Cesky Hokej!

It's not like hockey is uncommon in a lot of Europe - I'm still kicking myself for not realizing how accessible things would have been when I was over there if I'd only stopped being stupid and asked our housing admin how to get to Pardubice. But I haven't had a lot of really weird hockey sightings so you'll have to bear with me because it was at least a weird coincidence.

So two summers ago I was in Prague on my birthday. My roommate and I went out for a great Czech dinner and drinks, and were supposed then to meet up with a group of people at Lucerna Music Bar for what promised to be an absolutely ridiculous "90s music night". Because a lot of us didn't know each other yet, the Czech who was organizing it told us all to wear red so we could find each other easily. So of course, I pulled out the trusty Red Wings shirt and we headed out and had a great time - Czechs love them some 90s music. When we finally left Lucerna it was around 2:00 am - this was only our first week there and we hadn't been out that late so we had a heck of a time figure out how to get home via the trams, and while we were meandering aimlessly all of a sudden I hear, "GO WINGS!"


And right here, on this street side, there is a guy from Detroit hollering at me and informing me that he was hoping he ran into me because, "I saw you on stage in there, I'm from Detroit!" (Uh, yeah, we were.) Weird. He taught us how to use the tram, though.

Of course there's no way I could mention hockey sightings in Prague without mentioning the obvious one - we knew Jagr had a sports bar, but we didn't expect to run headfirst into a life size portrait of him sitting outside of it. Of course we had to go - the bar itself had pretty good food and was neat looking, complete with confusing Red Wings goalie and winding staircase centering around a nifty cup replica. I think they might have gone a little too far though...

Because Jagr watching me in the bathrooms creeps me out. (I hear the bar is gone now - wonder who got to keep those photos.)

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Hockey at the Zoo

Living in Dallas, if I see anything hockey-related, it's usually for the Stars. Most people here are not hockey fans, they are Stars fans. There is a difference. Stars fans will only root for the Stars, and not know much about hockey at all, really, they just know that they want the Stars to have more points on the board at the end of the game.

Hockey fans, however, will watch a nationally broadcast game just because it's on, just because it's hockey. They don't care that it's not a team they don't follow, they just want to watch hockey. I don't encounter these people very often. Some people here even look at me funny when I mention that we have a hockey team, which, really? The Stars are the last team to bring a championship cup to Dallas. But, it's the South. Football reigns supreme around here.

That said, it makes me really happy when I see other hockey sweaters around here. I work at the zoo, and on a chilly day a couple of weeks ago, I saw a gentleman wearing an Ottawa Senators jersey. He stopped me to ask me a question, and after I had answered it, I congratulated him on his chosen team making it to the Stanley Cup Finals (I was rooting for the Sens, too), and we chatted for a couple of minutes about hockey.

Now, if this could happen to me more often, I'd really appreciate it. Also, that story kind of sucks, so I apologize. It definitely doesn't beat Kerri's Lourve story, or Tracy's OBGYN story. But it's all I've got.

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Does Vermont count as strange?

I work in a sports bar, and although that's still home, we do get a lot of interesting traffic (and since all my trips out of state recently have been hockey related, seeing a Pens fan at the Kettler Iceplex isn't such a big surprise). I've met some neat people in my time there, and some hockey fans as well, but aside from meeting a Dallas fan last year, my best find was a local that was wearing a Luongo Panther's t-shirt, and having a nice little chat with him about Mr. Roboto.

Does meeting John Leclair's college roommate while walking my dog count?

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Dr. Strange Hockey

It's a little more difficult for me to do this than the majority of you. My whole hockey experience is weird - I live in the middle of the desert. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, beyond that I would have to say that taking my old bestie to her OBGYN (that's mommy/baby doctor for all you uneducated schlubs, at least I think it is...) and him wearing a Red Wings shirt under his (open) lab coat was probably the least expected hockey moment I've ever had.

Honestly, I tried to convince her to switch doctors. Not because he was in jeans and sneakers, not because he called her dude, not even because he looked about 15... but how can you honestly trust someone wearing a Wings shirt?

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Paris, France

Let me take a stab at this.

It's not strange to see something hockey related here in New York. Although Yankees hats may be a bit more prevalent, there are enough hockey teams around that you’re bound to see a Ranger, Islander, or Devil symbol hanging around somewhere.

When I took a trip a couple months ago to Paris, London, and Dublin, I was quite concerned about leaving while the Rangers were in the midst of a playoff run. Thanks to Chris Drury (oh, the irony), I didn’t have much to worry about. They were out before I left.

Anyway, I went to the Louvre on my second day in Paris. (I think I cried stepping into that building, lol. Forgive me; I enjoy art and am a history major.) I wore a Ranger shirt with Jagr’s name on the back. I needed to dress casual considering the amount of walking I was doing… and quite honestly, all I own is Ranger tee’s. I was in this long hall of early Renaissance portraits (heading towards the Mona Lisa) when I heard from behind me “Jagr Sucks.”

Who the hell in Paris is telling me that Jaromir Jagr sucks? I was used to suffering through desperate attempts to understand small bits of French and English accents that clearly I was not used too, but this guy sounded like he was a native North American. I whipped around to see this red-haired tall dude with a Calgary Flames t-shirt on and grin on his face. I grinned back. ”No, you…” I started, ready to comment on the Flames early exit from the playoffs, but he was already walking the other way.

Rude.

As a side note, I didn’t make it to “The Great Canadian,” a Canadian Pub in Paris, but I was told rumors that they were playing the Stanley Cup Finals there. (I had to resort to emails letting me know who was winning the series.)

My Strangest Place for a Hockey Sighting? The Lourve, Paris, France. :-)

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Weekly Topic: Hockey in strange places

Considering the last non-topical weekly challenge went fairly well, I wanted to continue with another one.

Anyway several months ago, I'm at a concert. A girl is holding a little bag with the Phlyers logo. My jaw almost hits the ground. Either a) the girl is really wanting to not get laid that night or b) I need to leave the concert before I pledge my allegiance to Simon Gagne or something. So it really hits me sometimes I do see hockey or a hint of hockey that makes my heart leap. Everyday I tell myself I'll probably hug anyone who wears something Habs-related, only to realise I missed one a week ago.

Either way, when was the last time you saw something hockey in a strange place?

Anyway on other things - my internets died in the Jordi HLOG central. With my cell as my only form of contact to the NHL, Sidney Crosby still wont return my calls.

And on Jordi skate day, it's 2 down, 10 more to go. Another shitty session shortened by the sudden arrival of annoying school classes. I wanted to take them all down off the ice. And oh yeah, I still suck.

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