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Hockey In Nashville
Posted by Kevin

tgirsch, I and our wives went to see the Predators play the Maple Leafs (tgirsch’s team) last Thursday. We had a great time. As I said before, the fans are generally knowledgeable and the organization puts on a good show (though, Preds: there are no cheerleaders in hockey.) Our seats were fantastic and the stadium itself is a good place to see a game. And watching Kariya play is just about worth the price of admission by itself.

The game itself was much better than the one we attended last year; the Preds won but the game was in doubt to the very end and it was a fast flowing game, filled with solid hits and end to end action. Watching the game, you can understand why the Preds are arguably the best team in hockey. They can all skate, no one made a single dumb play, and they do all of the little things as close to perfect as you can. their passes are crisp and accurate, their defenders know when to pinch and when to backpedal, their fore check is excellent, and they almost never leave their goaltender in a bad position. Toronto, on the other hand, has a lot fo talent, but they don’t do everything well. The difference in the game was one horrible Leaf turnover and one terribly stupid penalty on Matts Sundin, the Leaf’s capitain that lead to a two minute 5-3 for the Predators.

Though, please, Nashville fans, take a bit of advice: I realize that Vokoun is a fantastic goalie, and I realize that you are just trying to cheer him on, but that cheer you do after he makes a great play has to stop. There is something terribly wrong about a group made up almost entirely of southern white people yelling “coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon” at the tops of their lungs, even today.

The city itself was fun, too. The area around the stadium is pretty touristy, and much too country, but there were a couple of interesting places (including one with the world’s worst folk singer) and we did find a good place down by Vanderbilt before the night was over.

February 12th, 2007 Sports, I do too have a life, NHL | 12 comments

12 Comments »

  1. wkmaier writes:

    I can’t wait till the Devils move to the new arena in Newark. The CAA is such a horrific place to get to, etc. etc. Once th Devils are gone, the only reason I could ever imagine going to the Meadowlands again is a soccer match (i.e. World Cup).

    BTW, our nephew got a Nashville Preds jersey from us for Xmas. He likes the saber toothed logo!

    Comment 2/12/2007

  2. saraclark writes:

    Glad you enjoyed the game and Music City. However it is an arena and not a stadium, for hockey purposes. Sorry that all you got out of it was a misunderstanding of Thomas Vokoun’s name. But, Paul McCann, the PA announcer draws it out and the crowd usually echoes him-VoooooKounnnn. You can direct any criticisms to him directly at his hockey blog on hockeybuzz.com. Another of his favorite names to say is, J.P. Dumont, make of it what you will.

    It was great to see the Leafs in town and to be honest that was not the best example of Predators skills and game. Tune in for the playoffs or for the next Anaheim matchup for a better and more interesting hockey game.

    Comment 2/12/2007

  3. tgirsch writes:

    Saraclark:

    I think that’s the point, and the difference between the Leafs and the Preds; the Preds can play less-than-their-best game and still win, because they’re good enough to get away with it. The Leafs can’t (and they didn’t). The Preds A-game can beat about anybody, and their B-game can beat most teams. The Leafs A-game could beat most teams, but their B-game doesn’t scare anyone.

    Comment 2/12/2007

  4. Dan writes:

    I hope Anaheim smokes Nashville… southerners shouldn’t play hockey!!!

    Comment 2/12/2007

  5. tgirsch writes:

    Dan:

    At least they occasionally actually see naturally-occurring ice in Nashville. If it ever got below 40 degrees in Anaheim, they’d be stocking up on milk, water, and canned goods, and preparing for the apocalypse! :) Climate comparison here.

    Also:

    Nashville, TN: 36 deg, 10 mins North Latitude
    Anahiem, CA: 33 deg, 50 mins North Latitude

    Which means that Anaheim is 2 degrees, 20 minutes further south than Nashville. So by your own standard, here’s hoping Nashville smokes Anaheim. :)

    Comment 2/12/2007

  6. wkmaier writes:

    See this on the Preds?

    http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/6466134?print=true

    Comment 2/12/2007

  7. Kevin writes:

    No, I hadn’t. Typical owner it sounds like.

    Comment 2/13/2007

  8. saraclark writes:

    Good Grief, that guy at Fox Sports is a little bitter don’t you think?

    Unless he’s a local taxpayer with season tickets in a luxury suite, only getting an occasional parking pass, I don’t get it. Why the antagonism? Has he ever even met Leopold? or Bettman? I’m satisfied with the value that I get for my money. Much more than the Titans.

    Comment 2/13/2007

  9. tgirsch writes:

    I’m afraid I agree with Kevin on this one. That sounds awful, but for pro sports franchise owners, it’s typical. With very few exceptions, they’re a bunch of brats. Even the better ones seem to have petulant child tendencies.

    Comment 2/13/2007

  10. Dan writes:

    I’m mostly just pissed that Nashville is at the top of the Western Division and Minnesota is in 8th… bastards.

    Comment 2/13/2007

  11. tgirsch writes:

    Hey, Kevin, Mr. Blackhawks fan, if there are no cheerleaders in hockey, how do you explain this? At least it’s a diverse crew, though — there are young, skinny white blonde females and young, skinny white brunette females! :D

    (If there’s something similar on the Leafs’ web page, it’s hard to find. There’s one girly-pic wallpaper you can download, but that’s all I could find…)

    Comment 2/13/2007

  12. Kevin writes:

    tgirsch:

    Its just further evidence that Wirtz is a cancer upon the body of hockey.

    Comment 2/13/2007

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