BEST.NIGHT.EVER.

Wow. Just wow. I've never been to Detroit before and now I want to live there, it was that good.

After the drama of yesterday, today was a great day. Angie and I got in to Detroit around 5:00, and I was already in awe of everything because big cities and I really don't mix well.

We ended up going to Cheli's for dinner. I was in complete awe. I wasn't sure I'd ever get there, so it was kind of surreal. Looks a lot different from the YouTube videos I saw when some of the guys were on the counter with the Cup, but I guess I can understand that. It wasn't very busy when we arrived, but by the time we left, it was hopping.

We were going to take the shuttle directly from Cheli's to the Joe, but we weren't quick enough to catch the shuttle. It left about two minutes before we made it outside, so we took the People Mover. I've never been on anything like that before or even a subway, so it was an interesting experience. (I've experienced a lot of firsts tonight.)

When we arrived at the stop for the Joe, the doors still hadn't opened yet, or else they had just opened. We finally made it in and we picked up our plaques and then headed to find the Kronwall pole. Obviously, we found it. It was hard getting a picture with it since everyone was walking around, but we did get one with me in it.

Then we finally went to our seats. We were way up in the 24th Row of the upper bowl, which for people that don't know, there was only 1 row behind us. It was exciting and the only thing I could think about during the first period was how loud it was when the pucks went off the boards and the sticks. SO loud, but so great.

During the second period, we were in the Standing Room Only section and it was such a different view. In the third period we ended up in the lower bowl, maybe 10 rows from the glass. Awesome seats! Angie got some great pictures - mine are good, but her camera was better. You can see her pictures here.

I so want to go back soon - if I had my choice, I'd go to the game on November 25 when they play the Thrashers so I can get the calendar.

Other Random Things I Noticed:

1 - When they showed the Stevie Yzerman video before the anthems, every single player backed up and watched the video. Except Willie Mitchell. He continued to skate around the ice. Not sure how I feel about that.
2 - The only player that stayed standing still until the last note of the anthem was Kronwall. He waited until Karen was completely done singing.
3 - When Kronwall was on the ice waiting for a face-off, he just looked so laid back. He just kind of stood there, not talking to anyone. I guess it wasn't what I expected.
4 - Jonathan Ericsson is huge. Seriously.
5 - While I was waiting in line using the bathroom, a woman was headed towards us carrying a drink and she looked really familiar. She was wearing a Canucks jersey and it finally hit me that it was Ryan Kesler's mom. Then she stopped and talked to the woman in front of me in line. It was kind of surreal. I got confirmation that she was definitely Kes' mom when she told the lady in front of me that she ran in to a nurse who wanted to know if Makayla was there too. Unreal. I kind of squealed when she walked away and the woman in front of me turned around and smiled as I said, 'Ryan Kesler's mom."
6 - Beiksa seems tiny in person.
7 - Kesler and Burrows did their jobs as agitators quite well. I actually thought someone was going to fight with Burrows at one point. It was great.
8 - When the Canucks scored their first goal, I was kind of happy inside. I said to Angie though that I shouldn't have benched Raymond tonight on my fantasy hockey team, but I did it because I was hoping if I would bench him, he wouldn't continue his hot streak.
9 - I miss Sammy. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again. I miss him and his wide shots a lot. Each time there was an altercation on the ice between the two teams, it was nice to see him in there trying to play peacemaker . . . at least that's the way it seemed.
10 - And most importantly, Kronner is so much hotter in person than he is on TV.
11 - Bertuzzi is huge out there on the ice, even if he isn't scoring.
12 - Jimmy Howard looked great out there as he made some timely saves for the team.
13 - I was sure I was going to be a jinx for the Red Wings, but I guess it turns out I wasn't.
14 - Kronner's empty net goal went down the ice SOOOOO slowly. When it went in, I jumped up and screamed very loud.
15 - When Zetterberg got his goal and they were announcing it and the assists, everyone around us was screaming loudly. So when I screamed as they announced Kronner's assist, I thought everyone would be screaming. Um, no. I was like the only one in the section that screamed.
16 - My biggest problem, especially in the 2nd and 3rd periods when we were closer to the ice, is that when the puck was on our end of the ice, I kept losing track of it when Kronner was on the ice. I was too busy watching him to follow the puck.
17 - When Homer was standing in front of Luongo, I kept thinking to myself that Ken & Mickey would be saying, "Homer's in his office."
18 - I didn't burst into tears from the overwhelming emotions like I thought I might. No Sesame Street repeats for me tonight.
19 - May & Rypien fighting? AWESOME.
20 - BEST night of my life ever.

Not a Nice Post

Disclaimer: First of all this is nothing personal. It's just a broad-scoped rant for all fans and it could even be pushed to encompass fans of any sport or any team. It may piss you off while reading it, and maybe that's my intention. I know I'm pissed off while writing it. If you take this as a personal attack against you, I'm sorry you're taking it that way because it's not directed at any particular person, but I will completely understand and respect your decision if you choose to remove me from your friends list. I get it.

I'm getting so sick and tired of the crap that I'm reading everywhere about how the Red Wings couldn't even beat the Maple Leafs. Just because the Maple Leafs have only won 2 games so far this season before last night, does not mean they are a crappy team. Toronto has never really had a problem finding people to score goals - the only reason they tied and lost a lot of their games was because their goaltenders allowed the other teams to score more.

THE RED WINGS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME SCORING THIS YEAR. It's not difficult to see why since they lost some of their best goal scorers to free agency and now to injuries. They don't seem to have much puck luck either. Shots that went in last year are just not going in this year. The team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals last year is not the team that is on the ice now. We lost some major players and we now have younger guys stepping in to try and fill the roles that were vacated.

The comments, articles, and blogs I've been reading lately all seem to question the desire that the team has to win. Ask yourself, do you really think they aren't out there wanting and expecting to win every night? To suggest they don't feel that way is ridiculous. And to rake them across the coals because of it is downright rude and disloyal, in my opinion.

IT IS NOT A PERFECT WORLD. The Red Wings will not win every game, and they won't win every game fans think they should against teams that everyone views as pushovers. As a fan, I don't think it should be expected that they go out and win every night. There are always positives in the negatives so why don't most people focus on the positives? I don't know, I can't answer that.

I can only say for myself that win or lose, they are my team and I will back them 100%. I know it's way too early to say this, but if they miss the playoffs this year that doesn't mean I hate them. They are still my team no matter what happens. I'm not about to desert them just because they aren't as great this year as people thought they would be.

Everyone has a right to bitch about their team losing, yes. But the shit I've been reading lately attacking people's character is way too much. It's made me reconsider everything I've said bad about Sidney Crosby. I'll never care for the guy personally, but I'll be thinking twice before making fun of him again.

All the players in the NHL are REAL people with REAL feelings and REAL emotions. They deserve our respect, not our condemnation.

I know people who are Detroit fans expect to see a winning team every year, but statistically, it's not going to happen every year. No matter what happens, I'm going to sit back and enjoy this season and be thankful that with the crappy economy and all the talks of NHL teams having to leave their areas that we still HAVE a team in Detroit.

The Red Wings will always be #1 to me, no matter what the standings say.