You might be a hockey fan in Minnesota…....

[PierBridge]

...IF You.......

• You get ticked off when you hear Detroit call itself ‘Hockeytown.’

• You grow your beard during NHL/college/high school/PeeWee/45-and-up rec league playoff time.

• You yearn for the days of clear boards at the state high school tournament.

• You anxiously count the days until the temperature hits 32 degrees so you can flood your backyard to create your very own rink.

• You paint blue lines in your backyard.

• You install an elaborate lighting system solely for night games on your backyard rink.

• You miss the atmosphere of old Mariucci Arena, but appreciate the beauty of new Mariucci Arena.

• Your kids know Derek Boogaard as The Boogeyman.

• You make the annual pilgrimage north for the Roseau-Warroad game.

• You make the annual pilgrimage to St. Paul for the state high school tournament (and the Let’s Play Hockey Expo, too – shameless plug).

• You make the annual pilgrimage to St. Paul for the WCHA Final Five.

• You think the Xcel Energy Center is the Taj Mahal of hockey.

• You think the Battle Hymn of the Republic was written specifically for Gopher home series sweeps.

• You grew up wanting to wear the ‘M.’

• You don’t get annoyed by the homerism displayed by Doug Woog and Glen Sonmor.

• You destroyed your basement/garage/garage door/windows/neighbor’s windows with all those hours of indoor/outdoor hockey at home.

• You know the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine as well as you know your kitchen.

• You yell the words “Let’s! Play! Hockey!” before every game…not just at Wild games.

• You yearn for the days of the one-class state high school hockey tournament.

• You know the words to the Wild Anthem.

• You spend more hours in hockey rinks than you do in your own home.

• You cheer a lengthy cycling of the puck.

• You cheer a successful penalty kill.

• You sarcastically cheer when a ref you swear is out to get your team finally calls a penalty in your team’s favor.

• You sarcastically cheer when a struggling opponent’s goalie finally makes a save.

• You bought the book “Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne.”

• You got a team together of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.

• You punish your kids with “minors,” “majors” and “misconducts.”

• You use hockey tape to wrap gifts.

• You know where the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame resides.

• You know where the world’s largest hockey stick resides.

• You refuse to say “shutout” until the final horn goes off.

• You throw your hat onto the ice after a player on your favorite team scores his/her third goal.

• You think there are three periods in basketball.

• You cried when the North Stars left.

• You cried when St. Paul was awarded an NHL team.

• You may dislike Norm Coleman for a lot of things, but you’ll always love him for bringing the NHL back to Minnesota.

• The name ‘Norm Green’ still boils your blood.

• You teach your kids the signals for all penalties before you teach them the alphabet.

• You use a puck as a paperweight.

• You don’t even notice the smell of a hockey locker room anymore.

• You keep your skates and stick in your car…just in case.

• You enjoy the “Mighty Ducks” movies and beem with pride when you recognize locations on the screen.

• You buy a Wild/Gopher/<insert favorite Minnesota team here> jersey each time they release a new version.

• You remember where you were when the Gophers won the 2002 NCAA Championship.

• You can point out all the inaccuracies of the otherwise excellent movie “Miracle.”

• You grow your hair so it comes out the sides of your helmet.

• You think the only way to play true hockey is outside on a pond/at a park/in your backyard rink.

• You fit your kids for skates the moment they start walking.

• You think hockey homework is just as important as school homework.

• You revere Herb Brooks.

• You miss Al Shaver’s voice on the radio.

• You miss the mini donuts at Mariucci Arena.

• You consider the state high school tournament days as holidays.

• You miss the Met Center.

• You skip work/school to watch the state high school tournament.

• Your kids wear apparel from several WCHA teams.

• You wear your jersey according to the way your favorite player wears his/her jersey.

• You know the name of the person who sharpens your skates.

• The person who sharpens your skates know you by the blades on your skates.

• You wouldn’t be caught dead putting your skates into one of those machines that claims to sharpen skates.

• You are incredibly particular about your stick’s pattern (curve, flex, etc.).

• You own every one of Ross Bernstein’s books on hockey.

• Your kids play hockey year-round.

• You take the parents vs. kids games really seriously

• You scout your town’s Squirts to see what your high school team will be like in five years or so.

• You never miss a chance to pick up the latest Let’s Play Hockey at your local rink/sporting good store.

• You have searched piles of snow for an errant puck at your local outdoor rink.

• You have shoveled the ice at your local rink after a snowfall.

• You think there’s no temperature too cold to play hockey outside.

• You can’t wait for the John Rose Oval in Roseville to open its outdoor refrigerated ice sheet.

• You can name all the Broten brothers.

• You can name all the Hankinson brothers.

• You can name all the Micheletti’s.

• You know what a “Herbie” is.

• You can instinctively drive to any town’s hockey arena.

• You specifically shop for boots that can withstand the temperature at the coldest ice arena in the state.

• You think the Zamboni is mankind’s greatest invention.

• You have honestly considered taking Zamboni driving lessons.

• You have wild.com, gophersports.com, gopherpucklive.com or minnhock.com as your home page.

• You own and proudly wear one of those Rink Rats t-shirts.

• You own both editions of the Let’s Play Hockey bobblehead.

• You consider being named Mr. Hockey or Ms. Hockey the highest award a Minnesotan can win.

• You’re amazed when you learn that a fellow Minnesotan doesn’t know how to skate.

• You can walk or jog on a freshly resurfaced sheet of ice without losing balance at all.

• You bought a minivan or SUV for the sole reason that it can hold all your kids’ hockey equipment.

• You know what arena in the state serves the best hot chocolate.

• You remember Goldy on his perch at old Mariucci Arena.

• You think Terrence Fogarty should be held in the same esteem as Van Gogh or Monet.

• You don’t find it the least bit ironic that you favorite sport when it’s cold outside is played where it’s cold inside.

[jwhjr]

I can only identify with about 95% of the items on the list... Nice list!

[fishingdad]

Great list PierBridge! might I add . (You still watch slapshot every 2-3 months)

[Team Otter]

That is so cool. Did you create that on your own? If so, very impressive. I'd be willing to bet a handful of publications would be interested in something like that.

[PierBridge]

I found it on the http://www.letsplayhockey.com/930kurtt.html WebSite.

[PierBridge]

Happy Birthday Otter! Hope you made it onto some hardwater to celebrate!

Quote:

---

(You still watch slapshot every 2-3 months)

---

Guilty...

[Team Otter]

That is just too awesome. Thanks again for sharing.

Thanks for the birthday wish. I've been busy shoveling snow and listening to my 2.5 year old daughter sing "Happy Birthday" to me over and over.

[Skeets]

[fishing tech]

How about,

You put more miles on your car or truck going to games and practices then you do the rest of the year. I did 4830 one year.

[papabear]

you think "Slap Shot" was Newmans best movie.

you know what breezers are

you know where The Hipodrome is

youve been to the Decc, the Ralph, marriucci, the glas, and the NHC

[setterguy]

You beam with pride as your 4 year old looks at you while watching a Wild game and says "That was a terrible call." And he was right.

[backstrap]

A great read and AMEN to the one-class state high school hockey tourney!

[Team Otter]

...if you're a spectactor at the US Pond Hockey Championships this weekend and you don't know a single person that's playing in any of the games.

[fishingdad]

You rolled out of bed at 6 this morning (me) to get the paper and see what the hockey scores from last night were

[Team Otter]

You know there is more than 1 color available in foam pucks.

[mnwild]

I'm guilty of that everyday..

[mr_jman]

I've thought of several more fun ones!

- You let your kids stay up past their bedtimes because the Wild were on the West coast, or the Gophers were playing Denver or CC.

- You attend a college with D-1 hockey but still cheer for the Gophers first and then your colleges team second.

- You woke up a family member cheering during the 2003 NHL playoffs!

- You hate the Vancouver Canucks!

- You plan your night around what time the Wild game starts!

- You've turned your living room, basement, hallway, etc into a hockey rink.

- Every imaginable object in your house has been used as a goal or goal post.

- You've turned a tennis/basketball court into a street hockey rink.

- You go to Wild.com to watch the highlights over and over after they win!

- You've worn a hockey jersey to a Twins, Vikings, or Timberwolves game

- You might just give up a weekend of fishing to watch the hockey tournaments!

[PierBridge]

Good stuff!........J_man

[doughnut03]

You know what the difference between an orange and black puck is

If the only broken bones youve ever had are hockey related

If your recycle bin seconds as a street hockey goal

If you know what the numbers on a hockey stick mean

If you HAVE to have your favorite players stick model, skates, pads, etc. because it will make you a better player

If your house ever went up in flames, youd save an autographed picture of your fave player and a picture of when you were 10 next to the Stanley Cup

You have to pull yourself out of bed to go fishing at 6am, but you'd bang on your parents door at 530 because you didnt want to be late for practice!

[cjac]

If you'll pay $150 for a lettered jersey but not for a suit to wear to a wedding!!

From days gone by.....if you know what Cooperalls are.

I stumped myself on this one, pucks all used to be made in Czechoslovakia. Since it's no longer called that, what's it say on the pucks made these days?

Chris

[PierBridge]

 Originally Posted By: cjac

From days gone by.....if you know what Cooperalls are.

Or while knowing how bad and ugly Cooperall's were you really deep down hope they make a comeback......

[mr_jman]

You're a hockey fan in Minnesota

- If you're in your car and you've drove around and stopped wherever WCCO came in good enough to hear the Wild game! (DONE IT MANY TIMES!)

Or...

You've stayed in on Friday and Saturday night because the Gophers were playing an important series!

[backstrap]

The Cooperalls were sweet! The Gophers should wear them next year!

[papabear]

your elementary school, middle school, and high school had a rink for a play ground.

[doughnut03]

 Originally Posted By: cjac

If you'll pay $150 for a lettered jersey but not for a suit to wear to a wedding!!

From days gone by.....if you know what Cooperalls are.

I stumped myself on this one, pucks all used to be made in Czechoslovakia. Since it's no longer called that, what's it say on the pucks made these days?

Chris

cjac- If I recall correctly, it says Inglas (I didn't even have to look at a puck haha) because they are/were the official maker of hockey pucks for the NHL and others- Inglas inc

[Team Otter]

Grand Rapids did in '95. Ha! That's a good one.

How about...

A pre-game meal with the team also consisted of your parent's sitting in the room next to the kitchen talking about you.

[mr_jman]

You've taken a date to a restaurant like BW3's, Applebees, or TGI Fridays because you knew the game would be on and you could watch it!

[papabear]

your school wouldnt call a snow day with a blizzard covering everything in 2 feet of snow, but cancels school for 3 days when the hockey team goes to state.

PS the basketball team goes and nobody notices.

unfortunately I remember Cooperalls, Greenway wore them 1, I repeat, 1 year. Thanks for putting that image back into my mind. they rank up their with most other 80's fashions like parachute pants.