All too often, writers, and I am guilty of this as well, will bury their lede way down in the story. A lede is what the the story is going to be about and it is usually about eight to ten sentences before it is revealed. They set it all up, drop a few teases and boom, there it is. Not this time though, let’s get to it.
After 25 years, the best game in town, or should I say event, is going to a Nashville Predators hockey game. Nothing, in my opinion, comes close to it. I have spent the last two months at the arena and talking to those who have just been to their first game or season ticket holders who have been here since day one. You would not know which is which when coming talking to game day experience and of course, the game.
Yes, the Predators do have 41 home games each year but each one is unique in so many ways. For example, with how the scheduling is done, they only face a team from the Eastern Conference at home once a season. That means the Islanders, the Rangers, the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens, etc., will come to Music City just that single time and that will bring out fans of their teams, sometimes in droves. That is okay because it adds to the experience and when the ‘Original Six’ come in, the level of excitement and fun is unmatched.
Much has been made about the band stage and you never know who will hop up there. I have seen Vince Gill, Keith Urban, Alice Cooper just to name a few who get up and play between periods. When play stops on the ice, the jumbotron becomes the main attraction and with the dance cam, kiss cam, and whatever else they put up there, the crowd gets into it and everyone is having a good time.
When the Predators made that run to the Stanley Cup in 2017, Nashville became more electric than Broadway during Fan Fest. And oh, it happened to fall at the same time CMA Fan Fest did and this city hit a level that has not been reached since. All because of hockey and the experience.
I guess what I am saying, there is never a dull moment when you go. Listen, I know very little about hockey but I do know a lot about having a good time and that is what happens every time you go. The newbies I talked to where just blown away by all of it. The production, the game, the events, the music and on and on. They could probably only name a few players, maybe, and that is okay as well. The seasoned vets, the ones that have been there for years, just loved the fact that every game is still different in so many ways. Theme nights have become very popular, such as recently a Grateful Dead Night, and a 90s Night, which played to a packed house.
There are also a ton of giveaways at every game which just adds to the experience. It also helps that the Predators have been a wildly successful franchise, making the playoffs almost every year and we all love a winner.
So if you live about an hour or so from Nashville, and have never been, just go to a game. It will not break your bank and you will have a great time and it is worth the money, and the experience. There have been a ton of people who have moved to Nashville in the last five years, and y’all also need to go.
Just one game is all you need to get that ‘Fang Fever.’ Also, the only cure for that is to keep coming back and back and back.
Yes, it is still the best game in town.
