Just Ride's blog: "Catch-All"

So last night I go to a hockey game. I go to one about once a year lately cause the company I work for sponsors the team for a night or something.  Anyway, I'm standing down by the beer vending area talking to some friends and coworkers when this girl asks one of my friends if he wants to go out on the ice and shoot the puck for a chance to win a harley davidson motorcycle. He says "no", my next friend in line says "no" as well....they tell her "ask Ryan, he'll do it".  I tell her that "Yes, I'm like Mikey on the cereal commercial, I'll try anything once."

So I'm supposed to go out on the ice inbetween periods and shoot this hocky puck through a very small goal they've made, probably only 9 inches wide at best, and from quite a distance too I might add.

My only fears at this point, and I only have a few fears largely due to thee amount of time recently spent by the beer vendors ;) ...anyway, back to my fears.  I basically have two objectives in mind to actually save face while entertaining the crowd that night.
1) DON"T fall down (this is number one for very obvious reasons)
2) at least hit the board they put in front of the goal area (this is the board with the
    9 inch slot at the bottom that I'm supposed to hit the puck through.)

well the period finally ends and I'm up...

I walk out on the ice, hockey stick in hand. and for the most part laying fear number one to rest, that ice isn't near as slick as i thought it would be after those guys get it all scuffed up.

So I'm standing there, don't know how far away from my goal exactly, but it was at the blue line for you hockey fans out there, quite a ways. Being fairly confindent at this point that I'm not going to fall down and totally humiliate myself...I start to get cocky, why not, its all in fun anyway, right?

I take my hockey stick in one hand, and like Babe Ruth would do I point to the crowd behind the goal area. (the crowd back there by the way, in the enclosed glass area looking down on the arena is filled with my coworkers...who are the major contributors to my fear number 1 ;))  At any rate, I then grab the stick in both hands, hold it above my head and raise it up and down a few times...as if I've already won something big or whatever.

Now its time to actually shoot the thing....oh god.

I step up to the puck on the blue line. Take a look at the girl that is out there telling me where to stand, what the rules are and all that good stuff.
Take a look at the puck.
Squint my eyes and take a look at the sliver of an opening they made in this board that they are calling a goal.
Draw the stick back and give the puck a good, hard slap. ( one of my buddies told be before I went out that one thing you don't want to do is leave it short, makes you look like a .....well, makes you look bad, we'll leave it at that ;)
The puck actually left the ice on its quick voyage to the goal area. Much to my surprise and I'm certain everyone else in the hockey arena last night, I made the shot.  It went straight through the small opening as if there was no other place it could have gone.

So last night I won a Harley Davidson T-shirt ;)  lol

A guy took my name and phone number down and they said they would be in contact with me....I'm supposed to go to the last game of the season and have a shoot off or something like that with anyone else lucky enough to make this shot during the home games this season.

Making that shot twice....it'll never happen. BUT would be cool if I had a huge cheering section. so who's coming to the last game of the season to cheer me on? anyone?  (hell, i don't even know how long the season lasts)

Make it a great freakin weekend all,
Ry