More missed chances off the ice than on it
by doctorfoster on 2011-02-23Madison Square Garden - New YorkAs Hockey fans in the UK we travelled to watch the Rangers game at MSG as a treat; to see how things SHOULD be done. The standard of the Hockey was very good; of course it was - this is the NHL. The Hockey game wasn't that different from a very good game in the UK - though we don't always get good games in the UK. The off ice experience wasn't a patch on the UK or Europe. The home crowd were flat in their cheering with the only chant being a feeble "let's go Rangers" now and then. Elsewhere in Hockey the fans seem to have a wide repatoire of cheers done with gusto, win or lose - it's like giving the team an extra man on the ice. Loads of people arrived late for the game and thought nothing of standing in front of on time fans whilst the game was in play. In the UK we have an etiquette that you don't leave or return to your seat whilst the game is in play. Food vendors walked up and down the aisle fetching food for everyone and blocking vision for long periods of the game. An over zealous Flyers fan insisted on standing up right in front of us whenever the play became intense. In the UK the crowd would have lynched him verbally and if he continued the security staff would have him removed from the building. The Rangers lost and the empty net goal had the majority of the crowd evacuating the building as if there was a bomb scare - and spoiling the game for the fans that wanted to stay to the end. The food at MSG was truly awful - tasteless fat stodge, served luke warm, slowly and at great expense. On the positive side the Security staff were fantastic. They couldn't have been more helpful. Ticket office was quick and easy. The building, though being rennovated certainly has an aura and "personality" which has been carved, not so much from concrete, but from it's magnificent history as a world class iconic venue. The canned entertainment with the announcements and big screen was about as good as you could dream about and the between period entertainment was great fun. Rangers fans ought to cheer the team louder and prouder to create the extra man on the ice and turn MSG into a fortress that visiting teams fear to enter.