in some legendary parks that don’t even exist anymore.
So here I sit, taking stock of where I am currently and what I have to do to make it happen. This one’s going to take some doing as some of the places are pretty inconvenient (Winnipeg? Really?) but I’ll figure it out. So far, my list consists of:
- Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
Yeah. That’s it. I’ve seen a few games there. Incidentally, I have vivid memories of seeing the Hartford Whalers vs the Vancouver Canucks in the early 90s at Hartford Civic Center. Of course, the Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997 and no one plays there anymore, so I won’t count that one.
I live within reasonable day-trip distance of 5 arenas, every one in the Western Conference, Central Division. That’s Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, and Nashville. There are a lot more in New England and Southeastern Canada that wouldn’t be too difficult either. Before the end of this season, I’m going to aim for two of those.
One of the very cool things about this is that it can help me with my goal to visit all 50 states. Synergy…ain’t it grand?
