Mammoth vs. Swarm

Seven minutes after finishing CultCross on Sunday, Jessica and I were in the car and hurtling back towards Denver. It was easily my quickest departure from a race ever; I was still a bit out of breath when we pulled out of the parking lot. I would have loved to stay for the CultCross after-party, but Jessica and I scored some great tickets to the Colorado Mammoth indoor lacrosse game against the Minnesota Swarm!

I've gone to three of these games now, but have usually sat up in the nice cheap seats. This time, we were in the 15th row, and right at mid-field, behind the penalty boxes, which was pretty sweet! But even though we were a lot closer, the players didn't look any bigger;

I'm always amazed by the show they put on for a little lacrosse game, during the introductions! I mean, flame, sparkler fountains, fireworks, Harley's... all kinds of craziness. It's almost as amazing as the encouraged unsportsmanlike attitude during the complete lack of announcements for the visiting team.

It was a pretty physical game... and there was nearly a fight even before the first face-off.

It was a pretty good thing we pulled the starting goalie... after he let 3 goals past in 3 minutes... with 3 of the exact same shot. Incredibly not surprising when during warm-ups even Jessica noted, "Wow, that goalie has a HUGE weakness in the five-hole!"

After that, the game actually got pretty close... and eventually Colorado came back and eventually won by two goals. Good game overall. Halftime was a little exhibition game between a Denver Police team and a Denver Fire Department team. Pretty sure we had a twisted ankle, a torn ACL, two minor fights, and one full-on trading of fisticuffs. All in a 4-minute game. These guys were feeling a bit tense.

Beyond the game, like all times at the Pepsi Center, the people-watching is typically "grade-A". Starting with one of the best mullets EVER...

I was left speechless. This guy tried to compete, but he just plain didn't bring his A-game. I think he could have scored a lot higher if he left the hat at home. I mean really, if you've got it, flaunt it.

Bringing your kids to a fun, wholesome night of sporting entertainment is great. It can make you a better parent. But there are limits... bringing your kid that looked to be about 6.5hrs old, probably borders on closer to "Child abuse". I mean from 3 rows back, you could still make out the different plates of the kids skull, still shaped like his mom's birthing canal.

I was totally going to hit on this dude's woman... until I heard him and his friends talking (too bad I couldn't get everyone in the shot!), and I realized that he is a level 42 Farseer, who had used Azeroth power to cast an anti-adultery spell with 56 damage to anyone that dared to even approach!

And though I thought it was a great game, and it totally kept my attention for all of 2.5 hours, I guess to some people, a lacrosse game just isn't as exciting as a good book.