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It goes without saying that Opening Night is always something
special for hockey fans. It is a night of unparalleled optimisms for
the home fans, it is a night that guarantees at least one or two
team firsts, and it is a night where everyone is ready to have a
great time watching their game. October 10th proved no different for
our own Blue Jackets. Between the first home-opener win, our
scrub-faced rookie Rick Nash’s first goal and the chance to say
“we’re tied for first place in the Western Conference!,” there was
plenty of payoff for the opening night attitude.
But that’s when you realize that there’s even more.
 From the
Jumbotron to the player introductions to the on-ice entertainment to
the introduction of this season’s new slogan, it was all designed to
provide a festive atmosphere for the home crowd.
Did I mention the new slogan? Ignite the Night.
But that’s not all. It’s also about Igniting Passion, Igniting
Skill, Igniting Power and, mostly, about Igniting the Fans.
And Ignited, they were – I assume that the ringing in my ears from
the capacity crowd cheering will dissipate by next Tuesday. If not,
I may need to retreat back to the calm of the metal music scene for
some relief.
The entertainment? Oh, there was plenty. Diverse doesn’t even begin
to describe all of it.
Mick Jagger wishing us a good season, two actors from the
inconceivably-cancelled “The Job,” wishing us a good season, the
NYFD wishing us well (don’t tell the Islanders or Rangers), Alex
Trebek answering “they are the loudest fans in the NHL” – this was
just the pre-recorded stuff.
 Acrobats – and
nothing as mundane as back flips or somersaults. Sure, this may have
been a little closer to Cirque du Columbus or a Superman-esque
performance art piece, but it was really something to see. Fans were
treated to the percussion Ohio State Marching Band members. Then
there was the chorus singing “Fate Is Now” while Olympic Skater Eric
Millot entertained on ice. If that weren’t enough, record-holding
juggler Albert Lucas showed us that it was not only possible to
juggle hockey sticks, but that it was possible to juggle flaming
hockey sticks.
The National Anthem was performed by Shannon Brown, an up and coming
country music artist. Repeatedly assured that they were only
interested in her voice, I found that most of my male colleagues
were quite pleased to see Shannon perform later in the game. (For
wives that suspect that the newfound appreciation of music isn’t
entirely on the up and up, publicity shots are available at
www.shannonbrown.com.)
Of all the things I never expected to see at a game – well, let’s be
honest, I wasn’t aware that such a thing existed – was KC Styles,
Europop Professional Violinist. The only man I’ve ever known to wear
sequin camouflage, play electric violin and cause hair envy all at
the same time. KC has a website also (www.kcstyles.com), where you
might get a glimpse of the energy that he put into his brief
performance at Nationwide tonight.
While these acts can’t appear at every game, there are a few new
additions that will make the games that much more interesting. While
we’ll still have our trusty Dew Jackets, they’ve been augmented with
the Pepsi Power Patrol. Again, my male colleagues swear that the
Pepsi Power Patrol was all about team spirit. But don’t think that
the Pepsi Patrol means the Dew Jackets are lost in the shuffle. Our
Dew Jackets have been given the “Dewmolisher.” The “Dewmolisher” is
a Mad-Max-Meets-Humvee-Meets-T-Shirt vehicle for delivering
giveaways to the upper bowl. It’s what Tim “The Toolman” Taylor
would have invented if “Home Improvement” were still on the air.
Ignite the Night. Simple enough as slogans go, but the Blue Jackets
are delivering on all fronts. While I’ll always say to go for the
hockey first, it is the willingness of the organization to make a
real night of it that will keep the fans coming back. |
