I suppose I should put a little thing up about why I want to have a hockey blog, what makes me “whatever” enough to do one.

Simply put, nothing makes me “whatever” enough (good, crazy, insightful, literary). I believe any idiot can have a blog (kind of the point of blogs), and I’m just that idiot.

First off, I am not a long time hockey fan. I remember watching the Oilers on television winning the Cup (that must have been 1988, as I remember the announcer saying it was the 4th cup in 5 years), and I remember skating in Minnesota before we moved away (at the age of 6). Where we moved to in Colorado didn’t have any rinks, except a roller rink. The Colorado Rockies had moved away when I was eleven.
My dad used to go to Blackhawks games when he was a kid, but somehow, sports skipped me over. I just didn’t care, so I paid no attention at all. The Oilers games were fascinating to me, but after it was over, hockey went away. I didn’t have any real means of following it, and didn’t pay much attention. Colorado was a Broncos town, and I could care less about football, so that was it for me.

When the Avalanche came to Denver, I was working in radio, and even though I didn’t get to see them live, they captured my attention. The night they won the cup in 1996 is a night I will never forget. I got to be in the press section for the parade (I was doing the tech side of things), and can even point myself out in the photo book they put out from that season(black dot, third from right).
My first jersey was an Avs jersey, just a simple blank one, red, rather than the maroon they have now. I wouldn’t have thought that would be the start of a large (for someone who wears them) jersey collection.

My first live game was in 2003, Buffalo vs. Atlanta, the two teams ranked 29th and 30th at the time. I believe Byron Dafoe was in net, and he was awful. The game went to OT, and just like that, I was hooked. Since then, we had the lockout to break my heart, but even then, I got to see a lot of live games.
Does that make me a Newbie? Sure, why not. I have never cared much for the elitist views taken by some old time hockey fans, as though if you weren’t there at the beginning, you don’t amount to a “true fan”. I’ve never seen that attitude very useful. It’s not much better than the attitude towards hockey in the south. Who cares where it is, for how long, or who you are. If you like hockey, kick ass.

The point. I only know a few hockey people. I travel around the country, and am an oddity for liking the game, much less wearing a hockey jersey. I only have one person who I can talk hockey with, and that’s not enough.

I’m just here to join in the discussion, and maybe learn to write a little better. I have my opinions (like everyone else), and sometimes I’m just plain wrong. I’m going to do my best to stick with this, even when I’m travellng, which also means I won’t be able to see every game. Still, I hope to have something interesting to say. And if not, you don’t have to read.

I’m also going to show off a few jerseys, because I like them. I really like them. A lot. And have too many not to.