I Bleed Blue

I am what some people might call an obsessive hockey fan. I have been a lover of the St. Louis Blues for as long as I can remember - through good times (ahhh, Brett Hull) and bad times (damn you, Mike Kitchen). Last night's game against the Detroit Red Wings was a bad time. A 5-0 shutout for the Wings was not a good way to end the 2007 holiday season. Even with how bad the game went, I still walked out of Scottrade with high spirits. This was surprising considering the circumstances. I decided to evaluate my reasoning behind the following statement: I firmly believe that it is impossible to be at a Blues game and not have a good time.

• The music - no soft ballads, no God-forsaken country songs that make you want to rip your heart out or shoot your husband. The music makes fans shake their groove thangs. I dare you to not dance along to the Ameren UE Power Play song.
• The Shaker and the guy who square-dances to "Cottoneye Joe."
• Towel Man - because one towel is never enough.
• Louie, the new mascot, is perhaps the most promiscuous and hyper mascot I have ever seen. How can anybody not love a big blue bear that shimmies?
• Charles Glenn, the man who sings the National Anthem and "When the Blues Come Marching In." I have never heard such a beautiful voice.
• Fights - hockey fans love to see violence on the ice. Let the players drop the gloves and go at it. The penalties are worth it. As a fan said last night, "Christmas is over! Hit somebody!" Bonus points for when players break the glass when slamming someone into the boards.
• Shootouts - the Holy Grail of hockey. There obviously was not a shootout last night, but they are always revered when they happen.

The high point of all Blues games is the comraderie of the fans. Let's face it, the Cardinals have thousands of fans. Everywhere you go you see a Cardinals fan. Busch Stadium holds over 40,000 people. When you compare the number of Cardinals fans to the number of Blues fans, there is no comparison. The Cardinals obviously have the upper hand. Therefore, when I come across a fellow Blues fan, I feel an instant connection. Call me crazy, but I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. So to be in the Scottrade Center surrounded by thousands of other fans is a magical thing for me. To walk inside and see the ocean of blue, yellow, and white -- there are no words.

Blues fans are also some of the nicest people I have ever met. Since there are fewer of us, we need to stick together. The workers in the Blue Note store are always cheerful and happy to help. If one Blues fan gets heckled by a fan of the opposing team, ten other Blues fans jump to his aid. We jeer the other team, but we never get spiteful. (Except in the case of Chris Chelios.) When the Blues win a game and cars are spilling out of the Kiel Center parking garage, the "beep beep beeeeeep" of the horns resounds throughout the city of St. Louis. Win or lose, fans continue to high-five each other in the stands.

Blues fans are not fair-weather fans. Blues fans do not follow the money. Blues fans do not become fans just to be part of the crowd. Blues fans are in it to win it. We do "whatever it takes." That's Blues hockey.