Wrapping Up the Frozen Four

Some personal observations on last weekend’s Frozen Four hockey tournament:

- It’s hard to describe the enthusiasm of the crowds. Each school had a corner of the rink for its fans, and each brought their pep band to keep things revved up. It didn’t matter who scored, half the building erupted, the other half groaned.

- Bemidji State’s pep band had a previous commitment, so they borrowed George Mason’s band. This was great for multiple reasons. GMU was the Cinderella entry in the 2006 basketball Final Four, as Bemidji State was for this year’s hockey tournament. Both teams’ colors are green and gold. It was worth the price of admission to watch the band and student sections shout cheers at each other, cheers the band would just have learned that week. Both groups obviously has a ball. The conductor’s green tux was sweet, too.

- No matter how many times I see it, I still stay to watch hockey players shake the opponents’ hands after beating the snot out of each other for two-and-a half hours.

- Each team formed a semi-circle to face their fans’ corner of the ice and saluted them with their sticks at the end of each game. Very classy.

- In the play that defined the weekend for both The Sole Heir and me, a Vermont player dove head first, with his stick fully extended, to keep the puck from sliding into the empty net as time expired. The outcome was not in doubt, but he’d be damned if he was going to lose by two goals. Seeing a 5-4 score in the record book tells future generations it went down to the bitter end; 6-4 just doesn’t look the same. Helluva play.

- Not only did we get some national TV time in a crowd shot, The Official Main Squeeze of The Sole Heir got a picture of it on his cell phone and sent it to her while we were still in the building.

In summary:
Tickets: $360
Tee shirts and souvenirs: $108
Food: $75.
Having my kid think of me when the tickets came available to her: Priceless. This was as good as the 2007 US Open. In some ways better, since it was her idea.