Videogame on Ice

Yesterday we deposited the college student at San Jose International for his return to San Diego and headed for HP Pavilion to attend our first and probably only NHL hockey game of the season. The Sharks are a Stanley Cup contender, and the tickets were expensive. (I rationalized the purchase at a charity auction in September—and no, I can’t claim the tax deduction because I received value, i.e., the tickets, in return.)

Because we had some latitude in choosing which game we would see, and because the youngster is an avid Sharks fan---he occasionally wears the jersey to school, we selected last night’s contest because the Sharks had a good chance of prevailing. The Columbus Blue Jackets were a sub-.500 team, and we weren’t disappointed. The Sharks won, 5-2, with all goals being scored on power plays (when a team is a man short due to penalties).

In a professional hockey game, it’s easy to experience sensory overload. The action is non-stop, and one has to shout at seat-mates in order to make oneself heard over the arena music and noise. The puck quickly moves from one end of the ice to the other, and with twelve players whirling like dervishes (between fistfights), NHL hockey resembles the final round of the old Asteroids videogame in which asteroid chunks are flying all over the screen.

The youngster and his friend were wide awake through the end of the game, although it was 10:30, an hour past their normal bedtime. Well, they’re still on winter break, and school, discipline, and New Year’s resolutions—theirs and ours—can wait until next week. © 2007 Stephen Yuen

The goalie blocked this shot, but the Sharks scored a few seconds later.

[Note: I saw my first professional hockey game in 2004.]