Liam's First Sharks Game

I finally did it. After years of debating when the right time would be,
I took Liam to a hockey game. I had gotten Greg three tickets to the
Sharks vs. the Thrashers for his birthday. I know, I know. It was as
much a gift for me as for him. But he's really hard to buy for and
likes events more than stuff.

Anyway, the game started at 1:00, so I wanted to be there no later than
12:30. We got up and got ready - All three of us in our Sharks jerseys
(Greg and Liam had gotten new jerseys for Christmas). We dropped
Brianna off with Grandma and Poppi and then headed to the game. It's an
hours drive and Liam did the typical are we there yet, when are we going
to be there, why is this taking so long. I decided to spend more and
park near the arena just in case Liam fell asleep and we'd have to carry
him. Greg is still in a 'boot' from his ankle surgery and while he can
get around, I didn't want him to have to carry Liam a long distance in a
crush of humanity. Turns out Liam was wide awake and didn't fall asleep
until we were half way to Marina.

We get inside, do a potty run, and find our seats. Liam is still
pinging with excitement. I actually felt sick to my stomach on the ride
up because I was so excited for him. Would he like the game? Would he
get bored one period in? Would I be able to enjoy the game?

He LOVED it. He's head was on a constant swivel taking everything in.
He couldn't wait to get the cotton candy we promised him. He loved the
lights. He was mesmerized by the shark head coming down onto the ice
(they keep it covered in a huge black cloth until right before the
players skate through it onto the ice). He just kept saying, "Look at
that. What's that?"

And then SJ Sharkie (the mascot, in case you couldn't figure it out)
came rappelling down from the rafters and Liam was hooked. He was
hooked before the game even started. It was one of those moments where
you're just so proud and your heart is screaming, "Yeah, that's my son!"
He loved when the players skated through the shark head with the glowing
red eyes. "See that? See that?"

So the game started. Liam enjoyed clapping along to the music and the
folks around us enjoyed him. No goals were scored during the first and
second periods, but there was a good fight. Which after I cheered it on
and felt kind of bad about it, I explained to Liam that fighting is only
ok in hockey and boxing. Greg just gave me one of his looks, like "Yeah
right, he's going to buy that after you just cheered on the guys
pummeling each other."

I can't remember what period it was but the cotton candy man was walking
up the stairs near us (we were in the middle of a row, down in the lower
bowl - section 109 for those of you in the know). Liam saw him and we
explained that he needed to raise his hand to get the guys attention.
He totally reminded me of that character from Welcome Back Kotter. He
was practically jumping out of his seat. The folks around us smiled. I
smiled. The cotton candy guy threw the bag at Liam. Greg passed his
money down the line. Liam was happy. We all were happy. The Sharks
hadn't scored yet.

We also had to keep telling Liam that he could be as loud as he wanted.
I had to keep screaming during the make some noise parts of the game
just to show him that it was okay to be loud inside. The Sharks went on
a power play. We showed Liam how to chomp. He did small little chomps
(not the big chomps he does at home), but I believe the first power play
he was still eating cotton candy. The Sharks scored the first goal. We
jumped up and cheered. Liam was looking up at us. We got him up out of
his seat. He couldn't see over all the adults around him. I offered to
pick him up. Greg offered to pick him up. He was happy to sit there
and watch all these adults acting crazy.

About half way through the third period I saw where the camera man was
and I started to get Liam to dance in his seat during stoppages in play
whenever the camera man was pointed our way. Then two rows in front of
us a man put his small child (1 yr?) standing on his lap and dancing
around. The camera man caught it. I looked up at the jumbotron. There
was Liam over the right shoulder of the kid dancing away and not knowing
why Mommy and Daddy were so excited. By the time we got him to look at
the jumbotron the image was gone and replaced by the players in the face
off circle. I was super excited. Greg made some crazy comment about me
painting our faces for the next game.

After the game was over, we headed down to the Sharks store. There was
a huge line. Liam waited patiently. He just had to get something for
himself and his sister (he's so thoughtful). He got her a little plush
SJ Sharkie. He got himself a small goalie stick and a rubber bracelet
(a boy's bracelet). He hasn't taken off the bracelet as of 6:30 this
morning. I remained strong and didn't buy anything for myself.

The Sharks won the game easily, but more importantly they won over
another fan. I can't wait for our next game in March. And maybe next
year we'll introduce Brianna to the Shark Tank.