A Brand of Fandom

I'm not going to wax poetic about a hockey game. No worries.  It's just one of those fabulous perks of our non-profit job to every so often have our organization invited to a suite, sponsored by one of the players on the Canes team.  It's spoiled me surely.  I cannot go to other sporting events without feeling a bit mediocre.  I mean, when we're in the suite, we are considered VIP (the parking pass even proves it).

I had been looking to Thursday's game a bunch, but in a typical Scorpio mood swing, I started off the evening in a foul, foul mood.  I'm glad it turned around though.  I wasn't going to be able to keep my Eeyore cloud while watching our students' faces filled with excitement as they experienced the VIP treatment (and for most of them their first hockey game period).

The newest hockey fans were certainly enjoying themselves.  They were bouncing around like typical teenage hooligans trying to attract Stormy's attention and get a t-shirt launched at them.  They were inquisitive about Zambonis and if hockey players really had to play by any rules.  They were attentive and well-mannered during both national anthems (we were playing the Montreal Canadiens).  And at the end of the night, hearing, "Thank you for bringing me" is the best VIP feeling.

I spent most of my childhood avoiding sports.  I wasn't athletic and didn't bother putting in the practice to get better.  I think I missed out on a lot of fun and a lot of lessons though.  I hope that our students have the chance to participate in sports, to play on a team, to experience wins and losses.  I hope that they break out of a fixed mindset of "I'll never make a goal" and embrace challenges and a lot of hard work.  I hope they will accept that sometimes they are spoiled VIPs and sometimes they'll be seated in the nosebleed sections, but even there they can be the loudest and most loyal fan of the game.

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