Southies

So, if you don't know, "Southies" is a nickname for people from South Boston. I made this sign for the Canes v. Bruins game on January 28, 2013. The Canes lost 3-5, which may have partly been my fault because I sat through the whole first period without realizing I was wearing the WRONG EARRINGS!!!! But also, it may be the camera guy's fault because none of my signs was shown on the Jumbotron - always a bad omen.

Anyway, the sign elicited comments from several strangers. First, some Southies sitting behind me wanted me to hold it up so they could get a picture. They were very polite and having a good time.

Another fan, local, didn't understand what it meant, so I had to explain. He said he was sitting next to a Bruins fan who also didn't get it. I thought that was odd.

Finally, a guy who had been sitting a few seats away on the same row as me got up during the game. As he passed me on the way out he said, "I'm a Southie. Lived here for 22 years. I hate the Bruins." That was amusing.

However, the best interaction with a stranger this night was with the door man. Over the years, I have had some interesting interactions with the folks at security. Usually it goes rather smoothly. Sometimes, not so much. I usually bring half a dozen to a dozen signs with me to each game. They are usually 22" by 14", which is about half the size of a regular piece of posterboard and also about half the size of the maximum allowed, according to the arena guidelines the last time I bothered to read them.

Although fans are not really allowed to bring large bags into the arena, I do put the signs inside a clear plastic, tall kitchen size garbage bag with handles. It's easier to carry that way, and it protects them from bad weather. I wanted to make sure I had clear bags to make it easier for the guys at Security. I had to order these bags online because I couldn't find them in stores.

So, most of the time, I'd say what happens is the security staffer briefly looks at one or two signs, but he doesn't want to hold up the line, so he usually says something like, "There aren't any bad words in there, right?" and I assure him everything is kosher and he let's me pass. Occasionally, like suddenly during the playoffs, there's a new staffer who doesn't know the protocol and gets uptight and hassles me. Like they have to ask somebody else if the sign is too big or if the word "suck" is ok. So every time I enter the building, there is a moment of apprehension as I wonder what kind of treatment I'm going to get and whether someone will arbitrarily confiscate one of my signs.

At this game, I used the new Season Ticket Holder entrance for the first time. On the plus side, there was no waiting at this entrance. On the downside, that meant that the security staffer had plenty of time to look through each and every one of the signs I had brought with me, because no one was waiting in line behind me. But as I patiently waited, he started to chuckle. He read one sign and said, "Oh, that's good." Then, he read another and said, "Oh, that's funny." Then, "Oh, that's good too."

Pretty soon the other staff nearby started teasing him and me, saying he was never going to give me my signs. Finally, he returned my bag to me and said, "Those are so good, I'd probably let you in anyway even if they WERE inappropriate!"

I sure hope that guy works that door every game this season!

Bogus Call

I guess I'll only be able to use this sign for a few games before its topicalness expires. It refers to a current news story in which a college football player, Manti Te'o, still played well following the death of his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, and his grandmother on the same day. It turns out that he only knew Lennay online and via telephone or voicemail, and she never really existed. He was the victim of a hoax: bogus calls from a friend of a friend of the family claiming to be Lennay. The Canes are also victimized by bogus calls, from the ref.

Upstate

At the end of the first period at the Canes vs. Buffalo game when I first unveiled this sign, I was immediately accosted by a Buffalo fan. Her first question had to do with the BUFFALO MAKES YOU JERKY sign. She said she didn't get it. I said it's a pun on Buffalo (the meat). "But Buffalo is not known for making jerky," she said. No, but it IS known for jerky fans.

She insisted she was not trying to be mean, but also Buffalo is not "Upstate." I told her I was aware that some people didn't consider it Upstate, but some people do. No, she said, "I'm from Buffalo, and nobody considers it Upstate, so your sign doesn't work because we're not Upstate." I said some people do consider it Upstate, and the fact that it offends people from "Western New York" to be called Upstate just makes the sign just that much more effective.

She kept telling me she wasn't trying to be mean, and I thought, no, it just comes naturally to your kind.

Canes beat Buffalo 6-3 that night at home and then beat them 3-1 the following night, in, you know, Upstate.

Less Stalling, More Staals

Unveiled at the January 22 home opener at PNC Arena, this sign simultaneously welcomes Eric Staal's brother Jordan to the Hurricanes and expresses disdain for the hideously late start to the season due to greedy bickering between the NHL owners and players. I'm glad to have a season, compressed though it may be, but the apologies the league has issued are pathetic. If I hadn't built up 12 years of seniority as a season ticket holder, I'd have canceled in protest. I will save my ranting about poor treatment of STHs for another post. No time now because, due to the compressed season, I have to think up more sign ideas for quickly approaching games!

Faulk's Night 2

I had made this sign last year but was never able to use it at a game because Faulk got sent back to the minors. So, this year when the Checkers played a game in Raleigh on January 6, I got to unveil it then, since Faulk was playing. Unfortunately, it wasn't near Guy Fawkes Night (remember, remember, the fifth of November), but I guess the pun still works the rest of the year. As a bonus, my seats for the Checkers game were awesome, right behind the Checkers bench. So I was able to get this really cool photo with Faulk, himself, in it.

Here's An Epiphany -

The Charlotte Checkers hosted the Norfolk Admirals at the PNC Arena in Raleigh on January 6, 2013. (January 6 is Epiphany.) As this was during the lockout, I bought tickets and thought it might be the only chance I'd have to see hockey in Raleigh this season.

As it turned out, an agreement was reached between the players and owners the day before this game. "Un"fortunately, I had already made a sign referencing the lockout before the agreement was made public. I just knew if I made a sign about the lockout that it would be rendered useless before gametime - which is why I went ahead and made it anyway. That's right: you can thank me for the end of the lockout.

So, yeah, this is one of those signs I made that never got used. I should make a category for that.

Norfolking Way!

I attended a Charlotte Checkers vs. Norfolk Admirals game at Raleigh's PNC Arena on January 6, 2013. I was afraid this sign might not make it through the doors, so I left some of it unfinished and then completed it before the game. My fears were unfounded, though, because the door man didn't even try to read my signs. It turns out the Checkers actually provide poster board and markers at a table inside the arena and encourage fans to make signs. So it's pointless to check signs at the door for appropriateness. They didn't seem to have any problems.