Ticket Stub Tales: Nov. 22, 2005
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals, Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh – 11/22/2005
The very first Crosby vs. Ovechkin game. There was a lot of hype, of course. It was obvious that greatness was already in reach for both of these guys. But even more importantly at the time, everybody WANTED them to be great. You couldn’t get much more anticipation for a regular season hockey game, and justifiably so.
The Pens have a program called Student Rush, where your student ID gets you a decent ticket at a reasonable price. ($25 now, but I believe it was $20 at the time.) The Penguins don’t need to do this — especially now, when every game sells out — but they keep doing it anyway, even though fewer tickets are available these days. Why? Well, the Pens are a class organization. But that’s not all. Student Rush is a great idea, because it continues to build a fan base. Young folks, some who have never been to a hockey game before, get to see sold-out games for cheap. You may lose a few bucks on ticket prices, but you might be adding new fans for life. And it adds to the game atmosphere. Because, hey, you know those college kids. Not afraid to get loud and rowdy. It’s really a great idea, and I don’t understand why more teams don’t have similar programs.
Student Rush. That was the path we took that night. It was just me and my friend, Allan. The line was long and the air was cold, but the tickets were cheap. Crosby and Ovechkin waited inside. And the rest of the Pens and Caps, of course. Those Pens included some guy named Lemieux. And…Ziggy Palffy! Sergei Gonchar! John LeClair, who could hardly skate at that point! Steve Poapst! LASSE PIRJETA!
So, we waited in line. And waited. And it was colder than we thought. I was just wearing my Lemieux jersey over a t-shirt, and after a while, that just wasn’t cutting it. God, it was freezing. We were out there for at least an hour, probably longer.
Finally, the line started moving. It was a very long line, and they could have run out of tickets at any second, but we had faith, and hey, we had waited too long to leave. We got closer. And closer. The gate was in sight. That’s when it happened.
It wasn’t quite what you’d see in a cartoon, with the two of us bounding happily to the ticket window, only to see a metal SOLD OUT gate slammed in our faces. But it wasn’t far off. We were only a few people away from the final tickets to be sold that night.
So, that was it. The game had already started. But we weren’t about to get this far and not get in. A quick decision was made: Find a scalper and pay up. We found a guy with $75 tickets. Pretty good seats. The game had already started by now, so it wasn’t tough to talk him down. I think we got to $60 or so (could have been less), and we were finally in. Ah, the (relative) waiting warmth of Mellon Arena.
By the time we got to our seats, it was 4-0 Pens, and getting near the end of the first period. I knew we’d be lucky to see another Pens goal. (We saw one, from Palffy, with Crosby picking up an assist.)
The Caps came back, but ended up falling short, 5-4. I don’t remember much about Crosby from the game, other than getting ready to catch my breath every time he touched the puck. The Kid was great. We all knew it.
Ovechkin, however, was the most noticeable player on the ice. I didn’t say he was the best player on the ice, though. He was out of control. Whereas Crosby seemed to take the game in stride, you could tell Ovechkin knew the hockey world was watching that night, so he cranked it up. He was trying to stick handle through three guys at once, throwing his body around, taking wild shots. I specifically remember a whiff and a wipe out at some point from Ovechkin, much to the delight of the crowd. He was TOO amped up.
It didn’t help that the crowd was already booing him every time he touched the puck. The booing got louder as the game went on, though, and that had everything to do with Ovechkin playing like he was on speed. He single-handedly wanted to bring his team back that night. He wanted to be the star of the show. He and the crowd pushed each other all game long.
In the end, it wasn’t enough. I wonder if that night showed me something about Ovechkin that I didn’t realize at the time. His blessing is his curse. Yes, he’ll usually be the most noticeable player on the ice, and he can always wow you with his ability. But maybe, he still doesn’t know when to let off the gas a little bit, when to make the smarter play, when to make the right pass, or how to let his talent work in more subtle ways.
When you show a hockey fan Ovechkin and Crosby for the first time, all team biases aside, chances are, that fan will gravitate toward Ovechkin. (Casual fans or non-hockey fans will likely choose Ovechkin by a wide margin, I’m assuming. At least, Ovechkin circa 2005-2009. But that’s a point for another time.) But during the course of a few more games, or a season — maybe during the course of a career — that’s when you really notice the genius of Crosby.
Now, it’s not like Crosby’s a boring player. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s the best. He’s got oodles of sick plays in his oeuvre, but his skating style is strong and smooth. Ovechkin is wild and choppy, like all of his energy is going to burst right through his skin.
Ovechkin took the third star that night, with one assist. With one goal and one assist, Crosby got the first star. (Though Ziggy Palffy probably should have gotten the first star that night, with two goals and one assist.)
I never got a program when I walked through the door, but as I was leaving the arena that night, I saw one on the floor. The cover was ripped and partially stained.
“Are you sure you want to keep that?” Allan asked me.
I looked at it again. “Yeah.”
I still have that program.