The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Night At The Rock

I was going to do a review of the first 20 or so games of the Devils season, but really, it comes down to this: since Marty got hurt, our free agency class of Rolston and Holik got hurt, and while they have solidified their status as career backups, Clemmensen and Weekes have still been the two best players on the team since Marty's injury. So with that all said, let's talk about my first trip to The Rock this season with SHMUCK, and two of his peoples.

The Good:

• I forgot how nice the place is. Had a great time sitting somewhere in the 200's, also known as the worst seats in the arena. Simmons wrote an article recently basically saying that all true fans in modern stadiums have the worst seats in the house because that is all that they can afford. This was proven at the Rock, where most of the seats were empty except for the top few rows, where the seats cost $25 and under. And it's easy to sit here and make the basic jokes about the Devils having no fans, but the 200's were rocking. Definitely a good vibe.
• Props to SHMUCK, for bringing this chick along who we'll call Jacobs for reasons that I'll let him explain another time. She has never been to a hockey game before, so SHMUCK got to be that dude who explained the ins and outs of hockey to her. Pimp.

The Bad:

• So you know how Yankee Stadium has those cool if not expensive bars by 161 St behind the stadium? Well, I waited a few minutes for SHMUCK in this bar outside the Rock that was between the parking lot and my car. And I'm sure the place was trying hard, but something about a Spanish bar with 5 patrons playing salsa music doesn't exactly get one psyched for hockey the way you would think. Oh, and the place had taps for Heineken and Bud Light, but when I asked for a Heineken they said they only had bottles. Stay classy Newark!

The Ugly:

• Can you 'diehard' Devil fans please stop with the Rangers suck chants? It reminds me of when Sox fans used to (still do) chant Yankees Suck. The difference is this: until recently, when Sox fans did this, they had gone 80+ years without a championship. The Rangers ended their 54 year drought with a Cup...and then the Devils got 3. Come on Devil fans. Don't be dumb.