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View Full Version : Sorry For My Tardyness, Rebels US Fan Bus Day 3 and 4



Shinyshoes
02-17-2005, 03:22 AM
Day 3 / Day 4

Woke up in the kennewick hotel, 3 times....

The RDReb Disel Tractor was at it again last night. Sgt.Zeek got the daily phone call from his 4 year old this morning. Since it was Valentines day, Sgt.Zeek decided he should actually spend more time than 5 minutes on the phone with his wife. 30 minutes later (and about $130 USD) he had finished the talk, and we could get ready for the bus trip at 11:30. Thank god we got to sleep in. No hockey today, Which was probly a good thing. The 5 hour trip to portland proved to feel longer than the 10 hour trip to spokane on day 1. Myself, RDReb, Sgt.Zeek, and our room-mate tin cup were all feeling pretty $h!##Y, so the trip was pretty quiet. Got to portland, and the bus driver decided that he didn't really know the way to the hotel. Just at about that time, the Rebels Team Bus passed us on the highway. We knew that they were staying at the same hotel as us, so we decided that we would just follow them to the rink/hotel. Somebody tell that driver to take the brick out of his shoe.

So here we are flying down the US highway at 90 MPH (140 ish KPH) trying to keep up with the rebels bus. Not only that, but every time the rebels bus changed lanes, or turned a corner, our poor bus driver had 31 back seat drivers telling him which way to go and what lane to be in.

We finally got to the Memorial Coloseum, and met up the the rebels bus driver to get shown how well his GPS System works. Wrote down the directions, and we were off today. By the way, All those rumors about the rookies being the ones who get to take the equipment off the bus while the vets stay put........its true.

Got checked in, and the hangover, I mean this strange sickness we all seemed to have is finally going away. We met in the lounge of the hotel, and met up with 21 Barns who is the only person I have ever met that is actually louder than me!! Thats AWESOME! Also kudos to 21 Barnes for bringing Kokoas a big boquet of flowers and making her husband feel like an ass. A good chat, and 3 beers later, Tin cup and I decide that we are way to hungry, so we set off to find a meal. 5 Burritos, and a half hour later, we are on the walk back to the hotel, and see a couple of guys selling Flowers on the side of the road. We decide that it would be a good Idea to buy a couple of roses for each female on the bus. Talk about making points. Not only was my mom impressed. I got hugs from a number of parents, billet parents and other fans. And since my girlfriend was at home, the whole hug thing was VERY welcome.

We decided that we would take it easy this night, since there was no hockey. Soon after that, we decided that we didnt have anything else to do, so we went out and bought some more beer, and went back to the hotel room to have a few bevvys.

RDreb and crew took off, and were gone to spend the night at 21 barns night. Thank god. The room was so quiet that everyone else got a good night sleep. And We Needed it.

DAY 4

Woke up on Day 4 morning, and had that strange flu-like symptoms again. We were told there was a shopping center near by, and the resteraunt in the hotel was pretty expensive, so we decided we were going to wait untill the shopping center to eat. Bad Idea. Everyone else was eating at the hotel resteraunt, so by the time that everyone we were going to the shopping center with was ready to go, it was well past noon. We finally got to a really nice mall in portland and got to a 50's style resteraunt. Best Milkshake I have had in years. Got filled up, and we were off to buy myself a watch..... I have spent too much time on this trip looking for my cell phone to get the bloody time. I found one that I liked, and Dropped the $100 USD, content that i can finally tell you if it is time to get up or not.

We got back to the hotel at about 2:30, and needed to kill about 4 hours untill the rebels game started. We decided that a 6 pack of beer was the solution. (Go Figure) We met up with some others in the hotel, and simply Drank the afternoon away.

The time finally came to walk the 5-7 blocks to the rink, and see our boys play. The beers made it an entertaining time, and we eventually got there and got ready to cheer on our boys. If you thought we were a mess, you should have seen our team. wow!

Before i get into how badly the boys played, I want to let you know how friendly the portland Fans and Rink staff are. Even when one of the staff approched me to let me know we couldnt have the flagpole for our flag. The Flag itself was OK, but the pole it was on is not allowed. He was so appologetic, you would have thought he just banned me from the rink for life. Many other fans and staff welcomed us with open arms. To any WHL Fan, if you ever get a chance to go to a game in Portland, dont be scared to take your gear with you, because we had absolutly no problems with any fans in that building.

Now back to the game. The boys must have thought that since Sutter was away, the boys will play, and It showed. The Forwards wouldnt come back defencivly, the Defence wouldnt pick up their man, and the Goaltending was average at best. We lost the fights, we lost the fights for loose pucks, we lost the faceoffs, and boy, did we loose the game. If I knew I was going to ride 1300 KM to see the boys play like that, I might have said skrew the bus trip and stayed at home.

The only bright spot of the game was getting a sweet reaction from Cam Moon over my "Cam Moon is my Hero" Sign, and an even better Reaction when he saw the "Can I be Your Color Guy??" on the back. I trekked my way over to the Media Booth in the Second Intermission and had a chat with Mooner. At the same time, I met up with my girlfriend's Boss's Daughter. She was at the media booth to get Cam to say Hi over the radio to her dad, as she was going to school in portland, and wanted to let her dad know that she was doing fine. I get a brainwave, and when she leaves, I ask Mooner If he can send a shout out to Sgt.Zeek's Daughter. He pauses, checks his watch, pauses again, and says "Come on down here". Cheers erupt from the Rebels fans Section as I strut my way down to the Color Commentators position, and hold Up the Cam Moon is My Hero sign. I get a quick 2 minute interview on BIG 105, and We chat about how AWESOME the trip has been so far, and how good the USA Fans have been to us. I get to give my Hello to My Neice, and let her know that we will be home in a couple of days, and we are having a great time.

Thats all I have to say about that game. Thats all you need to know. That was probly the worst game I Have seen the Rebels play the whole season. Bar None!

21 Barnes Had organized a gathering at the local Applebee's, so when we got back to the hotel, we loaded the bus, and took the short drive to Applebee's. Besides the minor detail of having a lack of Waitresses, we had an awesome time. Those Portland fans sure know how to host.

Got back to the hotel and finished off what little beer we had in the fridge in the room. We decided we would be the good samaritans and we went room to room asking if they had any alchohol they needed us to finish off before the border crossing the next morning. You name it, we had it. Beer, Vodka, Rum, Rye, That other Clear stuff. Wow! The bus in the morning is going to be a struggle. 8:30 AM Will be a Killer.

Untill then, thats Day 3, and 4!

a7x
02-17-2005, 03:06 PM
I'm glad you enjoyed yourself in Portland! However, I'm not sorry about the outcome of the game :thumb:. You guys were unfortunate enough to catch the Hawks on a night when they played their best game of the season.

I'm planning on going on the Central trip with the Hawks next season, which means we'll be hitting up Red Deer. I'm pretty excited for that even though it's so far away.