Opening Night – What To Be Excited For

The puck drops tonight. While the Blues start their season tomorrow afternoon, four games are on tap tonight with Washington taking on Boston, Montreal facing off against Toronto, Vancouver against Calgary and finally San Jose versus Colorado. Here is what we are looking forward to as hockey finally makes a triumphant return.

• The most obvious, the return of following all that there is to follow about your St. Louis Blues and watching as many games as possible before your significant other starts threatening murder. My thought: date someone who is a fan as well and you avoid the whole issue!

• Additional options on TV. Sure, playoff baseball is great and all, and Sunday can be consumed by football, but something is missing. With FOX Sports Midwest covering 74ish games this year, there will be plenty of Blues games a wave of your remote away.

• Fantasy hockey. Drafts completed this week and there is nothing more exciting than seeing how great (or awful) your team is in the first couple nights of the season. I think I can hear people hitting their panic button and the year hasn’t even started yet.

• Home games. Regardless of who you are a fan of, going to a home game to cheer for your team is a hell of an experience. Join fellow fans, cheer on your side or launch some four-letter words towards the opposing team, it is a guaranteed fun time.

• The Rams suck. We get it, we know. The return of Blues hockey gives the local stations here something else to talk about. Now here is to hoping they actually take that suggestion.

• Honk honk honk … Let’s Go Blues!

• The Towel Guy and all the other characters you see at the game. Love ’em or not, they are your family several times a year and share the same blue blood you do. Just think of them as that crazy relative that makes a scene at Thanksgiving. (Personally I love the fan devotion and say keep it coming!)

• Louie Blues the mascot. Unveiled to a mixed reaction, Louie is quickly becoming a great and often times funny addition to your hockey game experience. Whether it is peering over the glass at the opponents or rockin’ the sax, we ae thankful we have him and not one of the other sorry excuses for a mascot (see Atlanta Thrashers).

• Fights. There is no crying in baseball and if you do brawl you get suspended for a few games. NFL players come down with turf toe and are not allowed to “rough” the passer or kicker. Um…what? I’ll stick with the sport where if you step out of line, you better be ready to throw the gloves aside cause it is fighting time. Few things can excite a crowd as much as a bout won by the homeside.

• The Blues talented roster. Need I list names? Oshie, Perron, Berglund, Johnson, and so on and so on. While there is a litter of youth on the NHL roster, a bounty of young talent is waiting in Peoria. This isn’t just cause to be excited this season, it is cause to be excited for many years to come.

• It’s time for your Ameren UE POWERRRRR-PLAYYYYY. The dance to go with it might be corny, but hell, give me a Blues’ lead and I’ll join in.

• Concessions. Sure they might cost an arm and a leg, but it is all apart of the experience of going to a game. The $7 unlimited refill soda is one great addition and should be a fan-favorite, especially for those with youngsters.

• 5 goals = free ice cream. While it may not be as cool as the free tacos promotion, I’m sticking with the idea that free = good. And it’s fun chanting ice cream at a home game.

• New season = new merchandise. This year brings a new sweatshirt thanks to my lovely girlfriend, who thankfully is a Blues hockey nut as well (see bullet point numero uno).

There’s a ton more but we will stop there. Got anything you personally are looking forward to or are excited for as the year begins? Share it in the comments section!