People of Blueland: WTF?

This post will bring GPD's summer programming to an end. I know, I know, it's late October, but hey it FEELS like summer outside, so it shouldn't matter. I do have a few more Blueland Guest Goalies I want to do, I'll save them for the All Star break.


In this post I look at some of the crazy shit you see in the arena that really doesn't fit into any categories in previous posts.


Like this. Seriously, WTF?



After hearing my cowbell this lady turned around and asked "We won't have to hear that all night will we?" I thought she was joking! I said "Oh yeah!! We'll be hearing it a lot!" She sat there with her fingers in her ears. It's a hockey game, lady!



No, don't worry. That's completely appropriate for a hockey game. I'm sure you'll be very comfortable in the cold arena with your back completely out.



Speaking of hockey game wardrobe malfunctions. What's wrong with this? Well not only is it freezing cold inside, this is January 9, 2010, one of the coldest days in the HISTORY of Atlanta. It was 12 degrees outside. Why NOT wear a tank top and teeny shorts?



This is one of my favorite pictures. This chick sat down and busted out a picnic...from her purse! Note the zip lock bags. She had chicken strips and dipping sauce. Forget the concession stands! I don't know if I was irritated, entertained or impressed.



This couple should have gotten a room. The usher had to come down several times and pull them off of each other.



Then there was the Bono impersonator...



No seriously, he was a real impersonator.



And last but not least, yes, that is a guy in a chicken costume. No, it wasn't Halloween.

People of Blueland: Arena Entertainment

Sometimes at hockey games...they aren't playing hockey. It's intermission or we have a TV Time Out. Often during those periods of time the arena staff are hard at work making sure we morons in the seats are entertained.


I myself was lucky enough to be part of one of the games, The Match Game. Toby Enstrom, and my buddy Marisa, helped me win an autographed Enstrom jersey.



Marisa is a pro helper at the Match Game! She has yet to actually get a prize though. This year, Mo!



Another popular game on the jumbo tron, Higher or Lower. One of the lovely Ice Girls holds up a product from Home Depot and they display a price. You have to guess higher or lower. I suck at this game.



The Thrashers have another great game called the Two Minute Drill. If the Thrashers score within the next 2 minutes, you get a $500 gift card to Here To Serve Restaurants. Problem...they usually do it when the Thrashers are on a power play. Thanks JBird.



One of the most popular intermission forms of entertainment is when they drop the parachutes with Chick Fil A toys on them from the rafters. The Chick Fil A cow is there, too. Kids lose their minds over the cow. EVERYONE loses their mind over the parachutes. We've had our things trampled. I've seen kids knocked down. There aren't even coupons on the damn things people CALM DOWN.



Another great game is brought to us by the cool downtown sports bar Stats. You actually have to have some hockey knowledge for this one. I know both of these guys and they are so awesome the winner ended up splitting the card between them (can't remember if it was Travis or JB that won though).



Not really entertainment, but I like seeing the youth hockey players at the beginning of the game. This one was a special one for girls in hockey. Plus, it's an excuse for me to use this awesome Moose pic. He was so nice, chatting with the girl and smiling.



There are several games played during intermission. One of them is bowling. My buddy Marisa (she's been on all the games!) is pulled back with a giant bungee chord. She looks terrified, she said she was.



They skate her down the ice and BLAM! The person who knocks down the most pins wins. She won. She said she only won some kind of crappy CD. Booooo.



I don't think they will ever stop doing sumo hockey. At the last game I was like "again??" My husband informed me that sumo hockey "is a classic." Okay.



In addition to entertaining the masses, these games act as giant ads for the Thrashers' sponsors. They should call this one "Humiliate Yourself for Applebee's." You dress up as a fajita wrap, a steak, or a baby back rib and race around the ice avoiding obstacles.



Obstacles usually include hurdles, Thrash, and guys in sumo suits.



You WILL fall down at least once. Not to worry, Uriah and his crew are there to pull you up.



When they aren't whoring for Applebee's, they do the same game with dudes in puck suits.(thanks for the picture, Kerry)



Youth hockey is also a popular intermission. Once a year though Thrash has a big birthday party and various mascots from Atlanta teams and business come and play hockey with the kids. It's mascot-a-palooza and I love it! (thanks for the picture, Kerry)



Though prizes are usually small, a few times they played a game where if the key you were given started the car, you actually got a free lease of the car for a year!


The season is so close, I can't wait! I look forward to seeing all of the "People of Blueland" this season!

People of Blueland: Ushers

Today for "People of Blueland" I am featuring ushers. No, not this Usher.



I am talking about the ushers at Phillips Arena that helps you find your seats, not let people go by when the puck is in play (in theory) and generally helps at the games. I myself used to be an usher in the J.L. Bedsole IMAX Dome Theater in the Gulf Coast Exploreum in Mobile, Alabama.



Though on a much smaller scale, I know the challenges of getting people to their seats, enforcing the rules and trying to make sure everyone has a good time. Yeah, I had to wrestle some snack mix out of a pregnant lady's hands (no food), tossed someone out for having a bag of food from Wendy's, and having to deal with someone with Tourettes who whistled periodically through the entire movie. Sitting 500 school children on field trips is a good time, too. Maybe that's why I have a soft spot in my heart for ushers at Phillips Arena. At least most of the folks I dealt with weren't drunk. There are good ushers and bad ushers, but they all have tough jobs.


They have to put up with harassment from Thrash.



They have to put up with harassment from drunk fans. This lady was super drunk and absolutely beligerent.



She wouldn't sit down and was yelling profanity at the ushers for having the nerve to check her ticket. She was escorted out by several ushers and security.



Most of the ushers at Phillips are AWESOME! Here is Randy with one of our favorites, Cynthia. She's hard nosed and is a good usher. They put her up in the 300s 1/2 way through the season though because she dared ask some bitch for her ticket and she complained.



Ushers also have to make sure that you remain in your seats and don't bang on the glass with anything but your hands. It's a long walk down the stairs, so these guys were being pretty obnoxious.



Another of our favorites, Agatha. We had the pleasure of being to Agatha's wedding this Saturday. Congratulations!



Ushers can also frantically wave from across the ice to try and alert you that one of the Penguins not dressed for the game is sitting in her section. (Note Jay McKee on the right)


Ushers have a tough job. Like all jobs, you have good ones and bad ones. Some ushers will let people walk down with beer even though the puck is in play (one of my pet peeves). They are all doing a job though and it's a tough job. I wouldn't want to deal with 15,000 people a night. So be nice to them! Say hi!

People of Blueland: Opposing Fans

In today’s “People of Blueland” we look at opposing teams’ fans. In Atlanta, we get a lot of opposing teams' fans. Most of the time, they actually live there. Atlanta is a transient city and very few people are actually “from” Atlanta. It is also home to the busiest airport in the world, so it’s relatively easy to fly in for a game. The weather here is also pretty decent. So let’s say you are in Buffalo during December, a flight to Atlanta to watch the Sabres where it is 60 degrees is very appealing. So you have your die hard transplants who will always cheer for their team no matter where they live. You have the visiting fans who came to the city to watch the game. Then, you have the worst, the bandwagon fans. These guys usually surface after a team wins a cup or have a good run of a season. In the 2008-09 season, we were over run with Wings fans. A lot of those could be transplants, I know I’d leave Detroit if I lived there. This season, it was the Pens. The band wagon fans are easily spotted as they are wearing a shiny new Sidney Crosby jersey and can’t name any other Pens if his life depended on it.

There ARE some pretty hard core Pen fans though, or at least ones with snazzy costumes!

I don’t mind most opposing fans. I’ve been the opposing fan! I think everyone should be the opposing fan at one time or another, it’s fun.Whether you are by yourself

Or with a group, you can be sure of a few things

The home team’s mascot is going to give you hell.

The home team's fans are going to give you hell, hopefully just some good natured smack talk.

And someone is going to be on kiss cam.

Another cool thing about opposing fans is you definitely stand out to your team on a road trip



Surprisingly, we get a lot of Montreal fans in Phillips. I know a large group were from Cirque du Soleil, not sure about the others.

For the most part, they are well behaved. They take the heat from Thrash.

They stand and cheer for their team when they score.

I've never had a bad run-in with a Habs fan, so I've got no complaints.

Though I had a nasty run in with an Oilers fan at the post game show once, most of the Canadian teams have decent fans that visit Phillips Arena. Here a Leafs fan gets into it with Thrash.

We see a few Carolina fans from time to time, usually after our big road trip. It's only a six hour drive.



Not all teams’ fans are good. I’ve asked security and some of the ushers what teams have the worst fans and they said hands down, teams from New York as well as Philly.

Philly should come as no surprise. They are proud of their status as “The NHL’s most intimidating fans.” When they are winning, they can be super obnoxious. When they are losing, they can also be super obnoxious.

The Rangers fans definitely have that NYC attitude. Usually they flip off the kiss cam, but these guys were awesome and went with it having a good time.

Then there are the worst…and we all know it…Buffalo. If you are from Buffalo you either a. know your fans are assholes and have no problem with that; b. make excuses about “sports are all we have”; c. ARE one of the assholes and your in denial. Don’t let those friendly smiling faces fool you!

They can be nasty! In a previous season there was a Sabres game where several fights broke out, beer got poured on a kid and there was even an arrest or two. On a personal note, I sat by the nastiest most horrible fan I’ve ever met. He was intoxicated and just being a complete ass because we were beating the Sabres. “Why do they even have hockey here?” “Look at that shit, typical for Atlanta.” “This place sucks.” Then he starts talking about Michael Vick…MICHAEL VICK! Fortunately he left after the 1st period. I’ve started drinking at Sabres games just so I can deal with the fans.


This lovely young lady actually got into a verbal altercation with someone at my table at the post game show. The person at my table was giving her hell about coming into a Thrashers area with a Buffalo sign, as can be expected. Nothing bad, just “Go home, Buffalo” type stuff. This fan says “Why don’t you eat another doughnut you fat bitch. Eat another doughnut.” WOW! They got into it a bit more and the lady left. I yelled “Stay classy!”

This guy has really never done anything wrong to me, I just like his snuggly Buffalo he brings to all of the games.



Opposing fans do something else good for Atlanta...they fill seats!

If you follow the rules, being an opposing fan or having opposing fans is great.
Support your team. When they score, jump up and celebrate. Then sit the hell down.
Don’t be a douche bag. That’s a good general rule for all fans.
Don’t flip off the kiss cam.

So, got any rules you’d like to add?