A Disappointing Ending

One of the things that I looked forward to most about moving to Texas was the chance to attend minor league hockey games.  In fact, we attended the first pre-season game as a family shortly after we arrived over the summer.  Right away, I knew that it would be something that we would enjoy as a family. There is something about being right on top of the action that makes attending minor league sporting events very exciting.  It also doesn’t hurt that everything is reasonably priced, whereas taking a family to a major league sporting event has become very costly (and time-consuming).

Last night, we went to the final game of the season as the Brahmas were knocked out of the playoffs.  For a good part of the game, it seemed as if the home team would prevail and send the series to a seventh game on the road.  But it wasn’t meant to be.  So as the visiting team scored a goal in overtime, I was left feeling very disappointed.  Not the kind of disappointment that I expected though.

As an avid sports fan, I have gotten used to “the agony of defeat.” But this disappointment was not as much about seeing my favorite team eliminated as it was about not being able to attend the games again until next season.  Although most times it was only my son and I attending the games, there were a handful of games where we went as a family.  Surprisingly, my 3-yr old daughter really enjoys going with us (even though she inevitably ends up sleeping on my wife’s lap about half way through the game).  Attending these games made for some fun family nights out, which is the main reason why I wish that the season would have continued for a bit longer.  As the saying goes…“all good things must come to an end.”

We’ve already started talking about going to minor league baseball games when the season starts in May.  While I am looking forward to it, I know that it just won’t be the same.  There is a lot of downtime in a baseball game, which makes it hard to keep the kids engaged, whereas sitting two rows off of the ice at the minor league hockey games made it virtually impossible to disengage from the action.  At least the hockey season ended with a “bang” (both literally and figuratively).

During a playoff game last week, one of the Brahmas checked a visiting player into the boards right in front of us, instantaneously shattering the plexiglass, with small bits reaching us in the second row.  I’m thankful that we weren’t sitting in the front row because my daughter was sleeping on my wife’s lap at the time of the “crash,” and she could have gotten cut up pretty badly.  In retrospect (knowing that we’re all fine) it was kind of cool to experience the shattering at close range.

Last night’s game didn’t have the same kind of drama, but it did end with a “bang” for my son, who got to ride on the Zamboni between the second and third periods.  Little did we know that he would have the final ride of the Brahmas’ season.

While I am disappointed that the season is over, I will savor the good times that we all had as a family throughout the course of the year.  The minor league baseball season will probably not be as exciting for us, but the most important thing is that we’ll be there together as a family.  Fortunately for us, the minor league experience is very affordable, so we will get to do it more than the budget-busting major league experience.

I don’t think that I truly realized until the overtime goal that ended the Brahmas season was scored that going to these events is much more about family bonding than it is about the actual game.  When it comes down to it, seeing your team win is really just the icing on the cake.