My Weeks and the Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a part of my life since I was a wee boy. As a toddler, my parents used to make me perform at their Penguin parties since I had the savant-like talent of naming every player on the team if you merely gave me their number. Now, fast forward fifteen years or so, and I'm planning my entire day around the Pens' playoff games.

This year is the first in a while where we actually have a chance at the Stanley Cup. The team has matured some from last year, they have deeper lines, and the have managed to harness the phoenix-like path of destruction known as Gary Roberts. And while tonight is merely Game Three, it feels like we've been in the playoffs since February. When the games start, everything else on my mind stops and my heartbeat clicks up to a constant 9,238 beats a second (or so... I don't really know how fast it's supposed to be beating).

Last Friday, the Pens almost caused the Dwellers to cancel our improv workshop. We had decided to meet at seven in order to watch the game in its entirety in the bowling alley beneath our theater. We were confident after the Pens sprinted to a three-goal lead, but then began to panic when that lead faded to a tie. If this game went into overtime, the first period of OT wouldn't start until after 10, well into the first half of our show. As people began congregating in the hallway in front of our theater doors, we began sending up friends to get the theater open... none of the Dwellers could leave the TV. And just as we were preparing to march upstairs and break the news to the audience ("Sorry, folks... but the Pens and Sens just went in to OT"), Ryan Malone pulled off a move that only works in videogames: the wraparound. It was insane. We pumped our fists, let the clock rundown, and then did a helluva good show.

Tonight is Game Three, and the Pens (who are currently crushing the Senators 2-0) show no sign of slowing down. This means that my weeks, already filled with work, theater, and DVD-reviewing, are about to get busier as I make room for hockey games that cannot be missed. Now that the City of Pittsburgh has finally decided to get behind the team full-force (I think it was that Steely McBeam D.U.I. thing that did it), the Pens' success can't be ignored. I don't mind having to drop everything for an awesome game, especially if this streak of success continues all the way to the finals.

Go Pens.