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Last night, a coworker and I went to see the Toronto Maple Leafs play lose to the Boston Bruins at the ACC. We got the tickets from our employer as a thank you, which I thought was really nice. The seats were pretty good, in the reds, up behind the net. Unfortunately, the Leafs lost 6-2, and they played a sloppy game in my opinion. Not very impressive at all, and they deserved to lose. All in all, it was a fun first NHL experience for me. Here’s a few random thoughts about the night:

I was surprised at how lax the rules are with the sale and consumption of beer. We each got a medium beer, which cost about $9 or so. They didn’t ask for ID from either of us, and we were free to carry the beer around wherever we wanted. This goes against anything I’ve experienced at almost any other event where alcohol is served. At concerts, alcohol is only served in roped off or designated areas, away from underage kids, but at the hockey game, you can freely drink your beer anywhere you want.

I was also surprised at the amount of advertising presented. There were commercials on the big screen between plays and during intermissions, and the outer screens that surround the arena constantly cycled through various ads.

I wasn’t really surprised about how overpriced everything was, because everybody already knows that’s just the way it is. However, there’s no way in hell I would ever pay the $146 my ticket was worth to watch the Leafs play. I would much rather go see the Oshawa Generals play, where I can get the best seats in the house for $25, and see a much more exciting, action-packed game.

My first NHL game was fun, but I won’t be going back unless I get free tickets again.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 8:39 am and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Last night, a coworker and I went to see the Toronto Maple Leafs play lose to the Boston Bruins at the ACC. We got the tickets from our employer as a thank you, which I thought was really nice. The seats were pretty good, in the reds, up behind the net. Unfortunately, the Leafs lost 6-2, and they played a sloppy game in my opinion. Not very impressive at all, and they deserved to lose. All in all, it was a fun first NHL experience for me. Here’s a few random thoughts about the night:

I was surprised at how lax the rules are with the sale and consumption of beer. We each got a medium beer, which cost about $9 or so. They didn’t ask for ID from either of us, and we were free to carry the beer around wherever we wanted. This goes against anything I’ve experienced at almost any other event where alcohol is served. At concerts, alcohol is only served in roped off or designated areas, away from underage kids, but at the hockey game, you can freely drink your beer anywhere you want.

I was also surprised at the amount of advertising presented. There were commercials on the big screen between plays and during intermissions, and the outer screens that surround the arena constantly cycled through various ads.

I wasn’t really surprised about how overpriced everything was, because everybody already knows that’s just the way it is. However, there’s no way in hell I would ever pay the $146 my ticket was worth to watch the Leafs play. I would much rather go see the Oshawa Generals play, where I can get the best seats in the house for $25, and see a much more exciting, action-packed game.

My first NHL game was fun, but I won’t be going back unless I get free tickets again.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 8:39 am and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.