Gwinnett Gladiators

Yesterday we went to our very first Gwinnett Gladiators game. We had been talking with some friends for like 3 years trying to find a time to go but it seems like we never thought about it till late in the season. So I went out a month or 2 ago and found this amazing deal where you get 4 tickets, 2 programs, 2 souvenirs (turned out to be a hat and a t-shirt/fake jersey thing), and a Kroger meal deal (which apparently consists of 8 pieces of baked chicken, 1 lb of deli salad or slaw, 12 rolls, 14 cookies, and a 2 liter of Big K!). It was super cheap, and the seats were 6 rows behind the glass. You would spend a fortune for seats like that at the Thrashers game. Granted, you are paying for a much lower level of hockey – we saw more than once pucks going between their legs, guys falling down just skating…but still. It was a great way to take the kids to see a live hockey game without breaking the bank, and without having to feel bad for leaving early (which we did). We left after the 2nd period – after Zachary got to see the zamboni one last time. Apparently the 3rd period was pretty wild. It was 3-0 Gladiators when we left, and I checked online this morning, and the final score was 6-3 Gladiators. When we had left, 2 of the 3 goals had been scored by the same guy. I was bummed when someone else scored the 3rd one because I’ve never seen a hat trick in person before. Apparently the guy did get a hat trick, but not until the 3rd period, after we had already headed out to grab dinner. Oh well – maybe next time. The whole situation was odd though – I guess maybe that’s just minor league sports? In between the 2nd & 3rd periods there was segment where they gave the fans like 30 seconds or 1 minute (can't remember which) to throw orange hockey pucks onto the ice. We just sat there looking at each other because we didn't understand. It wasn't like a prize was on the line (from what we could tell). At the end of the time they came out and swept all the pucks off the ice and that was that. I also kept trying to figure out why the Gladiators mascot was a lion…anyone know? On the lion’s first attempt to shoot the t-shirt gun, he went short, and the t-shirt landed on the ice. Guess even the mascots operate at a lower level of play (you NEVER see Thrash do that!). When they came out after the 2nd period with the t-shirts again, they were aiming it near our section, so of course everyone puts their arms in the air trying to catch one. We looked at Liam and he also had his hands in the air. Guess he wanted a t-shirt too! It was a fun afternoon though, and it’s nice having something like that where we don’t have to trek downtown, and where we know we can take the kids without having to spend a ton of money.

Oh, and we also have a winner from the little contest the other day. Shaye is the winner – Zachary was in fact talking about Transformers ("decepticons", to be exact – don’t know if I’m spelling that right or not though…). I have NO idea how she guessed that – maybe she has a brother? Maybe Neely likes Transformers? Maybe SHE likes Transformers? Who knows! I have honestly only seen 2 Transformers toys in person in my whole life, and I never saw the movie, so I do not know the first thing about them (other than they are a pain in the hoo-ha to "transform"!). Life was much easier back when Zachary could be entertained by Elmo, Thomas, and Bob the Builder – and nothing else. Now that things like Transformers and superheroes are creeping in, I’m suddenly feeling a lot more clueless. I will try to keep him interested in Mickey Mouse, Little Einsteins, Thomas, and Diego as long as possible, because those are all things I can understand. Way to go Shaye - I'll be sending you a small prize (don't get too excited though - you already got your Snuggie!)