Stephen Yeargin

Predators 3, Red Wings 2

As part of our anniversary presents, Samantha bought us tickets to Thursday night’s Predators vs. Red Wings game at the Sommet Center. Thanksgiving hockey has become a bit of a tradition in Nashville, much like the annual game on New Year’s Day. It was a particularly important for the team as they are trying to improve their record in the second quarter of the season before the push for the playoffs after the All Star game. A win over division-leading Detroit would certainly lay a good foundation for that.

The hockey club recently became truly “our team” when Nashville’s mayor Karl Dean announced that his office had reached an agreement on lease changes for the arena with the mostly local group headed by David Freeman looking to buy the team. I will spare all the details, but it secures the team in Nashville for three years, barring particularly poor financial performance.

The thing about hockey games in Nashville against the Red Wings is that they sometimes hardly feel like home games. A number of Midwesterners moved to Tennessee in the 80s and 90s (including my wife and her family) with the General Motors plant in Spring Hill. These folks are arguably a core component of the hockey fan base in middle Tennessee, and for the other 40 plus home games they are staunch Predators fans. However, when their beloved club from the lower peninsula (I have a crude joke here, but I will spare you) comes to town, the red jerseys come out. In honor of this phenomenon, the PA system played the Chris De Burgh classic “Lady in Red” for the player introductions.

Tonight a guy behind us was particularly obnoxious in his heckling, offering almost a play by play for what Hasek, Zetterberg and the rest of the Red Wings should do. When they came out to a 1-0 lead, he became even more relentless in his side commentary. After the Predators’ goals (all three of them), he would yell to the other fans that they should sit down from their post-goal celebrations because it was hockey courtesy. As if not shutting up for five minutes during the game was perfectly acceptable. I would say that he would be obnoxious even if he were sitting in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Somebody up there would have probably bludgeoned him by the second period.

I do pity this fellow though. While Samantha and I will be sleeping in our warm bed for most of Friday morning (we aren’t into the mad holiday rush scene), he will be putting up with irritable customers at his retail job where he will go to work before dawn. Because he went to the hockey game, he will not have had much sleep.

And his team lost 3-2.