Like hockey and basketball. I sat through class unable to listen to a word just picturing the line I knew was forming outside of the garden. Would I even get a chance at a lucky ticket? I brushed over the details on the Internet. For some reason I thought it was only for Bruins tickets (selective hearing) so you can imagine my surprise stepping onto a train full of KG jerseys. I quickly found a Bruins fan to stand by.
As soon as I exited the train I saw a sea of Bostonians, in suits, Bruins jerseys, Celtic t-shirts, and one odd teenager in a Penguins jersey and a Mets hat…there’s always one. I couldn’t see where the end of the line stretched, so I pushed aside all my learned manners, walked on the street and used my rugby skills to find windows. It kept going…
When it finally stopped I felt like I had finished the freedom trail, I found my spot in line. It was long, but not 19,000 people long. With no water, no food, and no friends, I realized it was going to be a long ass wait, for a crappy chocolate bar that may or may not have a golden ticket. Quickly the line became a bar with no TV, well, and no booze.
The girl beside me in line and I became fast friends. What are the chances of standing right behind another girl on her own, who has dedicated her entire day to a vague promise from the “TD” Garden. After an hour and a half of waiting a man in a suit with a walkie-talkie, informed us there was a good chance they would run out of chocolate bars before we got to the end. No one moved.
All it takes is a few days off baseball for Boston to became obsessive with hockey and basketball again. We waited it out. It drizzled, people in cars and offices made fun of us, but we stayed. After 2 and ½ hours we walked into the garden, which felt more like a grade school party, full of balloons, and bad music. Everyone was smiling.
We were literally joyous as we received our two chocolate bars, and quickly took them to the ‘unwrapping zone’. Nothing. One man screamed with excitement discovering he had won two tickets to Disney on Ice.
I left still smiling oddly enough. My new friend and I had a beer and discussed what could have been.
Boston isn’t always a friendly city. But when we talk sports, we’re all like old war buddies, especially when losing is a possibility again.
We were literally joyous as we received our two chocolate bars, and quickly took them to the ‘unwrapping zone’.
Posted by: silagra | February 09, 2010 at 09:45 AM