Another couple of thoughts as I unwind my mind from last week...

IMO, I thought the craziest fans were from Bemidji (which is probably
not a surprise). They had the face paint, the signs, the wigs,
everything. Maybe I'm biased because I was sitting one section over from
them but they were great. I'd say Vermont was number 2. Miami and BU
fans were loud but Bemidji had the whole package.

One thing that was incredibly annoying was that while the game was being
played, they would show replays of what just happened on the jumbotron.
Replays are great but not while live action is going on. Especially in
OT.

The Washington Post actually had several articles about the games which
is a HUGE deal as the paper has never had good coverage of college
hockey. In years past, they would have a (very) small paragraph about
the Frozen Four games. This year was different, which was nice. Our own
John MacKinnon was even mentioned.

They also had the championship trophy on display; they may have done
this is years past I don't know. (The only other Frozen Four I went to
was the last one in Providence and I don't remember seeing it). I took
my dad's picture with it and he lamented that was about as close as
Clarkson was going to get to it (he's Clarkson '58). As an RPI alum, I
had to remind him about my school's 2 championships, although I quickly
added we are nowhere close to that now.

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to meet everyone at the dinner of
Saturday or between periods during the games although I probably saw
some of you as I was rushing to get nachos between the 2/3rd period on
Saturday.

I really do miss college hockey living down here in VA. I'm sad to see
the season over. Thanks Mark for running the contest and congrats to
Craig for winning them all.

Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: - Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob Woodbury
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 7:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Personal Reflections

Thanks for starting this, Nathan. How about some more reflections, for
those of us unable to attend.

On Apr 12, 2009, at 6:59 PM, Hampton, Nathan E. wrote:

> I know people probably wanted personal/event accounts AS they were 
> happening, so I thought I would just throw the first stone out there 
> and see what kind of ripples it makes.
> (1) The City: Loved it -- right up there with Anaheim and Boston as 
> towns with so much to do, you cannot do it all in the few days you 
> visit. Eric and Paula made the right move and got there early and are 
> leaving late. DC is so good it made me sore -- physically aching legs 
> from walking around so much. The monuments, the museums
> ("1934 A New Deal for Artists" at the National Portrait Gallery was my

> favorite), the cherry blossoms (particularly around the Tidal Basin 
> where the FDR and Jefferson monuments are), and the weather we all so 
> good that you have to go back for more.
> (2) The Venue: The Verizon Center is fine (no arena is great, except a

> few). Right on the metro stop, 2 blocks from the hotel, and right next

> door to the Hockey-L dinner.
> (3) The Dinner: great fun. Plenty of room for even the kids to run 
> around, and the willing adults to table-hop (it was Easter afterall). 
> The food kept coming, and  I really liked it. Two problems 
> (differences) - first of all we are becoming a very small group, and 
> the networking skills and abilities that Hockey-L presents are best 
> when the group is big. We really need to work on that. We should have 
> a person-occupied table with flyers (much like USCHO did a few years 
> back in Boston) to let the thousands of college hockey fans that we 
> exist and how to join. Secondly, The structure of the event did not 
> allow for what is my most fun thing about the Hockey-L dinner (and one

> tradition we have not kept up), which is the standing up and 
> introducing yourself and your group and where you are from. However, 
> John and Mary Beth were tremendously gracious hosts and kudos to their

> choice.
> (4) The Games: better than expected, advertised, and some other frozen

> fours. I told my wife (who hates OT) when Miami got up 3-1 that "the 
> way all the regional have gone this year, the game will get tied up in

> the last minute and we will go to overtime." The final was the FINAL, 
> a great game of a great season. Bemidji State fans stayed and cheered,

> the Vermont-BU game was incredibly good fire-wagon hockey throughout 
> the third period (and I am not a BU fan), and the locals who attended 
> saw a tremendous display of what college hockey has to offer.
> (5) The Hotel: very nice and convenient. You are two to four blocks 
> from hotel front door to Verizon front door. Plus they had a bar where

> the Vermont faithful gathered before the semifinal game. And it was 
> right on the edge of Chinatown, with some incredible restaurants (a 
> great restaurant is a hole in the wall, and these were). Plus less 
> than two blocks from the Metro stop, which when arriving at 11PM at 
> night, really helps.
>
> Nathan
>