Your Guide to a Sports Related Date

This blog is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing in the sense that I get to throw lines into conversation such as, "Yeah, I'm a paid blogger" "I write a sports blog" ""There's a website with a picture of me next to my awesome sports blog." And my best pick up line, "That's right, I write a blog, maybe some day I'll work you into it." I've yet to use that one, sigh.

But, this blog is also a curse. Just because I write a blog about sports doesn't mean I know EVERYTHING about EVERY sport or that I even enjoy 50% of sports available to the viewing public. And this brings me to hockey. Hockey is a sport I feel like I would watch more often if I were A. at a bar B. at home with friends and copious amounts of beer C. in the mood for a good fight. Usually I am feeling a bit of C (I'm from Jersey of course I'm scrappy), but I can never find the patience to sit through a full game and wait for the brawling to begin. Needless to say, I do not watch a lot of hockey or even know that much about hockey.


NJ Devils. Photo from Flickr.com

And that is where the problem started.

A few weeks ago I was asked out by a very handsome young man, adjectives cannot describe him adequately, but let's just say he's easy on the eyes. Once I got over the excitement of it all I actually fully read the email he had sent me and realized that he was asking me to go to a New Jersey Devils game. Verbatim he said, "I know that you're into sports or at least like to write about them (aka the blog) and was wondering if you would like to go to the NJ Devils game with me." My thoughts at that moment went from pure excitement to, oh crap. He thinks because I write a sports blog I'm some sports buff, and I've never even written about hockey! Once I stopped hyperventilating, I sprung into cram mode to get myself mentally prepared for this possible date at the hockey rink, which also happens to be the inspiration for this blog.


flickr.com

So, in lieu of Valentine's Day here are:
Meredith's Tips for Making You Into a Sports Know-It-All (or at least do a really good job at faking it)

*Watch the game the night before your sports date. That way you can throw in facts such as, "Wow the Devil's really used the power play to its full potential or can you believe that game went into OT last night!?"

*Employ that friend of yours who knows way too much about sports for his or her own good to pump you with sports information. I went around asking for three facts everyone should know about hockey, it's really applicable to any sporting event you may be asked to go to.

* Read! Literacy is back in! Pick up the paper and find an article that sums up the kind of year your date's favorite team is having. For instance, I learned that the Devil's are much stronger defensively this year and are doing extremely well in the overall standings, who knew!?

* Wikipedia. I know, as a journalist I should never encourage the usage of this blasphemous site, but it is good for searching things like "hockey" "baseball" and "oh no I have a date and I need to know if hockey is basically soccer on ice."

And, if all else fails.....

*Look cute or dapper (depending on if you are a woman or a man). You don't need to go and outfit yourself in every apparel item that your date's team has ever manufactured, if you happen to have a team shirt, wear it, if not looking good and dressing up is always in. As long as you don't show up in a mini skirt and a tube top or a tuxedo I think you should be just fine. Stay away from the extremes!

*Buy the alcohol. The best part about beer at games is that A. Your date will probably never object to you purchasing it and B. It gets you away from the game so that you have a few minutes where you don't have to be on your A game. Also, it gives you the excuse to lean in extra close to your date and figure out what you missed.

And at the end of it all....

* Don't be afraid to give away your cover and expose your less than knowledgeable sports self. You can enjoy sporting events and not obsessively follow them. And if you're date is a keeper, he or she is not going to care that you really didn't know anything about the game/match that you went to see. This is exactly what I did. I fessed up to my lack of hockey knowledge, but did come to find that I really love live hockey games and I would definitely go back to see another one. Well, mostly because I want to see a live action fight. Still waiting on that fight....


Nothing screams romance like a good ol' hockey fight. Photo from flickr.com

So, happy early Valentines Day and if you go on any good sports dates (and even better, you used some of my tips) let me know! If you comment on my blog I will always respond.