The Arizona Prophecy is probably the strangest thing to ever grace the archives of this blog, or ANY hockey related blog for that matter. It’s the one event that seemed to really divide my readers between “fans” and haters. Seeing as this is MY blog, I feel like I can write about MY life anyway that I see fit, but I do realize that the subject matter of this overarching subplot was not for everyone. Anyway, seeing as today is the NHL Trade Deadline, it is also the one year anniversary of the Arizona Prophecy and my launching into what you have now come to know as my Carmen Sandiego-like adventures around the hockey world. So, perhaps for the last time, we look at whatever became of the prophecy, and what I did or did not learn along the way.

Here’s a brief summary for those who are not familiar with the Arizona Prophecy. For about two years leading up to the 2009 Trade Deadline, multiple psychics told me that the man I was “meant to be with” had a connection to Arizona. I should probably clarify that I don’t normally take this stuff seriously, but I do attend a couple psychic fairs a year for fun with friends, etc. It struck me as odd that this Arizona Prophecy was coming up over and over again with different psychics. Anyway, around early November 2008, I started having my own unshakable feelings that this prophecy was about to become a reality.

Seeing as I was always a crazy traveling hockey fan, I knew that I wouldn’t be drawn to Arizona unless it was for hockey. But the Coyotes! Really? (Remember they were CRAPPY then!) Even I thought it was an unlikely move for me to make without the right prompting. However, by November that year I started planning my switch to Phoenix if the pieces fell into place the way I was told they would. Less than four months later, they did.

On March 4th, 2009 the stars aligned and the cards fell exactly as the prophecy foretold. I found myself with a major personal decision to make. Should I ignore this massive thing (sign, manifestation?) that was staring me in the face, and go back to my normal life? Or should I do the ballsy thing and feed my own curiosity, and find out what may or may not be waiting for me in the desert? I had nothing to lose. No matter what, I was going to be following one hockey team or another, so I decided to jump the Coyotes bandwagon and see what came of it. I don’t regret making my decision.

One year later, it is not clear if I found “the one” after spending all the time that I did in the Coyotes camp. Of course, I can’t be sure that I haven’t found him either. Like I said, the Arizona Prophecy is one of the major things that contributed to Psycho Lady Hockey becoming what it is today. I have met a lot of great people and have had a lot of opportunities presented to me because of this success. You can never be sure where your connections will lead you – that’s life. The whole experience felt magical, and I’m really not of the belief that the last year was a complete waste. I’m sure things will reveal themselves in due time, but I will admit that, given the electricity of the situation, it was mildly disappointing that this “mystery man” was not just waiting with open arms the moment I touched down at Sky Harbour or arrived at the rink for my first Coyotes game.

The annoying thing about the Arizona Prophecy, which was also the biggest factor in causing me to back off of it in the long run, was the conclusions that jealous anti-fans and obsessive gentlemen jumped to over my “real reason” for switching teams to Phoenix – trying to land a hockey player via stalking. The Arizona Prophecy was never about marrying a hockey player. It was about letting myself move with the universe, fate, destiny or whatever it is, and go with the flow and see what came of it. I was never even of the attitude that love was what I was meant to find even though that’s what I was told was there. I was open to anything. I suppose the confusing thing was that I determined that the Coyotes played into it somehow. It wasn’t necessarily that I was supposed to find one of the players, I just figured that since I was a traveling hockey writer, this person may appear in the process of me writing about my Coyotes adventures. The accusations finally became too bothersome to put up with; I was tired of having to explain and defend myself to strangers. However, my decision to leave the Coyotes only succeeded in facilitating even more rumours of the same variety.

The positive thing about the Arizona Prophecy was that I learned a lot about myself in the process. I learned about what I was capable of as a person and what I wanted in life. A lot of the flack I get is from misguided individuals who assume I’m a puck bunny because I look a certain way. Because of my history studying these types of fans, I am comfortable with myself as a fan and don’t feel the need to try to convince people I’m not this thing that they don’t even fully understand in the first place. The thing is that I have dated hockey players, which could make me a puck bunny in the eyes of the uneducated. But the thing is that I have been very involved with hockey almost all my life, which means that I would be hard pressed to find anyone to date if I automatically wrote off any guy who ever played hockey in my social circle. I think I know maybe two guys who don’t!

Contrary to popular belief, however, the NHL hockey wife lifestyle is extremely unattractive to me. It’s not something I want for myself. One of the things I’ve learned on this journey was that I am an adventuress. I think I will always be looking for my next adventure. The Arizona Prophecy even helped me to get myself on my career path after I finished school. I realized what I needed in my life to be happy: mystery, travel, excitement, drama, change, unpredictability, and danger. I became very sure of myself and where I needed to go. Now, I would never NOT date someone I liked because of what he did for a living (well…maybe a gynecologist…not sure how I feel about that one), but I think about hockey wives/girlfriends laying by their pools all day with their biggest worries being that their implants are starting to sag and that they haven’t tweeted in the last couple hours to confirm to the world that they are still with their hockey playing golden ticket, and I can’t even imagine my life that way. I can’t imagine exploring the world by its shopping districts and spas alone. It’s a shallow existence to be so concerned with your image. I personally can’t even fathom a life this boring, but then again I’m not the materialistic type. So, I don’t really understand the joy someone might get from splashing money around and trying to act like a “rock star.” They obviously get something from it I would imagine.

Like I said, I learned a lot about myself roaming the proverbial deserts of the Arizona Prophecy. I now know that adventure and experiences are the most valuable and meaningful things I think I can spend my life and breath on. That’s not to say that I want a life without ambition. I’m just saying I will be unhappy if I haven’t seen and done everything that I want to in my lifetime. I need constant movement for my sanity. It’s taking everything I have in me right now to keep me from jumping in the car and driving for days with no specific destination in mind.

The funniest thing about the Arizona Prophecy and that whole soul mate business is that, until all the pieces fell into place and I was faced with the opportunity to find this important person, I was never really preoccupied with love. I usually found that dating just kind of got in the way, so it was really an amazing thing that I even opted to give into the predictions and just charge forward looking for someone that I didn’t even know existed. I guess that meant I was finally ready to consider sharing my adventures with another person. However, after twelve months of NHL suites, Ritz Carltons, and front row hockey tickets, I realized that what I really wanted in terms of love was what I started to refer to as the “shack in the woods” element. Essentially, I want the love of my life to be free of the phony superficial bullshit. I want someone who wants me for me ONLY, not what I have or what I do for a living (and vice versa). Someone who doesn’t have to keep up the sham of our relationship by taking me shopping and buying me shoes. But perhaps that’s a bit of a pipe dream. It seems everyone subscribes to these Paris Hilton-type values these days. Sigh.

As for the future of the Arizona Prophecy, I’m not sure that I want to give up on it entirely. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. I’m entertaining the idea of taking another sojourn in Arizona (for non-hockey reasons this time) and giving the whole thing one final chance to manifest. Of course, I did consider that maybe all the prophecy was were predictions that just happened to come true; maybe they meant nothing at all. Regardless, I’m feeling that call to adventure and exploration very strongly again. I found out that there is a good chance that I will be moving far, far, far north for work, and I’m really excited about it if I do get this assignment. So, before I disappear into the isolation of the Arctic wilderness, perhaps one last sweep of the desert is in order, sooner than later, before it becomes more than a destination of inconvenience, and my alleged soul mate is lost to the sands forever.

Roll the credits…

(I still can’t listen to Muse without being reminded of driving around Arizona with the top down at night)