re: Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - Detroit Red Wings 2 - Final (shootout)

Page 3, Boom.

hoping somebody would notice

Hey..we can all like beaver! get it? When I say beaver I mean pussy.

Beaver is the National symbol of Canada...and the international batsignal for poon

we really must pick up this witty repartee again soon

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Buckeye Fan 19, how was the game??

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Ninja, I had a great time at the game (even though we lost in OT). It was a great game, which was nice, and I was happy to get a point on the road against a team like Detroit, especially after we were losing late in the 3rd. The Wings fans were great. My dad and I were heckled a lot, but I was expecting that (and actually wanted it, to tell you the truth), but nothing over the top. The Wings fans sitting around us were cool. They told us details about the Wings, we gave them info on ours. Very passionate, but respectful. Joe Louis Arena was a neat, old barn. I was amazed it only had one concourse for the entire arena. Nationwide Arena has three (one each for lower bowl, club level, and upper bowl). The Wings probably need a new arena soon, just based on how important corporate sponsorship is, but I liked the Joe.

Another thing that I thought was amazing was they basically had no "fluff" during commercials. At Nationwide for Jackets games, every commercial break has some sort of "game" or contest or something with the in-arena host. Detroit basically had none. For the most part, they just showed highlights and/or a "make some noise" graphic. This goes back to earlier in the thread, where I was talking about how the Jackets have to make the game more about the whole entertainment aspect, and trying to bring families. In Detroit, the game's about, well... the game. They don't need that fluff, because they win. The entertainment's on the ice. Soon, that fluff in Nationwide is going to get more and more old (it kind of already is, a little), and they're not going to be able to rely on it.

On a side note (and please don't take offense to this, I'm not trying to flame, especially because you probably don't even live in the city of Detroit itself), Detroit is without a doubt the most miserable city I've ever seen. I thought all the stories were exaggerated... they're not. Literally, right when you passed the Detroit city limits sign on the highway (still about 5 miles from downtown Detroit), there were factories everywhere with smoke coming out all over, and it started to smell terribly. The sky actually got darker, cause of the smoke cover. And downtown Detroit's in shambles. The roads were absolutely awful, buildings were deteriorating right before your eyes, and there was just poverty/homelessness in many, many places. It was sad. I never actually felt unsafe, weirdly, like I was in the ghetto or something. It wasn't like that. It was just a decaying city. It was awful, and I feel terrible for its residents. People make fun of Cleveland (especially after Lebron left), and yes, Cleveland's not exactly the greatest city, but whenever I've gone there, it's at least always seemed clean to me. I was expecting Detroit to be like it. It's much worse. I understand why Detroit takes so much pride in the Red Wings, because it's really the only thing they can take pride in in the whole city, based on what I saw.

Sorry if I'm ripping Detroit too much, I just couldn't believe it.

Yeah, Greektown seemed pretty lively. But that was basically it. I know the suburbs of Detroit are pretty nice, but the city itself isn't. Ironically, many people we talked to said they also only go to Detroit a few times a year, even though they're a short distance away, just for events like you said.