The annual Circus Trip can be defined by most Blackhawks fans as torturous. The circus comes to the United Center and the Hawks and Bulls head west to play on the road. No home games, no awesome national anthem and really really really late game times. The Circus Trip was slightly less aggravating this year because we followed the Blackhawks out west for Thanksgiving (thank you schedule maker for making this oh, so perfect!).
For months we made plans to attend the games in California. We were fortunate enough to get a large group of family together for the Ducks game which made this event that much more exciting. Justin and I packed a suitcase filled with four Blackhawks jerseys and some clothes for lounging in between games and headed west.
We enjoyed Thanksgiving and prepared for our first game. The Hawks v. Ducks game ended up being a day game so before we knew it, we were on our way to Orange County towards the Honda Center. On our way to the game, I spotted a car filled with Hawks fans on the 91 freeway. This was just a preview as swarms of red Indian head jerseys filled the Honda Center. Since most of us got there early, our first order of business was to watch warm ups at the lower level. Truthfully, we were hoping to catch the puck Kaner always throws at the end of every warm up. We were unsuccessful but enjoyed ourselves regardless. How could you not be excited when you are steps away from your favorite players?
Did the Blackhawks have duck soup? Of course. The weirdest part of the experience was how friendly the Ducks fans were. Random people smiling and saying hello? That would never happen at the UC.
Yes, there are several Ducks fans in Justin's family..
We decided to wait out the traffic and started our own post-game tailgate party!
Day three of our California trip consisted of a lot of bumming around in preparation for the Kings game. We grabbed some bagel sandwiches and Starbucks and waited for game time. The evening game time meant I had some down-time to catch up with Adena (Justin's future sister-in-law).
After picking up Trish (Justin's Aunt) for the Kings game, we made our way to Tommy's Sushi. Sure it was completely out of the way but it was our only chance and we were not about to miss out on a Poki Bowl. Trish was a complete trooper about Justin's demanding sushi requirements and hopefully we can convince her to try the Poki Bowl with us next time.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that our seats were a lot closer to the glass than we had anticipated. We also found ourselves next to some Blackhawks fans from Chicago but there was nothing more to that since the guy was pretty obnoxious. I hate to give away compliments to the LA Kings but Staples Center rocked! The fans were a lot more exciting than the Ducks fans and we were happy to hear the boos alongside the "Blackhawks Sucks" chants. Healthy rivalry is fun!
The game was so exciting that we forgot to take photos during the game. I should also mention that I saw the head guy who loved bugs from CSI! During the game we were slightly annoyed by a fan two rows in front of us. He wore his North Face vest as if the temperatures were unbareable and yelled at the refs the majority of the game. Once we got back to Chicago and watched the Chicago feed, we realized this particular douchebag in front of us also goes by the name of Cuba Gooding Jr. There you have it folks, celebrities are annoying!
This was an amazing trip! We really missed being away from the dogs but it was nice to travel to some of the away games and see some family. Hopefully it happens again next year!
Note: I wrote this weeks ago but was waiting on Justin to record us being on tv at the kings game. Too many weeks have gone by and it still has not been done. So in an attempt to prove that I have not been blog-less in over a month, I will post anyway and add the video at a later time. Sorry it took so long Trish!
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