Goat Rodeo

Every year around this time, for the last 3 years, many of the "original" Hawks have taken part in what we lovingly refer to as the "Goat Rodeo on Ice". It is an event comprised of beer, a bunch of people who play hockey, some more beer, and a bunch of people who have either never played or haven't played in decades. And also some beer. It got its name from Senator, who during the first one, shook his head and observed "this is a complete goat rodeo".

Just as I can't stay away from my teams' games, there was no way I was going to miss this event. You might think I would want nothing to do with being at a rink right now, and in fact that was exactly how GoalieHusband was when he was injured. I have the complete opposite reaction: the need to hang out with and be with my teams is as strong as the need to play in the first place. Maybe it's a male/female thing. Besides, this was more of a social event than really a game- though it actually usually turns out to be quite a good game. So it was that GoalieHusband and I met up with the gang at the bar near the rink for some socializing before the main event. I wore my enormous goalie-cut Hawks jersey, even though it looked like a dress. This was the first time I'd seen the guys since I fell, and it felt good to just hang with them for a while. I got to catch up with one former team-mate who I haven't seen in a while and have been missing, and that was great too. But what really surprised me was actually being drafted for a team.

Inspired by the All Star festivities (and some beer), it was decided that the teams for the night would be chosen via draft. And of course, the two guys chosen as captains were two of the non-hockey playing guys, who didn't know a lot of us hockey-playing types. One captain, who I'll call Stretch, 'cause he's tall (so creative), has been at the previous events and so knows GoalieHusband and I from those occasions. I wasn't even really aware there was a draft going on, until I sat down to rest my leg and Stretch said "You're on my team". I told him he was in pretty bad shape then, since I wasn't playing. "I know," he said. "I drafted you anyway. You're our spiritual leader, I want you on our team".

This is a guy who I've met twice before. I was pretty stunned. He's a friend of one of the Hawks, a guy who along with Senator would be considered co-captain, if we had such designations. I looked at him, and he shrugged and said "I told him you weren't playing. He said he wanted you anyway, as cheerleader." "No, spiritual leader," Stretch interrupted. And with that, co-captain refilled my glass, as it was time for us all to drink up and get over to the rink.

I watched the whole game from the benches. Aside from Stretch's insistence that I be on his team, I did spend some time going back and forth. It's so strange. As a goalie, you see the whole game right there in front of you. You see plays develop, you see who's open, who's got a guy on him. But for some reason, from the bench, it looks different. The game is laid bare even more. I was fully involved the whole time, yelling out "man on", or encouragement, as if I was out there with them. For the most part, it wasn't too awful, in a mental sense. At one point I left to go to the bathroom, and stood behind one of the goalies for a bit. That was hard. That was really hard. But overall, it was an absolutely awesome evening, and I love that its become an annual tradition.

As it turns out, one of the goalies there that night will be my sub for the Hawks; he's going to play all of the games I'll miss. He's a good goalie, exciting to watch (has a bit more of an unorthodox style). We have a long layover between games for some reason and the next Hawks game isn't until February 13th. By then I'll be ONE WEEK away from my x-ray to see if the brace can come off. That's really not so horrible I guess. Maybe GoalieHusband is right and it will go a lot faster than I think it will.