Trippisms 2013

When you can't go to the Canes game, you can always count on entertainment from John Forslund and Tripp Tracy, who call the games on TV. On the rare occasion when I am forced to tune in to the opponent team's telecast, I realize how lucky we are to have John and Tripp in Carolina. So it is all in good-natured fun that I share with you now the "Trippisms" that I have compiled over the past year. Cheers!

12/27/2013 @Toronto
Skinner goes down.
Watch him come in the middle of your screen right here.
He thought there was a hole there.
I don’t like that he was square to the slot.

12/14/2013 @Phoenix
Peters is doing a lot of swallowing.
Talk about Peters’ movement.
Now Jeff’s getting off.
Draws the hole deep in his own end
What a job there with two Hurricanes coming!
Nash gets just enough of it with his stick.
Has he ever been gigantic of late!
Natural finishing ability.
Speaking of hot guys…
[Jeff Skinner]He’s just a piece.
That Skiner smile, where everybody seems to get on their knees when they see it.

11/16/2013 @Blues
Gerbe got it up quickly.
Wonderful to be with you for the first time on this one.

11/15/2013 vs. Anaheim
Chris gets it up, but Semin did too.

11/9/2013 vs. Minnesota
I love what Drayson Bowman is doing right now.
…Opens up the goaltender ever so slightly.
Here’s Ryan deep in his own end.
That’s where the bear-down factor is really needed.

11/7/2013 vs. Islanders
Harrison’s gap has been much better tonight.
He has a short stick and a willingness to get to those nasty areas.
He’s got to find a way to penetrate.
All four guys go deep.

10/28/2013 vs. Penguins
Sidney Crosby needs the smallest, smallest opening.
His hands are good.
I love when Eric Staal comes underneath the puck.
What a tight gap Justin Faulk has on Crosby.

10/15/2013 vs. Blackhawks
Opening up those legs for Corey Crawford.

10/8/2013 at Pens
He was looking with his eyes down low, but he knew he wanted to go for the slot.

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4/11/2013 @Crapitals
You see him coming at the last second.
He was just looking for a tie-up.
He gets over with a huge explosive move.
I would pull him right now.

4/6/2013 vs. Rangers
You have to have a tight gap, and Gleason had it.

4/2/2013 vs. Crapitals
I feel real good about Peters.
You want to lay a body on Green.
There’s a lot of sag there.
Harrison has a tight gap.

4/1/2013 @Montreal
Does he get a piece of that on the way in!
I’m a big believer in size.

3/30/s2013 @Jets
I just love the desperate level from Semin.
I’m sorry, that gets me excited when you see a guy do that.

3/18/2013 @Rangers
They need to get off.
Sometimes the right place is to go up the middle.
I wouldn’t do that if I had had Henrik Lunqvist.
Carolina – much cleaner coming out of their own end.

3/2/2012 v Florida
There’s no way he could’ve known he was coming.

2/12/2013 @NJ
You could see it coming all night long.

2/11/2013 @Islanders
Both players are using their free hand candidly.
You have to tie up his stick.
Fighting to get a puck out of his own end.
I don’t even want to come close to touching him. I’ll get third degree burns.
They didn’t get frustrated; they stayed their course and got their reward.

2/9/2013 @Philly
Joni Pitkanen could have penetrated.

2/7/2013 @Ottawa
Three guys coming up the ice together.

2/4/2013 @Toronto
It’s so much more effective when Joni’s moving his legs.
You can’t see the legs between Bozak’s legs.
Don’t try this at home; you might hurt something. I know from experience.

2/2/2013
Take care of your own end first.

1/25/2013 @Barfalo
Everything’s gotta go deep now.
Go deep and get off.

1/19/2013 @Florida
I’m surprised at what just happened at the other end.
Small goalies can’t go down unless they have to.
I’m just glad that at the last minute Skinner protected himself.

10/8/2011
Kaberle goes deep.
Ruutu has been more physical than he was last night.
[Someone] just rubbed him out beautiful.
You hold your breath anytime Skinner goes down.

Yinz Witches

Although I was born in Western Pennsylvania, I had never visited the city of Pittsburgh until this September, when my husband and I got tickets for a Steelers game vs. the Chicago Bears. We had the best time tailgating and just hanging out in the city that weekend. The whole city was black and gold because there were three Pirates games and a preseason Penguins game also going on that weekend.

Now, the Carolina Hurricanes fans regularly tailgate, which I am led to believe is relatively uncommon among the NHL, seeing as how we have relatively good weather in the winter and a vast, open parking lot, unlike many NHL arenas. But the Steelers fans had some lavish set-ups, and everyone was having a good time. Drum corps, stereos blasting, superfans all geared up in face paint (or a Pope outfit). I saw Bears fans dancing with Steelers fans. And I saw a Steelers fan dancing with a roasted pig. (No, really, I've got video.)

Although I say I'm a Steelers fan, I don't really follow football. Still, being Sign Chick, I felt I had to make some sort of sign. This was only the second NFL game I'd ever attended. Not knowing much about the teams or players, I drew on two of my other fallback sources of sign inspiration: language and holidays.

The game was close to the autumnal equinox, and the phrase "Drink up, yinz bitches! The game's 'bout to start" is a common Pittsburghese saying at game time. Augmented with a $3 witch hat from a drugstore and considerably more expensive seats close to the field and the camera operator, and poof! this sign magically lands you on primetime television! A friend of my husband saw us on Sunday Night Football and texted us a photo of the TV while we were still at the game. Icing on the cake of a totally fun fan experience in the Steel City. I'd do it again any time. (But I won't root for the Penguins!)

Break the Cristobal

Cristobal Huet was the goalie for the Montreal Canadiens at the time, and that playoff series was being shown on the Canadian network CBC.

Alberta Beef

This sign was made during the Stanley Cup Finals when the Canes were playing the Edmonton Oilers, and apparently one of the games was being televised on the OLN network.

Camera 1, Camera 2

I am referring to goalie Cam Ward, of course.

Trade

More ribbing of Canes color commentator Tripp Tracy.

Missed Tripp

I made this sign just after the Lockout. Just a little good-natured ribbing of Hurricanes color commentator Tripp Tracy.

Camera Guy, Camera Guy, Camera Guy...

YOU SUCK!

This is a sign I had long wanted to make. I assure you that I resorted to this only out of extreme frustration at the end of a bad season during which the same camera guy repeatedly ignored me.

It was the last game of the season that I would be attending, and the same camera guy yet again ignored me for two periods. I scribbled this quickly during the second intermission.

Bad Camera Guy saw it a few minutes after the third period started, and he was a good sport and laughed and/or made faces at me. It's not always the camera guy's fault, I know. Sometimes they focus on me but the producer just won't put that shot on the Tron. Usually, it's because my sign has something to do with the refs, or maybe it leans too far towards family-unfriendly (although I am careful not to cross any lines). If I remember right, after this stunt, they did finally put me on the Tron that period, but by then the Canes were losing somewhat hopelessly. (I like to think it's somewhat good luck for me to at least get on the Tron once during a game.)

Nature Boy

Now you know that any time the Canes score, the Jumbotron shows a clip of Nature Boy Ric Flair "woo"ing.

Our Cam Is Better

Our goalie being Cam Ward.

Network Bias

Back in the day, we Caniacs felt a distinct bias from the networks, at least ESPN(2), against the Hurricanes. The Canes were formerly the Hartford Whalers, and we felt that the Connecticut-based network resented the team's move to Carolina.