San Jose, CA I was up and AT THEM!! bright and early on game day and bound for NorCal in my piece of shit rental car. Oh, did I forget to tell you why my rental was a piece of shit? Well, for some reason the MP3 player was @#$%ing up every time I tried to sync my iPod. Basically, it would only play four songs on my playlist and that’s it – and not even four GOOD songs! Anyway, I ended up having to drive with my earphones in (there is nothing that pisses me off more than getting stuck on an endless stretch of highway with a bad music selection), which I’m pretty sure is illegal, but a cop told me to do it, so there you go.
The drive was pretty decent. I made a mental note of all the exit numbers along the I-5 that had obvious IN-N-OUT Burgers. A couple animal styles, a shake, and a gigantic Dr. Pepper is the ONLY correct way to do a California roadie. Oh baby! I think I’m gaining weight just thinking about all this North American fast foodie goodness!
I pulled up to my hotel as Limp Bizkit’s Nookie came on my iPod. I’m not sure why I had that on my Best Ever playlist, but I distinctly remember singing, “Like a chump. Heyyyy. Like a chump. Heyyyyy” as I pulled off the highway and approached the hotel. It felt a lot hotter in San Jose than it did in LA, that’s for damn sure. It was a lot sunnier and nicer, too.
By the time I was settled in I had all of three hours to kill before heading over to the rink. Once I discovered that there was a Pink Berry in town, my mission was clear. I didn’t know that Pink Berry was a chain, I just thought it was a crazy amazing frozen yogurt place in Manhattan. Now that I have made this discovery, I will definitely be adding Pink Berry to my list of places to track down on all future hockey outings. Anyway, I had a massive serving topped with my fave – sliced kiwi. You wouldn’t think kiwi would be a good frozen yogurt flavour, but it’s SHIT HOT!
Over at the Shark Tank, I was blown away by the intensity of the fans who proudly wore their ORANGE playoff shirts despite the fact that they were, well, ORANGE! I have never been in such a loud building in my entire career of hockey wanderings. I’m not sure if the playoff atmosphere had any impact on the fan quality I was witnessing that night. I asked a few people if the fans were “like this” all the time, and they told me that they were. Craziness! I love their cheers, and the chomping shark jaw that they make with their arms during penalties, even if it does resemble an alligator more so than a shark!
It was probably my most enjoyable hockey experience in years! I was glad I got to see the Sharks come away with a 3-2 series lead, mostly so it would make the environment at Pepsi Center a little more hostile during Game 6! Yeah, I’m selfish. Oh, and a word to the wise if you are heading to San Jose in the 2010-11 NHL season: when they say “garlic fries” they mean “GARLIC fries.” Whew! Glad I didn’t have a hot date after the game, I was fresh out of Tic Tacs.
After the game, I went straight back to the hotel and crashed for the night. As much as I wanted to explore NorCal, I was planning to spend my last day in California back in the south with a friend I hadn’t seen since my early November Anaheim Ducks adventure. Sadly, the HP Pavilion would go down in the books as the 23rd active NHL facility that I have visited for an NHL game. I would leave for Korea with seven rinks unexplored and un-ravaged by the hurricane that is the Psycho Lady (eight if you count the new facility in Pittsburgh). So, in case you didn’t know, when I make my glorious return to the NHL, I’m coming for you! That’s right. Tampa, Atlanta, Carolina, Minnesota, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton, I’m coming for you. I just want you to know, the Psycho Lady is coming.
Roll the credits…
