May 9th, 2009 – a day that I will never forget. How in the world did we pack so much happiness into one single day?
05:15 - I woke up super-duper early… because I always do. Plus, I was half way through the *NEW* Book 9 of the Sookie Stackhouse series (ah yes, you remember my guilty pleasure!) and I just could. not. stop. reading. (Yeah, now I am finished and wondering how long I have to wait before book 10 in the series…) Finished the book with a bit of disappointment – I was hoping for more, but there were some good things in the book too. If you care to discuss, there is a thread going on the Ravelry boards about the new book!
08:30 – Finished book. Ate soy yogurt & blueberries with agave nectar. Kris wakes up. Off to the nursery for planting time!
We have had so much rain here and not enough sunlight. Everyone must have had the same thoughts as us about this, because the nursery was PACKED at that early hour in the day. We got lots of veggies and herbs – 3 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of peppers, eggplants, parsley, lemon grass, fennel, 2 kinds of squash, strawberries… yeah, a lot.
All jazzed up for spring gardening, we made our way home and unloaded the car. We had a little bit of time to plan placement of the plants, but we didn’t have enough time to actually start the process… because we went to…
11:30 – Parikha and Hemal came up from DC to try the yummy vegetarian/vegan restaurant that I have mentioned several times on my blog: Great Sage in Clarksville. YUMMY food and even better company. It was so nice to see them all – and Parikha has a wonderful surprise to share! Great conversations and speculation why we had never done the double date before… thank you for the fun time!
13:30 Phone call from Michelle. On her way to my house to drop off the TICKETS! (Penguins v. Capitals Game 5 Conference Semi-finals at Verizon Center!) Met Mike and Michelle, who were fresh from their trip to Pittsburgh the night before to see the Penguins win on home ice! Tickets IN HAND! My own personal pep rally begins!
(foreshadowing: little did I know that this night would be so different than any other night…)
17:00 Stepped off the Metro and head to get a quick dinner before heading into the arena…
17:30 Breezed right into the arena with a super secret entrance and headed up to our super special seats – box seats scored on Craig’s List by Mike and Michelle! Settled in and start knitting before the pre-game skate!
Michelle’s making socks, and I am starting a hat – simple stockinette was all I could manage at this point – way too much excitement going on!!
18:25 Pre-game skate and a great view of the guys on the ice. A huge rivalry has formed between DC and Pittsburgh teams, and luckily we were removed from it a bit since we had a box. No harassing or loogies.
18:30 – WAIT A SECOND. That kid looks familiar. That woman looks familiar. (When you watch 82+ games a season, you begin to recognize people!) Oh my gosh – it can’t be! Someone is in the box next to us who is famous and amazing. (Okay, hockey famous, but *amazing*)
19:00 Game starts and my head is on a swivel… keep. looking. left. Mario is only a few feet away!
19:05 An adorable couple walks in. One that any Pittsburgh fan would recognize! The Malkins, parents of the Penguins amazing superstar (and my favorite players, hands down), Evgeni Malkin!
20:15(ish) Giddy, ecstatic and *jazzed* (must have the asterisks there for emphasis, you see) are the words I would use to best describe my demeanor. My head is still on a swivel, and I am trying to figure out how in the world to start a conversation. Especially when the Malkins don’t speak English, and I don’t speak Russian.
Hand gestures and ridiculously huge smiles – that got them over for a photo opp!! (and their son – “spitting image” of his mother – see?) The Malkins have a bit of a cult following for Pittsburgh fans, so that explains my absolute freaky smile. sort of.
…but there is MORE!
21:30 – Game is tied 3-3. Hard fought and very tense. Buzzer rings and we are going into sudden-death overtime!
21:40 PENS WIN!! MALKIN SCORES THE GAME WINNER!!
...and this happened on NATIONAL TELEVISION:
Absolute ecstatic celebration! Vladimir runs up and down, jumps around, hugs, high fives – and then comes over to ME and kisses ME. Right on the lips. ON TV. (They always show his parents after he scores!) It was hilarious and awesome and amazing. There is Kris in the Penguins shirt right above us – he had just high-fived Mr. Malkin 
Megan joked that Kris should have kissed Mrs. Malkin - but hey, that didn’t happen… I have the “extended version” – me shaking hands with Mrs. Malkin and some high fives on my TV, but I am figuring out how to get it out of there and on to YouTube so you can see it too… but the screenshots are the next best thing – many thanks to Kate for finding them on the internetz.
…found this on YouTube: you can see wonderful Evgeni’s interview (his English is improving rapidly!) here -and at 1:21, you can see me briefly and my hands clapping
It was pretty much the most amazing thing ever. Vladimir had tears in his eyes, and he was so incredibly happy – we all were! – for his son and for the whole team.
And just when you think it is the best night ever – it gets better.
21:45 Some Penguins fans start hopping the gate into the suite, but I was a little reluctant because it seemed rude, but then, I saw Lemieux’s kids give me a smile, and I jumped over the glass. They welcomed us and we were all so happy – and Mario Lemieux started taking photos and signing autographs! Kris has followed Mario since he was a boy – and I came a little later to the party in 1998 and got to see his amazing comeback in 2000. Oh my goodness.
Mario has a playoff beard! and he was so kind, as was his whole family. We were truly touched – and yeah, he totally touched my back in this photo (ha! fangirl moment!)
23:00 Cannot come down off of cloud fifteen – way higher than cloud nine! I couldn’t wait to share my photos and my story with my friends over in Puck This! the hockey group on Ravelry . I knew they would understand what a thrill this was. And I think, by these photos, you can tell how amazing it was for us. Even if you don’t follow hockey, you know the thrill of happenstance and joy!
…I could not go to sleep for hours! …and at that time, I didn’t even know that we had been filmed during the goal celebration and the kiss!
Totally the best day. GARDENING – BRUNCH WITH FRIENDS – KNITTING – HOCKEY! (if I had just found a way to fit yoga in there, it would have been the perfect Lolly day).
One that I will never forget!!!
wow lolly! that really does sound like the best day ever! i think your evening at the game describes why hockey is the best sport ever. i feel like it’s the one sport in the US where athletes still play for the love of sport, not for money or fame, and they come through for the fans every time.
Oh, what a perfect day! Hockey is the only thing there that i don’t completely understand, but your writing is so full of life, enthusiasm and happiness it makes me understand that too!
Adorable post!!! (I am a freakishly starstruck person — I go wild over stupid things like seeing local news anchors in a restaurant — so I can totally relate.) Your post is timely to me, too, because I *just* started reading Parikha’s blog.
Glad you had such a good day!
WOW. That is amazing! I have to show this post to Randy….
I have a fondness for Mario Lemieux, though I don’t closely follow hockey. About 6 years ago after a whole bunch of testing, an oncologist called me to tell me that I had Hodgkins Lymphoma. ‘But’, he said, ‘the kind you have is very curable – it’s the same kind Mario Lemieux had and he was back on the ice in no time’. It took me a little longer than ‘no time’ to get back, but his name always kept me going. Surely, if he could play professional hockey post-Cancer, then I could get back to my regular life too.
What a wonderful, exciting day for you!
Wow, that’s so awesome!! That really was a great day
Super awesome! Now if only we could fit Jagr in there somewhere….
I’m half-envious! I love hockey and your moments sound amazing, but, sorry to say, I’m a Flyers fan. (Reading your blog earlier during the games was killing me!) Anyway, I’m going to have to tell my husband about this post and he’s going to know how great knitters are now.
Ah well, hope the Flyers do better next year. I’ll have to knit some black and orange mittens or fingerless gloves for myself. Congrats to you, however.
Love this post – have no idea about hockey but from those smiles I can see what fun you had – great memories
That is AMAZING!! I freaking LOVE hockey (especially playoff hockey! It’s like a whole different game!). Sounds like a wonderful day.
This sounds like a great and wonderful day for you!
Not to distract from the hockey goodness, but what’s the green purse in the pep rally photo? Looks lovely.
I don’t follow hockey, but your story and your excitement had me on the edge of my seat cheering. What an amazing day!
I love the penguins – I’m a recent Pittsburgh transplant and the really do seem to be the most down to earth and just nicest professional athletes. And Malkin’s parents are legitimately the most adorable people ever – it makes me happy how happy they get with their son playing, and more importantly how much everyone else loves how happy they get. (Apparently Gonchar’s kid(s) are teaching Malkin english, at least this is what I’ve heard from my local hockey buff.)
Oh my gosh, what a luck Pens fan you are! I totally missed you on TV — husband and I were way too busy jumping up and down when the goal was scored. The Malkins are so adorable, and Geno’s interview after the game almost made me cry.
Wow!! That’s incredible! That is just a fantastic day – and, I’m so happy that you were on tv so you can remember it forever! How very exciting!
Wow – that is a pretty amazing day. How exciting. Any one of those adventures would have made for a great post – but all together it’s definitely in the running for SUPER post of the year. What a wonderful day. I think I like the televised celebratory kiss the best.
; )
You should have seen my grin when I saw the photos up on Flickr! I couldn’t wait for your play-by-play recounting of them.
What a day! I’m so glad it was *you* who had it.
Holy doodle, Lolly! What an AMAZING day.
That is so awesome, Lolly! You totally deserved a day like this!
I saw it on Ravelry.
I saw it on Flickr.
But this write-up? Is the BEST ever! I’m so happy you had such an incredible day.
Wow, you did have an amazing day. And I’m so jealous you got to meet up with Parikha.
Super Mario, how cool! What an amazing day.
I was impressed with myself when I got to sit behind Mario’s family at the Gold Medal hockey game in Salt Lake in 2002–but Mario touched you!! Awesomeness.
So glad we were able to get together! And nice strategic crop on the photo
I have very little knowledge of Hockey but I read that whole story with the biggest grin on my face because I can only begin to imagine how excited you were! What a memory!!
What a great day, Lolly. So so cool! Also, I share your Sookie Stackhouse obsession. I just finished book 2, and went to the library to get the next one but they’re all gone. We must not be the only ones!
Lolly! That is hysterical. We were watching the game, but Bill is a Caps fan, so I think he turned it off in disgust after their loss. Sucks we missed your big moment on TV!! Glad you had such a blast
Well that is all just way way cool!
I’m not even a Penguins fan, and I’m super, super jealous of you getting to schmooze with Penguins Royalty. I’m so glad you got to experience that–what a great way to end an awesome day.
Oh, Lolly!! What an amazing, thrilling day! Congratulations on achieving so many fan-girl dreams in one incredible evening! Go Penguins, go knitting, go Lolly!
I have the best Penguin hat pattern I would love to send you. Please email me so I can get an address where to send it to. I made one and my Redwings loving husband booed me.
I am so jealous of you!! I must’ve missed that moment in the blink of an eye after the OT score, as I was silently screaming with joy, and folding laundry at the same time, LOL. I wondered who you’d be rooting for since I remember you liked both teams.
Pens fans!? Really!?!?!?!? That guy Malkin is pretty awesome, though, but Ovie takes the cake. Pretty awesome that you guys got in the box with Mario et. al., though!
I like you guys, but I’m hoping you’re going to be weeping after Game 7!
Rocking the Red…
Bill B.
P.S. – Tell Kris to email me if he wants to play free hockey tonight. We have ice at Reisterstown at 9PM and it’s a open scrimmage for our team and other dudes/dudettes.
So awesome!!!! The only thing better than having a moment like this is having such a special record of it!
It’s not quite as crazy but something like that happened to me earlier this year. I was visiting a very special someone and sort of dorking out because I was visiting the famous (ahem, I’m thinking of Jared’s hat, not the architect…) Seattle Public Library. A roving photographer took this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43968257@N00/3229313204/in/set-72157613015698671/
It is a prized possession, if images can be possessed =)
Your giddiness over hockey is so refreshing! Yay for meeting famous folk and being kissed by Malkin’s father on TV! Adorable!
Wow, what a wondrous day you had!
Wow, that is incredibly exciting. You are so lucky and I am very jealous!
I am smiling so hard at your day. Sometimes someon else’s awesome joyful day is just what a person needs for an afternoon lift. Thanks!
Maybe you should change lollygirl to smoocher girl!
What a happy, awesome, fun post!!! What a day!
Wow, what a fantastic day! Lucky you!
Reading through this post has put the biggest smile on my face! Just plain awesome, is what it is. And a kiss on the lips!! That was my favorite part.
holy crap my head would have exploded out of happiness!! that is ONE TRULY AMAZING DAY!! EEE!!
Love it Lolly!!!
What an amazing story, I’m so excited for you and I don’t know the first thing about hockey! The TV pictures really capture that moment of pure joy.
What an amazing day and what a way to celebrate a win!
Though I read quite faithfully, I’ve never had any real need to comment before, but this cannot be passed up – I am so jealous! To me at that game! With the Malkins! Next to Mario! That’s absolutely staggering!
Here’s hoping tonight goes well! I will be nervously knitting along, glad I have something to do with my hands to keep me from getting too jittery.
Wow, that is so amazing and awesome! Your exuberance and excitement definitely comes through here! I’m so glad that you got to have such a memorable day with some many of your favorite elements in place. Go Pens!
I totally understand the fan girl moment. A few years ago I got to meet my all time favorite player, former Wings captain Steve Yzerman, and I felt like such a teeny bopper. I had a hard time trying to figure out what to say to him. Somehow “I cried when you got married because in my 13 year old mind we would get married one day” didn’t seem appropriate. What a great day.
This sounds amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing!