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At first, we didn’t notice that much difference between the game and one we would see at home in the UK Superleague but once the game opened up a bit you could see the superior speed and skill coming through - a level we can only dream of in the UK at the moment. Having said that, there are other comparisons where the NHL, and in particular, the fans, don’t come out too well. The atmosphere in The Igloo was non existent to begin with and the fans only seemed to chant when the screen on the scoreboard urged them to - of course the regular season in the NHL is not the real deal, I assume for a playoff match the intensity of the crowd increases as it does with the players!! And, in fairness, on the Friday when playing against the New York Rangers, a team that the Pens have some rivalry with the atmosphere was in evidence more and it gave us a glimpse of what a playoff game could be like. And, those TV timeouts!!! The first time one happened we were |
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Looking back, maybe we didn’t have the best seats in the house (see pictures below!), we couldn’t afford them, but somehow it didn’t matter. To experience one NHL game had always been an ambition of mine, to get to watch three Penguins home games with both Mario and Jagr playing was an absolute dream!!! Add to that the well known faces of NHL hockey we had the opportunity to watch play and the experience was a great one. And, I was part of the comeback year for Mario and part of 3 of the many sellouts that follow him round the league!! Yeah, the crowds are different to the ones in the UK but then again when you’re watching the mastery of #66 and #68 maybe you don’t have enough breath left to chant..... The only problem I have now is getting back to the States, Pittsburgh in particular, and seeing some more NHL games!!! Those of you that are fortunate enough to watch any NHL team on a regular basis should realise how lucky you are to watch the big show week in, week out!! I’ll have to make do with middle of the night TV coverage for now!! PD - 11/4/2001 |
In The ‘Burgh - Mario - The Pens - Hockey Nights - Road to the ‘Burgh - The Gallery |
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