Hockey in the Desert

So, welcome to my premiere on this blog. For the really important things, I take charge: sports. One of the quirkiest things I find in Las Vegas is that there is a hockey team here. You sweat along the Strip at 35 degrees and then go into the arena to watch winter sports. I know, in Lugano, it might be similar. But in the desert – there’s no clearer sign of the total commercialization of sports.

By the way, the NHL playoffs are happening right now. The Las Vegas Knights are hosting the Edmonton Oilers for game 2. Finn & Robin want to come along. We buy tickets in the third highest row in the stadium with 18,000 fans. It cost a fortune. Luckily, you can earn the money back from some ATM. At least, that’s my plan.

Generally speaking, this franchise has been around since 2017. But in and around the stadium, everyone is parading with shirts, caps, jackets of the Golden Knights. It sparkles and glitters gold everywhere. People really act as if they were record champions, that their club was founded in 1886, and they could demand respect from everyone everywhere. Quite fascinating.

The arena is definitely gigantic. 50-meter-long escalators lead to the upper tier. Also oversized: the prices. 2 pizza slices, a water bottle, and 12 mini-donuts – uff, how should I put it? Finn and Robin’s education savings accounts have certainly been a bit depleted. Nina doesn’t necessarily need to know about that. But we had fun.

Just the pregame show is worth the money (see here). The light and video show on the field is world-class. A knight fights on the ice against two Edmonton villains and of course defeats them – everyone cheers (video here). Afterward, during the Canadian anthem (for Edmonton), at least internally singing along – magnificent. The boys are happy to wave the giveaway battle towels. Only when the fan cameraman asks them to create some excitement to get on the big video cube, do they unfortunately react too late. The fans behind us are therefore seen in large format. The boys are amazed by the noise and the show. When an Edmonton player has to go to the penalty box, half the stadium chants “shame, shame, shame.” The stadium speaker shouts in a way indebted to the sponsor: Your Golden Knights are in the NV-Energy Pooooweeer Plaaayyyyy. Again, everyone chimes in.

The only downside is: The stadium is so air-conditioned that we have to ‘warm up’ outside on the smoker’s balcony with a view of the roller coaster and the Strip during the intermission. So many impressions in such a short time. The next day, I ask the boys about their highlights of the stadium visit:

Finn:
- The 2 pizza slices
- The escalator

Robin:
- The knight on the ice
- The mini-donuts that were freshly made and he got to watch

The match isn’t mentioned. Haha. To be honest, it was a little secondary for me as well. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jack Eichel, and co. can keep floating around down there for a long time. Many fans here feel similarly.

The game will end 5-4 in overtime for Edmonton. We miss the end because the boys are done, and we head home. That’s okay; they can’t know that I’ve plundered their future accounts for these three unique hours. But I’m sure they will understand it one day.