Thoughts from a Red Wings Game

Yesterday at work I get a call from my beau: "Yo, I got tickets for one of those executive suites through work for tonight's Red Wing's game. Wanna go?"

Not only have I been wanting to go to a hockey game, I was thrilled to get to sit in one of those executive boxes. I cancelled my plans for the evening and was on my way to Joe Louis Arena by 5:45. We arrived there and received VIP treatment: parking in the "full" garage while everyone else had to park a ways away, getting to ride up on the special elevators to the executive suites, eating a catered dinner with yummy drinks and chatting with schmoozers clad in business suits while everyone else in the arena munched on peanuts and drank $5 bottles of Miller Lite.

I didn't think anything of it until the company let us walk down to the rink and sit in the 7th row behind the opposing team's goal. That's when I realized how drab the executive suite was. Here in the stadium seats was the action. Here, you could hear the players yell for each other, watch the ice spray as they skid across the ice, hear the puck slap against the side of the rink (whatever the terminology is). Here you could hear the cheers, witness the speed at which the players were skating, and actually feel the excitement of the game resonate through your body.

I wonder, why would anyone want to pay for an executive suite?? The rink was so far away that you might as well be watching it on television at home, you can't hear the cheers, you don't get to experience the disgusting goodness of arena food, and half the people in the suite care more about the booze and schmooze than the game anyway. You're so high above everyone else - so ISOLATED. It's amazing how much money we pay to be isolated from the real world - is it a status thing?

I walked away thinking that I hope I never lose touch with the real world. I hope I will never be consumed with the desire for status and isolation from the common and the human. Give me the nosebleed section anytime! I hope I'm never rich.