Hockey will always be my First Love

Hello (or, as I am practicing Finnish, perhaps I should say "hei" instead)! I'm Cat, a Texas girl with a deep, deep love of hockey. I've turned down dates because boys don't know anything about hockey. I've taken tons of verbal abuse for being a hockey fan in the South. All of this, and I don't care a bit, because hockey will always be my First Love. I am very, very proud to be the voice of the Dallas Stars here on HLOG!

The main thing to know about me is that I have a mad love for goalies. It's really no secret, particularly if you read my blog, Untypical Girls.

1. Where you're from, what you do - basic things.
I'm from Dallas - I like to say that I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could. I work with animals (and kids, but they're kind of one in the same, aren't they?) at the zoo part-time, while I go to school to get my vet tech certification. Other basic things? I write and play music, and spend far too much time watching sports. Oh, wait...That's totally not possible! There is no such thing as too much sport-watching.

2. Your team and why you like them.
The Dallas Stars. I'm a hometown girl, and I'm not a fairweather fan like many in Dallas. I stick by my teams. I suppose if I have to give a reason for liking them further than that, it's because they were the first NHL team I ever saw play. After getting into the organization and stuff, and dealing with ticket reps, I discovered that I loved them even more, because everyone that I've encountered has been so pleasant to deal with.

3. Your least favourite team and why?
I have a few - Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche. I don't like the Predators because the majority of the fans that I've encountered have been really unpleasant (also, that whole Tootoo-Robidas thing last season killed me dead). Red Wings and Avs I don't like mostly because there's kind of an unspoken rivalry, I guess.

4. Your favourite player of all time & now?
Marty Turco, now and forever. He seems like the nicest guy - he will always stop to talk to a fan - and he's been a great leader on our team. Love him so, so much. Plus, I have a soft spot for goalies. And by "soft spot", I mean "I LOVE THEM MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY".

5. If you had to punch one hockey player or member of the NHL organisation, who and why?
I wouldn't punch a hockey player - they'd probably punch me back. However, I would totally punch Gary Bettman in the face. He has been messing with hockey for years, and I want him to stop.

6. What you'll be looking forward in this group blog.
I don't really keep up with too many other teams, so it'll be nice to be able to read about other teams, from their fans' perspective. Plus, I like the whole group dynamic.

7. What you don't like in general?
Out of like, everything in the world? Wow, that's a lot. A lack of common sense kind of tops my list. Also, obnoxious hockey fans (well, I have a love-hate relationship with obnoxious hockey fans). And being poor...Which the Stars aren't helping me with. Stupid Stars and their stupid awesomeness.

8. What role do female fans play in keeping the game alive?
I think that female fans are less likely to be fairweather fans, who only like the team when they're doing well. Female fans (at least the ones I've encountered) are far more loyal. We're also the ones who are more likely to go to events that aren't games - player autograph signings or charity events that the team may take part in.

9. What role do female fans play in picking heroes for the community?
We're way less likely to like a player who is a douchebag. I mean, seriously. We have that whole intuition thing, and we can sense when someone is a douche, and something tells me that we wouldn't select them to be the hometown hero. Women also tend to root for the little guy, the newer guys on the team who are less likely to get as much attention.

10. Hockey just isn't the same without...
Obnoxious fans. The scent of ice, new jerseys, and stale popcorn. Ridiculously overpriced merchandise. Oh, and nachos.

11. If you were on a deserted island, which player would you pick to stay with you?
Mike Smith, and I am not just saying that because I adore him. He's big and strong, and looks like he could probably kill a wild boar or something for food. He might have been a Boy Scout or something, so maybe he knows how to start a fire using nothing but bubblegum and a paperclip...Oh wait, that's MacGyver. He seems like a really cool dude - every time I've met him he's been incredibly nice and funny and charming, and so if I had to be stranded, it might as well be with someone who's cool.

12. Crosby, Ovechkin or Phaneuf (hey he tried!)?
Ovechkin, because he is Russian. I love Phaneuf, though, because he DID try, and I like Crosby because of how he says "OVECHKIN!" in that NHL Road Trip commercial. Ovechkin's Russian-ness still wins, though.

13. The player you'd like to take for a grand night out/a movie/a boring event?
All of mine are Stars players - you can deal with it, right?
Grand night out: Mike Smith - I want to see him in a tux, and he probably wouldn't be totally boring.

A movie: Mike Modano. Honestly, he seems like kind of a boring dude, but it's a movie - you don't really have to talk anyway.

A boring event: Steve Ott. I was going to say Krys Barch (he seriously spent 10 minutes talking to me and my friend about his awesome new kid, while the ticket rep was trying to get us to go away, but he KEPT ON TALKING), but the more I think about it, the more I think Otter would make things super interesting.

14. If you could make your own team, regardless of whatever players, what would it be called and where will it be/how would it be like?
My team would totally rule. I would probably call it something feline-related, just because if I'm going to be the owner, I might as well name it after myself. If Gun Barrel City, Texas, was big enough to warrant a hockey team, I'd totally put my team there, because...HELLO. Gun Barrel City. I think the Gun Barrel City Bullets has a nice ring to it.