The College Game
A friend of mine recently told me about this third group of people. Since, I have secretly been inching my way from the "realists" to the "closet dreamers" group. Honestly, I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd like my kid to play college hockey. I realize the odds are pretty low. But adding to it is my kid's desire to play. He, too, is a dreamer. While I'm concerned about my own desire, I'm not worried about his desire.
My son has watched two college hockey games in his life. Both this year. Over Christmas, his mom bought two tickets for a Minnesota Gophers game. Our feet were against the class behind the Gophers bench. We were two of 10,000 fans at Mariucci arena. What a great venue. My son has had more Gophers stuff than you can shake a stick at. He's got T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweat pants. He returned his boxers (too stiff) for a second hat. He's been dreaming of being one of the few non-Minnesota born players to put on a Gopher uniform. We were lucky enough to watch the Gophers beat Huntsville 3-1. We took our time leaving, what a great place to play hockey!
This past weekend I secured tickets to watch the team that replaced the slumping Gophers as #1 in college hockey. Notre Dame played Nebraska-Omaha this past weekend at home. I called the Notre Dame ticket office Friday morning to see if they had any tickets, despite the "Sold Out" sign on their website. Sure enough, they just had some tickets returned and I secured two first row tickets. The two and a half hour drive went by quickly and we reached campus just before 7pm. With single digit temperatures, we quickly made our way into the rink. Our second college game in six weeks watching the #1 team in the nation. What a difference. Notre Dame may be one of the elite institutions of higher learning, they definitely don't have the #1 ranked hockey facility. My high school hockey rink seated quite a bit more people. While the band was definitely top notch, it's funny how the surroundings affect your view of the game. My son kept saying that Notre Dame didn't look nearly as good as the Gophers. I couldn't help but to agree. It could have to do with the fact that there wasn't one goal in the first two periods. The third period saw six goals including two in the last 10 seconds, both by Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish beat the Mavericks 4-2. What started as disappointment ended with some pretty exciting action. With all that, a number of things kept going through my mind on the drive home. My son slept while I compared and contrasted my two college games this year.
- Two front row tickets purchased over the internet as a surprise Christmas present cost my wife $211 to a Minnesota game. Two front row Notre Dame tickets cost $25.
- The Gophers have 4 first round NHL draft picks on the roster, Notre Dame has four NHL draft picks, the fourth round is the highest of any of the four.
- The Gophers have made it to the NCAA tournament 30 times with five National Titles, Notre Dame has made it to the tournament once.
- Notre Dame has been ranked #1 in the nation for a school total of one week, the Gophers are probably closing in on the 1000 week mark.
- Mariucci Arena seats 10000, the Joyce Center seats 2667.
- The Gophers claim 87 former players have played in the NHL, Notre Dame claims 14 (more than I'd have thought)
- The Gophers program I bought was 104 pages, the Fighting Irish program was 48 pages.
- Minnesota's Womens Arena (Ridder Arena) seats 3400, the Joyce Center (arena portion) doubles as a multi-function facility.
My point? Not sure. I can say this. My son left Notre Dame's campus, after a visit to the golden dome, a believer in Notre Dame and Notre Dame hockey. I love the mind of a twelve year old. He finds the allure of Notre Dame stadium (football) a big draw. When he saw the [frozen] lake that Rudy used to walk by, he was in awe. As we left South Bend, I said "Keep up the straight A's and work hard at practice and you never know."
