I caught myself quite a few times over the last couple of days thinking “you have to write about this” but then I always remembered the deal with this blog was supposed to be “substance”. And momentarily bitching about some stuff that currently has happenend on that day (in that one moment) is rather the opposite. It’s still something I have to get used to, but so far I’m doing ok with it and found some other outlet for these kind of thoughts which I just have to put down somewhere.
This week’s has been insanely busy, with hockey most of all. It’s playoff time! Besides work, a local green party meeting on Monday and a regional meeting on Saturday afternoon, I went to see the Cologne Sharks first semifinal in Tuesday, watched the second semifinal on TV on Thursday and attend the Iserlohn Roosters hockey season farewell party on Friday. And had a great night with some friends last night as well, so… it was busy. Really busy. I didn’t get as much stuff done for school as I wanted to. And the next week will probably be just as busy. Not to mention that I’ll leave my home in about an hour to meet some friends for coffee in Cologne before I’ll see the third semifinal tonight.
So it’s no wonder, this first longer entry will be about hockey. Cologne won the first game of the semifinal series against Frankfurt with a 7:1 on Tuesday. Seven : One. Wooohooo! It was great game, well, entertaining at least. We had fun and were rather optimistic for game two. It started out just as great with 3:1 in the first period. The second period turned it completly around though and ended 3:3. Cologne scored the 4:3 in minute 57 and we started to get our hopes high again, but Frankfurt scored 4:4 in minute 59 or something. Overtime. And after seven minutes Frankfurt scored the winning goal. Powerplay, like most of the goals of this game were scored in powerplay. I hope the Sharks learn something from that experience. Stay away from the penalty box! Argh! It was too bad and I really hope the Sharks will make it tonight.
So it’s obvious that I love my Cologne Sharks. I really do. And I wouldn’t trade them as my favorite team for anything. But sometimes being a fan of team with a smaller budget, less hype about everything less expectations, in a smaller town can have it’s benefits. So it’s a good thing I took another team – the Iserlohn Roosters – to my heart. And as Iserlohn is located close to my home town and two of my brothers are rooting for this team, it was no problem to attend their season farewell party on Friday Night. It was the first time I attend their party, because it still feels a little bit strange to attend fan-events of another team. But I’m rooting for them as well, I’m a fan… in some way. It was their most successful season since 1987 so they had a lot to celebrate.
It all was totally low-scale compared to the Sharks parties in Cologne, but that’s probably the reason why it was so worth it. The players were approachable from the moment they entered the hall and they mingled with the fans once the official part on stage (with some interviews, tributes and stuff) was over. There will be a season DVD which will be awesome, at least the clips that were shown at the party were really cool. Why doesn’t Cologne ever has an idea like that?
I finally managed to get my Iserlohn jersey signed by it’s player: Paul ‘Hooligan’ Traynor, who he is one of my favorites ever. Not because he’s the best player, because honestly he is not. Not because he’s the best looking, because he’s definitely lost it to Kavanagh this year. But he’s just the coolest, greatest, nicest guy. And he played in Cologne before and I just like him. Too bad I’m too shy to really start a conversation with any player, so my conversations with them usually confine to “Could you sign this, please?” and “Can we take a picture?” But at least I’ve got some pictures. With Paul, of course. And with Pat Kavanagh *sigh* who unfortunately will transfer from Iserlohn to Frankfurt after just this one season. Argh! Frankfurt. Hate, Hate, Hate. They eliminated Iserlohn in the playoffs and that’s reason alone for the Sharks to eliminate them in the semifinal. Taking revenge :-) And they play really dirty sometimes and even their coach is a master of trashtalk. I hate them *g* But Pat Kavanagh is to gorgeous to hate. Wherever he is playing.
I also got pictures with the craziest and coolest goalie of the league, Norm Maracle and with Robert Hock, who is one of the nicest and funniest German hockey players I know. I really hope he’ll be on Team Germany in Halifax. I read somewhere that he’ll join the Team for the training camp and games, but might not be at the world championship because his wife is pregnant and the baby’s scheduled for late April. My friend Heidi who’s got more courage around hockey players than I do, asked him about his wife and he answered: “She’s doing fine, she’s huge *g* and already overseas ins Calgary.” Then somebody else got his attention and he turned away and we were left with our questions like “What? Why? Calgary?”. Bro #1 (the walking hockey and Roosters encyclopedia) explained it to us later: Robert Hock’s wife is the sister of Canadian hockeyplayer and they spends the sommer in Canada and/or the US every year. So he still might be playing at the world championship.
And Heidi was even courageous enough to chat with Paul later on. Really, really chat. More than “Can you please sign this?” At some time he sat down on bench next to where we were chatting with some of my friend’s collegues, who attended the party, because they are hockey fans as well. And before the rest of us could notice, she went over there and just talked to him. And didn’t stop. And neither did he :-) He probably remembered her from a previous encounter, because there probably aren’t that many Cologne Fans at an Iserlohn Fan event. I was watching it in total awe and I was really really happy for her, because he really was attentive to what she was saying and it looked like he enjoyed talking to her.