I've never been to a hockey game...

["Richard"]

am I really missing out on anything?? I have a really big TV with suround sound and listen pretty much on full blast... I get all the good camera shots and am not stuck behind some who keeps getting in my way, get to see action from the best possible sight lines and not the same one all game... I get to hear comentators, get all the relevant stats about the players and so on...

right? wrong?? should I go to a game??

[dreaded_snowman]

Yes, you should go. It's a completely different experience. Like the difference between porn and sex. Sure, you get all the angles and have "surround sound", but you're not THERE!

Snowman

[Big Johnny69]

Yes, you should go. It's a completely different experience. Like the difference between porn and sex. Sure, you get all the angles and have "surround sound", but you're not THERE!

Snowman

That's a fantastic analogy.

"Richard", if you give me enough warning the next time you're back in town we could hit up a hockey game. I think you'd like a junior game. These kids are playing for the love of the game, not because they are getting paid to. Pretty exciting stuff. LMK, would gladly head to a game with you.

[jonf]

yes you should....sit in the nosebleeds to get the true experience....and go somewhere where the fans really get into it...ie, not scotiabank place

[covanant]

Yes, you should go. It's a completely different experience. Like the difference between porn and sex. Sure, you get all the angles and have "surround sound", but you're not THERE!

Snowman

Giggady..gigaady goo

[Wilster]

I went to the season opener of the 67's and i was really impressed, great atmosphere ,pretty inexpensive, and great hockey too.

[knickers]

67's are the way to go. For the price of going to 5 or 6 sens games, I get seasons tickets. Plenty of talent, hits, fights, and with the #1 rated draft pick playing in ottawa this year you cant go wrong.

[Pinshark]

see a junior game and a NHL game.....Somewhere other then Ottawa. Toronto or Montreal would be a much better experience. The fans are different I think its because they can drink after work instead of driving through traffic to get to the game

[Law]

If it has to be in Ottawa, wait till the post season. Regular season is just too quiet in there, which is dissapointing.

[Golfbum]

Go to an OHL Game Richard. Maybe the ICE DOGS if you can get to one. Or the Ottawa 67's. You can watch Logan Couture (once he gets back from his bout with Mono). He is rated in the Top 10 for the 2007 NHL Draft.

In London the KNIGHTS RULE. Full house every home game, over 9,000 per game. The JLC rocks when the Knights play. Exciting hockey. When London scores the fans go nuts! It is hard to get tickets for games there. I was looking to buy a pair of tickets for a game on December 29, against Barrie. Already sold out. The only way I can get into a game is to get tickets from my brother in law, who is with the team. That is how popular the Knights are in London.

You will be watching young players who are trying to impress NHL Scouts. You will be watching players that have already been drafted into the NHL.

For the money you can not go wrong with an OHL Game. Grab some popcorn, and sit and enjoy a good game of hockey in person.

[jonf]

If it has to be in Ottawa, wait till the post season. Regular season is just too quiet in there, which is dissapointing.

Scotiabank is even quiter during the playoffs (mostly because they're always losing), and you're paying more.

It's definitely worth your money to see a 67's game though. High scoring, lots of hitting, quite a few tussles. It's amazing how entertaining it can be when all 12 guys on the ice are playing for their futures instead of for another ridiculously large paycheck. They always put it all on the line.

[3Jack]

Wholly crud what horrid reviews for watching NHL games in Ottawa at Scotiabank Place... I've been to games at the ACC, at the Bell Center, and at Scotiabank Place in the past 12 months and honestly, there's not that big a difference - a Saturday game in Montreal certainly has more ambiance, but in Toronto, the ACC provides less atmosphere than the friggin' moon.

I think it's fashionable to run down the Scotiabank Place because of its location and the stereotypical high-tech / goverment worker fans who allegedly sit on their hands until the Sens score. There are as many nervous nellies in Toronto and Montreal as there are here, who are just waiting for their team to fail. I think we're far to introspective and fail to see that sports fans are the same from market to market, and its easy to buy into the notion that the grass is greener at a rival venue.

Have you honestly ever not enjoyed yourself going to a Sens game?

[jonf]

i can honestly say that, of the 7 or8 games i've been to, i enjoyed 4. The first was at the Civic centre, I was about 8 years old at the most, and the sens lost about 13-2 to St. Louis. I would have loved it if they lost 100-0...it was my first NHL game. The next one I really enjoyed was at the Corel Centre after playing in the "rink of dreams" program...it was just so cool to see Tugger in net and say "man...i was standing there making saves 2 hours ago. The next was the greatest game in Sens history. Game 6 against New Jersey...can't remember the year...first playoff series win though...Igor Kravchuk's empty netter drove the nail through the Devils' heart....ya, you know the game. I was there, and it was friggin aweseome. The other game I truly enjoyed was a playoff game against the Leafs. Me and my brothers were sitting in the nosebleeds - it was a tight game, but we lost. Why did I enjoy it so much? Because it was one of the first series against the leafs, so the fans were not EXPECTING to lose, and we were sitting next to a bunch of leaf fans and jawing at each other all night.

The difference is, when you go to a Sens game these days, there's an expectation of failure - that even if you win one game, it's going downhill after that. Nobody has any faith, and it only takes 3 minutes of bad play to turn the whole crowd silent.

[gumby]

Have to agree that going to a game at the bank is really not the place to see a hockey game. Went to see the leafs last thursday, bought front row seats as
my friend had never been to a game, bought a tee shirt a hat and two beer for
23 bucks(actually did that a few times), but imagine two beers for 23 bucks before
tip, anyway we had a couple of leaf fans beside us who were ok, but my friend was
having a good time picking on them and use a little four letter word combinded with
"losers" and guess what...we were asked to leave because it was annoying someone,
not the leaf fans by the way....its a friggin sports event, not the ballet...if four letter
words are an reason to be ejected, we were close enough that there should have
been a few players on both sides that should have been kicked out...
anyway i wont go back, will go see the 67"s instead, of a game in montreal
or toronto where you are allowed to be a little loud..

[jonf]

That's ridiculous. I hope you put up a fight with some more 4 letter words involved. I can't say I'm surprised though, particularly in the lower bowls. People pay a lot of money for those lower bowl seats, and the last thing most of them want to do is actually EXPERIENCE a hockey game. All they want to experience is the 23 dollar beers and luxury service that they get...they'd be much better off watching the game at home in front of their massive plasma tvs sipping on 20 year old brandy while Geeves fetches the next plate of caviar. Hockey rinks should be for real fans with too much beer in their system and not enough time to yell enough childish taunts at the opposing team.

[big mac]

I guess we lost again?

[3Jack]

Why drop f-bombs on other patrons though? Why is that acceptable?

["Richard"]

going to another bball game on sunday, toronto vs san antonio spurs... I just want to make sure I go to a really good hockey game. I would love to see the pens in ottawa or toronto

[em69]

Why drop f-bombs on other patrons though? Why is that acceptable?

I agree. In a public place with kids around...there is no reason for it.

Richard,
All I can say is you better get a good parking spot. I've sat in my car for 1 hour due to parking lot traffic jams after hockey games.

["Richard"]

I live 5 minutes away from the air canada centre I'll walk there in my malkin jersy

[em69]

That is the best parking spot you can get.

[jonf]

Why drop f-bombs on other patrons though? Why is that acceptable?

They weren't patrons, they were leaf fans. Seriously though, according to the story, they were having some fun with the leaf fans, who didn't have a problem with it. If the leaf fans had complained because they were getting harassed, that would be one thing, but they didn't. So why should they be kicked out. Like he said, if you're down that close to the ice, you can definitely hear the players (who, btw, are the role models, not the other fans) cursing (especially in the dead quiet of Scotiabank place) so what's wrong with a few guys getting a little worked up. I also imagine that if there had been a couple of kids sitting behind him, he would have toned down the language. Also, most children these days know more curse words by the age of 10 than most people on here probably did in college.

["Richard"]

Jonf F, are you saying that if I want to swear at players and really try to get them off their game I should go to a sens game then?

[jonf]

Nope, cuz you'll get kicked out for having too much fun.

[gumby]

its me again...there were no little kids around, i looked, just some up tight people
who think that going to a hockey game means they should sit on thier hands
and not yell or cheer...it also wasnt a constant stream of f words, but i guess there
was one tooo many ...leason learned...go somewhere else to have fun...
hopefully they are more tolerante during concerts..

[em69]

its me again...there were no little kids around, i looked, just some up tight people
who think that going to a hockey game means they should sit on thier hands
and not yell or cheer...it also wasnt a constant stream of f words, but i guess there
was one tooo many ...leason learned...go somewhere else to have fun...
hopefully they are more tolerante during concerts..

So you're saying you need to swear to have fun?

[Shivas Irons]

Yes, you should go. It's a completely different experience. Like the difference between porn and sex.

But not really.
It's more like the differnce between porn and going to watch the peelers. If you buy a ticket to a hockey you're still not a participant, you're a spectator. You don't actually get to play in the game, if you did the ticket price would be justified.
IMO people who tell you go somewhere other than Ottawa to see a game don't know WTF they're talking about. Sorry, but going to see a game in the new arenas in TO & Mtl is nothing special unless you consider seeing drunken idiots special.
Watch the game at home and save your money for hookers & gin.

[3Jack]

IMO people who tell you go somewhere other than Ottawa to see a game don't know WTF they're talking about. Sorry, but going to see a game in the new arenas in TO & Mtl is nothing special unless you consider seeing drunken idiots special.

I agree, 100 percent. I attended games at the Forum and at MLG, and those were experiences that can't be matched - each unique in their own right, one not better than the other, but both lifetime memories. Attend a game at the Bell Center, the ACC, or SCP and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference with your eyes closed.

[Shivas Irons]

I attended games at the Forum and at MLG, and those were experiences that can't be matched - each unique in their own right, one not better than the other, but both lifetime memories.

Me too, - remember the mad dash of the Forum fans who were lined up for standing room only? That was nuts, as soon as the doors opened there was always a stampede to get to the best spots. That, and navigating the stairs in the Forum - pretty tricky after drinking beer for three periods....and after the game SMOKED MEAT!! What a great city!

[cliffie]

You should take in an Olympics game at the Bob. Not sure how it is now since I haven't had a chance to go for a couple years, but you used to be able to cut the atmosphere with a knife it was so thick.