Seeing the Orange and Black

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NOTE - I will be using some ice hockey words in this entry. So if you are not familiar with the game of ice hockey at all, you may want to skip this entry.

I have been meaning to go to a Flyers hockey game for some time. It has been some time since I went to one, as tickets tend to be very pricey. Well, I decided to go to this one, as this was the cheapest option that I found on StubHub.

I have not been to many Flyers games. My first game ever, was in 1990, at the Spectrum against the Detroit Red Wings. I remember it was a season finale game, as they were not going to the playoffs that season. After that, it would be 3 games at their current home, the Wells Fargo Center. The arena has gone through different name changes, due to the name of the company changing. It seems like these arenas change their names more than baseball stadiums. The Wells Fargo Center has been their home since 1996, sharing it with the local basketball team, the Philadelphia 76ers. The last time that I was here for a hockey game, was in 2010.

Riding into the city, and to the Wells Fargo Center. Then I went inside the building, and walked around the concourse. There were museum displays in this building. Last time, I focused on the 76ers. This time, it will be on the Flyers. Also known as the Orange and Black (due to the colors of their jerseys) or the Broad Street Bullies (from their heyday in the 1970's), I would see the brief history of the Flyers, and a bunch of artifacts.

And there was a display of a bunch of hats, collected from the times when a Flyer scored a hat trick. A hat trick is whenever a player scores 3 or more goals in the game. It has been a hockey tradition when fans throw the hats onto the ice. I have never done that myself, as I don't normally wear hats to begin with. There were a few display cases, from the different hat tricks. Like one for Jeff Carter, and another for Wayne Simmonds.

After walking around the arena, I went to my seat. And just sat during the entire time, as I looked around and waited for the game to start. Seeing the banners hanging from the ceiling, and seeing the little boys playing between periods, known as the Mites.

The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Florida Panthers. After a scoreless 1st period, the Flyers scored 4 goals, and never looked back. One of those goals was scored by Shayne Gostisbehere, more commonly known as Ghost, who did it against his hometown team. Yes, a hockey player from South Florida. Both teams traded goals in the 3rd period, as the Orange and Black completely dominated the game. The Flyers beat the Panthers, 5-1.

After the game, I looked around some more, until I had to leave. It would take me a long time to get home, as I was leaving the city to go into suburbs. And track work on the rail lines, made the journey back even longer. I would not get home until after midnight.It was a lot of fun to go to a Flyers game. Though it may be a while until I go to another one, due to the time it takes to get to and from the arena. Maybe this could be a start of a quest to visit all other venues in the NHL (along with other sports).

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