Well the clock sure is moving slow. And the game starts about 90 minutes later than normal. Man, that sucks. Maybe you want something to read between now and then? Well you could always buy our fan-run paper we sell outside every Blues home game. You can BUY IT RIGHT HERE.
You know about the paper, right? And you know it's almost completely different than all the cool stuff we put on the website, right?
Well it's 24 pages of analysis, stats, commentary, jokes and even a cartoon and word puzzle. There has been a fan-run paper sold outside Blues games for 20 years. Honest.
Tonight is the first game of the playoffs, and that changes things. Our formerly Poor College Student front page author has a few thoughts about how different it is for fans.
If the beer seems a little colder, it's because it is. This is playoff hockey and shit, for lack of a better way to describe it, is just way, way better.
Wins go from a two-point achievement on a Tuesday in December that might merit a small fist pump to being a monumental occasion that puts you one win closer to that wonderful number of 16 wins required to be called a Stanley Cup champion. Such wins aren't celebrated with an optional fist pump. These postseason wins come with a gratuitous amount of cannons firing in the rafters. That thing is a cannon, right?
You'll also take part in an obscene amount of high fiving and revelry over beers, shots and giving yourself a real good chance at being the best available option for someone at closing time. The work day that follows might entail a hangover and a nap in a bathroom stall, but it's the best kind of hangover, a winning hangover. Such are the duties and spoils we get to experience as fans of a team in postseason hockey.
Going to the game and want to buy the paper in person and have it in your hand for the game? Awesome. Here's where you can find us - X marks the spot:
You can find us by the garage driveway, near the 14th Street doors, the northeast corner of 14th and Clark outside the City Hall lot and starting tonight, on Clark near the Blues Hall of Fame statues. I promise you'll find us if you look. Plus Clarence will be near the pregame rally. You won't even have to walk that far to find him.
Our vendors will be on the streets at about 6:30 p.m. - a full two hours before the first puck drops. Plenty of time to have a beverage, enjoy hopefully some sunshine and make it in time for whatever stuff they're planning on doing as part of the pregame activities.
Hey, would you like to get every issue in your inbox hours and hours before the game? You can subscribe via email and get the PDF of the paper for cheaper than you can buy single copies in person or online. Just email gtbradlee at gmail for details. The cost per playoff round is $10.
Ok, commercial over. I think we've got a strong issue for tonight with lots of information and observations. Shockingly, we're all pretty optimistic. We'll see if that carries over to Saturday.
Let's Go Blues