Buffalo/Pitt areas

[duballstar014]

Well fellas, I dont know if any of you live in the Buffalo or Pittsburgh area, but if you see a bright orange Carter jersey in one of those two venues either Friday or Sunday, there\'s a good chance it\'s your ole pal dub. I should have seats very close to ice level on Friday, but Sunday I\'m not so sure of the location.

Being from socal, this is a really big thing for me. I\'m very excited to check out two new venues from the East coast and probably catch the last Flyers game ever to be played at the Igloo. If any of you are planning on attending either of these games, send me a message and let\'s grab a beer.

I caught the Flyers/Sharks game earlier this year in SJ, and I apologize to everyone (ben10 especially) who I told I would scout a player for them...my level of sobriety was very much in question. Let\'s just say I prob should have taped the game at home...This trip should be much more mellow.

My goal is to hit all 30 rinks. I can now cross off:

Honda Center (still Arrowhead Pond in my books)
Staples Center
HP Pavilion Center
Joe Louis Arena
Nationwide Arena
HSBC Arena
Mellon Arena (Igloo)
The Spectrum

Sadly I still haven\'t been to the Wachovia Center, but I did go to the Spectrum before it was ever endorsed by any sponsors. Still working on growing the list. I\'ve got a few I\'d love to hit, but if any of you have any suggestions of rinks that should be bumped up on the list, please share.

[gravy9]

From NY, but actually attended first ever event at Wachovia Center (cores state arena) back in like 96. It was USA v Canada in the world cup of hockey. One of the best games I\'ve seen in person.

Next yr u should plan a ny trifecta 3 arenas 3 nights: MSG, Coliseum, and the Rock. Philly, Boston, and wash DC are all within a 4 hr drive too. I miss having the Hartford Whalers nearby though, was less than 2 hr drive. Not a Flyer fan but enjoy the games Dub

[duballstar014]

Thats a good idea. I\'m going to have to check the schedule for that opportunity.

[Dutch]

come to the saddledome dub

it\'s a pretty good venue, especially with a good game... the c of red is pretty cool

Then take in a game at Rexall Place the day later or so then you can see a world of difference


if you ever hit sommet center, I would be jealous of ya

[NYR9394]

NO PHILLY FANS ALLOWED AT THE GARDEN!!! :angry:


Nah seriously, if you\'re gonna go to a Ranger game, forget about ice level. Sit in section 407. That\'s where Dancin\' Larry sits. He\'s like a cult hero at the Garden. He gets up in the middle of the 3rd period and dances like a mad man when the Rangers are winning. It\'s funny as hell! The crowd loves that guy but they abuse the hell out of him. Thats also where the most rabid and true Rangers fans sit. Not the corporate seats in the 100-200 sections.


And if you\'re going to the Rock, dont forget to bring a gun. Yes, it is a nice arena, but it\'s still right smack in the middle of Newark. Not really a great place to be.

[J_Cum]

I went to a game last year at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. By far the nicest arena I have ever been to. The only problems with going there to watch a game are:

1. You have to watch the Wild play, so you will spend more time looking at the arena than the boring product on the ice.

2. There is no other team within a couple of hours drive to make a trip out of it.

3. It is cold in Minnesota and for a guy from California it probably isn\'t worth the trip just to see a nice arena. I guess you could always wait 10-15 years till they ice a playoff team and go in April.

Anyway, sounds like a great trip, I hope you enjoyed the Flyers win on Friday because I will be hoping the Penguins kill them today.

[duballstar014]

Well this was a phenomenal trip. The HSBC Arena is a very nice rink. Pretty basic in terms of setup and actually pretty similar to the Honda Center, just different colors. I did like the Jumbotron a lot and there was a couple pretty cool bars. One other thing that I think should be at every rink is the $2 / 10 shot challenge. Inside an average sized net, there are 9 light up targets and you have to hit whichever one lights up. I\'ve seen it at a couple places, but never actually in a hometown NHL rink. That was cool.

The fans in Buffalo were quite mild I found. There was a decent amount of jerseys and apparel, but nothing overwhelming. I got very little shit for being a Flyers fan in a predominantly Buffalo-fan area. We sat about 20 rows off the ice in the corner behind Biron where the Sabres shot twice. Decent game and pretty fun atmosphere, but nothing too crazy.

On to Pittsburgh. I was staying with a buddy of mine in Mt Washington, which has the reputation for having the best view of Pittsburgh as it overlooks downtown. We start off going tailgating (at 11am) at a bar that I am told is hardcore Pens/Steelers territory. They weren\'t lying. I don\'t think I even had my feet out the door of the car yet when someone spotted my orange Carter jersey and yelled \"F*ck the Flyers!\" As I went into this bar, I saw about 40-50 people and I think maybe 5 of them weren\'t dressed in a jersey. That was impressive. More and more people flocked in and the harassment continued.

We get in the rink and I immediately felt like I was in a time machine back to 1961. Mellon Arena is the oldest rink in the NHL and it shows. Not a very good rink by any means. But, the fanbase is unbelievable. There were jerseys everywhere and they were definitely much more verbally aggressive than the Buffalo fans 2 nights ago (surprise right?). I knew going into it that it was going to be a pretty big deal wearing my orange jersey in Pitt at a Pens/Flyers game, but what an experience! It was amazing. At the first intermission, I decided to hit the urinals and wow. That was basically going into the lion\'s den. Heard some pretty good one liners from the crowd though. That was good stuff. Pens fans really cracked me up when they accused Richards of diving when they have #87 as their leader. I found that quite humorous and ironic. :laugh:

Overall, I have to say that was an amazing time. I forgot to bring my camera to HSBC Arena which pissed me off, but I got some nice pics in Pitt. Two rinks. Two cities. Two wins. I think I\'ll start to plan this stuff more often. I must be a good luck charm. B)

[smack]

Awesome stuff, Dub. I really like the HSBC arena as I\'m there usually once a year. Never been to the Mellon.

I remember when my friends and I went to Philly to watch the Leafs play them in the playoffs (which seemed ages ago) we got to our seats and were constantly harassed but all in good fun. Then Aki Berg scored the first goal for the Leafs to make it 1-0. My friends and I were split up into two\'s so me and my buddy got up and cheered . . . BIG MISTAKE. We were sitting in the last row and the guy in front turns to us and says \"If you cheer like that again, we\'re throwing you down those mofo stairs.\" Lucky for us Flyers scored 4 straight goals so nothing for us to cheer.
Awesome and the most passionate fans I\'ve seen.

Worst fans in the world (and it was for a basketball game so different crowd, maybe) but me and my friends went to watch the Raptors play the Pistons a few years back. Detroit fans spilled beer all over us, spit on us, threw garbage at us, like it was gross. I don\'t mind any swearing or mouthing off and stuff like that but that just left a horrible taste in my mouth and I hope doesn\'t represent their hockey fan base and I\'d love to go to a game at Joe Louis.