Wings to have open skate Saturday, 3/29

[wingnut40 176]

I'm in the worst situation right now. I told my cousin I'd spend the night with her on Friday, but I obviously want to go to this. I'm screwed.

[maltbymaniac 13]

Couple of friends and I went to the one and only last year...and it was cool to see the players goof off, the speed drills where they raced against eachother was a highlight. But on the flipside, the security fellas working were the biggest a-holes ever, lots of rules, one of them made the little girl (probably 5-6 years old) in front of me cry after yelling at her. No autographs at all, A chance for pic with your fav Wing players (read: Huds, Lebda, Langfeld). We had fun, but left unimpressed with the hospitality, or lack thereof.

well thats odd everyone seemed cool to me i asked ken holland a couple questions and left with over 20 somthing autographs

[Zion 93]

I will be sure to get there nice and early.

I'm in the worst situation right now. I told my cousin I'd spend the night with her on Friday, but I obviously want to go to this. I'm screwed.

I'll leave this one alone.

[wingnut40 176]

I'll leave this one alone.

What like you didn't go to sleepovers when you were 15 Anyway, I hope Dom will be over the flu and at the practice. I love him he's such a physco.

[amberlynn25 9]

Damn it. I'm totally not going back to Michigan for another week. Son of a...

dont worry...I have to work and cant go.

[zata40 3]

how long do they practice? I gotta know because I have to work later in the day.

[maltbymaniac 13]

how long do they practice? I gotta know because I have to work later in the day.

its like 1 hour maybe a little longer.should be done by 1:30 if you dont want to try to get autographs.

[zata40 3]

its like 1 hour maybe a little longer.should be done by 1:30 if you dont want to try to get autographs.

thanks, I'm definitely going now!

[Zion 93]

Now Mac is playing on Friday???

THIS IS GOING TO THE BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!

[maltbymaniac 13]

i know i could hardly fall asleep last night,i was thinking about what i want to take and get signed.im like a kid in a candy store only im 27

[Williams29fan 6]

I hate working on Sat.

[joshy207 156]

i know i could hardly fall asleep last night,i was thinking about what i want to take and get signed.im like a kid in a candy store only im 27

Please don't take this as me picking on you, because that's not at all what I'm trying to say here... but I think this is part of why the Wings don't open themselves up to the public more often. We all get so star-struck and autograph-hungry that sometimes we forget they're just regular guys and they're there to work. On the other hand, the Wings' brass and marketing department (or lack thereof) forgets that these guys are also public figures, people look up to them and really appreciate an open practice or an autograph. Lucky for them, the team has been so good and so popular that they haven't had to rely on public appearances and open-door policies to attract business. However, that's not exactly the case anymore, as we've seen way too many empty red seats at the Joe this year.

There needs to be a happy medium. The team needs to lift their Iron Curtain more often--just about every practice should be open, except when the coaches decide otherwise and at playoff time. The players should be made available at public appearances more often (and at lower prices!!) and maybe there could be some more in-depth media programming, not just the fluff they have now. The fans could reciprocate by being a little more reserved at these events... which I think would happen if an open practice wasn't such a rare occurence.

[maltbymaniac 13]

Please don't take this as me picking on you, because that's not at all what I'm trying to say here... but I think this is part of why the Wings don't open themselves up to the public more often. We all get so star-struck and autograph-hungry that sometimes we forget they're just regular guys and they're there to work. On the other hand, the Wings' brass and marketing department (or lack thereof) forgets that these guys are also public figures, people look up to them and really appreciate an open practice or an autograph. Lucky for them, the team has been so good and so popular that they haven't had to rely on public appearances and open-door policies to attract business. However, that's not exactly the case anymore, as we've seen way too many empty red seats at the Joe this year.

There needs to be a happy medium. The team needs to lift their Iron Curtain more often--just about every practice should be open, except when the coaches decide otherwise and at playoff time. The players should be made available at public appearances more often (and at lower prices!!) and maybe there could be some more in-depth media programming, not just the fluff they have now. The fans could reciprocate by being a little more reserved at these events... which I think would happen if an open practice wasn't such a rare occurence.

im kind of confused on what you are tryin to say.but if you think im not gonna try and get some autographs (seeing that it dont happen often) your crazy,my post was some-what of a joke and B i know how to act and handle myself and very much appreciate every single one. this is what being a fan is about,i dont know your concept on it and quite frankly dont care.your post is completly off the wall if you ask me.

[#19forPresident! 1]

So I made it to open practice today, I didn't get close to the players on the bench side because there were a ton of kids from youth groups who I figured would cherish the experience a lot more, plus I just appreciated being able to see what our guys do behind the scenes since there are hardly any open Wings practices.

I sat about 3 rows behind the penalty boxes on the opposite side, I was able to see great and enjoyed the practice and the guy's antics. I didn't get the opportunity to have anything signed as I mentioned earlier I wasn't on the bench side, but they did skate around and throw pucks over the glass to everyone........

Side note related to this.....There was a gentleman in front of me who couldn't have been a day under 45 and he was literally sprawling out in full extension to grab pucks from wherever he could......... Even after getting 3 pucks this guy evidently wasn't satisfied, so he tried to get more everytime they were thrown, which was pretty sickening to me.....and when I saw him try to take one from a young teenager I just wondered what the hell he was thinking..... but thats another story.

During the practice the guys took a break to stretch at center ice, D-Mac was at dead center in the middle of the Wings logo, and as they were sitting there someone yelled "Welcome back Mac!!" and everyone gave a standing O, and players smacked their sticks on the ice, it was a good moment.

Also during the same break Babs took got a mic and thanked the fans over the PA for coming and said the Wings wouldn't be where they are today without us. Then Nick took the mic and reiterated the same, after that he said to stop by Cheli's Chili saying they had a special going on and he passed the mic to Chris to explain. Chris said "stop by today, Lidstrom will be taking pictures and signing autographs!" which was of course a jab at the captain.

The irony in this was that me and my buddies had already planned to go to Cheli's after the practice anyway, and we picked up on Lidstrom being there as a joke.

The cool thing was that when we did go to Cheli's, while Lidstrom wasn't there Chelios himself did show up about 2 minutes after we sat at the bar. He chit chatted with the manager for a bit and then started signing for people at the end of the bar. So after a minute or two I took one of the practice pucks thrown out and borrowed a sharpie silver paint pen a guy at the bar next to me happened to have and got it signed.

It was a great day for a Wings fan, I got to see them practice, they showed their appreciation and I even lucked out and ended up getting a puck signed personally without having to hound the guy and chase him down (which sadly some people did even as he was trying to get in his car and drive away an hour later)........... All in all I couldn't have planned it any better.

[kpkuchta 0]

Hi, this my first post, but since I also went to the open practice I wanted to comment. There were plenty other peple hording all the pucks, but worst of all people used little babies to get players attention, ugh, damn babies j/k !! But anyways it was a fun experience got tons of pictures. Looking forward to going again next year.

[maltbymaniac 13]

So I made it to open practice today, I didn't get close to the players on the bench side because there were a ton of kids from youth groups who I figured would cherish the experience a lot more, plus I just appreciated being able to see what our guys do behind the scenes since there are hardly any open Wings practices.

I sat about 3 rows behind the penalty boxes on the opposite side, I was able to see great and enjoyed the practice and the guy's antics. I didn't get the opportunity to have anything signed as I mentioned earlier I wasn't on the bench side, but they did skate around and throw pucks over the glass to everyone........

Side note related to this.....There was a gentleman in front of me who couldn't have been a day under 45 and he was literally sprawling out in full extension to grab pucks from wherever he could......... Even after getting 3 pucks this guy evidently wasn't satisfied, so he tried to get more everytime they were thrown, which was pretty sickening to me.....and when I saw him try to take one from a young teenager I just wondered what the hell he was thinking..... but thats another story.

During the practice the guys took a break to stretch at center ice, D-Mac was at dead center in the middle of the Wings logo, and as they were sitting there someone yelled "Welcome back Mac!!" and everyone gave a standing O, and players smacked their sticks on the ice, it was a good moment.

Also during the same break Babs took got a mic and thanked the fans over the PA for coming and said the Wings wouldn't be where they are today without us. Then Nick took the mic and reiterated the same, after that he said to stop by Cheli's Chili saying they had a special going on and he passed the mic to Chris to explain. Chris said "stop by today, Lidstrom will be taking pictures and signing autographs!" which was of course a jab at the captain.

The irony in this was that me and my buddies had already planned to go to Cheli's after the practice anyway, and we picked up on Lidstrom being there as a joke.

The cool thing was that when we did go to Cheli's, while Lidstrom wasn't there Chelios himself did show up about 2 minutes after we sat at the bar. He chit chatted with the manager for a bit and then started signing for people at the end of the bar. So after a minute or two I took one of the practice pucks thrown out and borrowed a sharpie silver paint pen a guy at the bar next to me happened to have and got it signed.

It was a great day for a Wings fan, I got to see them practice, they showed their appreciation and I even lucked out and ended up getting a puck signed personally without having to hound the guy and chase him down (which sadly some people did even as he was trying to get in his car and drive away an hour later)........... All in all I couldn't have planned it any better.

hey wait a minute you were the one i borrowed my silver sharpie 2.were you the guy that took the picture for meor was that one of your buddies?

yea the pratice was full of kiddies this time,i just sat back and let the tikes get all the pucks,seeing they roped off around the bench this time you werent able to get autographs like last time.still always good to sit on the glass and watch em practice(seeing thats the only time i get to be that close)and boy what a guy cheli was for signing some autographs.we were going over there to eat anyways.all in all in wasnt to shabby.oh yea at the begining they were tryin to keep everyone on the bench side and ubove the white rails in the middle of the lower bowl and most of the seats were marked off for the kids group thing they have(matter of fact im signing my daugther up for that now).good times

Edited March 30, 2008 by maltbymaniac

[#19forPresident! 1]

hey wait a minute you were the one i borrowed my silver sharpie 2.were you the guy that took the picture for meor was that one of your buddies?

Yep that was me, thanks again for the pen. I was gonna have him sign my hat because the black sharpie wouldn't show up on the puck, but luckily you had your silver one and my buddy spotted you.

[maltbymaniac 13]

Yep that was me, thanks again for the pen. I was gonna have him sign my hat because the black sharpie wouldn't show up on the puck, but luckily you had your silver one and my buddy spotted you.

i always bring sharpies with me going to games and what not,never know if you'll get one or not.i had him sign my hat only cause he already signed my jersey at a different signing.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I was at the practice as well. Had a great time.

Met Downey! Was really excited about that.

[joshy207 156]

Side note related to this.....There was a gentleman in front of me who couldn't have been a day under 45 and he was literally sprawling out in full extension to grab pucks from wherever he could......... Even after getting 3 pucks this guy evidently wasn't satisfied, so he tried to get more everytime they were thrown, which was pretty sickening to me.....and when I saw him try to take one from a young teenager I just wondered what the hell he was thinking..... but thats another story.

...hound the guy and chase him down (which sadly some people did even as he was trying to get in his car and drive away an hour later)

maltbymaniac... These are the kind of people I was talking about, the ones who make fools of themselves, irritate the players and other fans, and make it so the team doesn't want to have this kind of day more often.

[maltbymaniac 13]

maltbymaniac... These are the kind of people I was talking about, the ones who make fools of themselves, irritate the players and other fans, and make it so the team doesn't want to have this kind of day more often.

i still think if they had them more often maybe people woudnt act crazy,anyways i saw that this time it was more for the kids so i sat back and let the kiddies have the fun,just watched them practice and took some pictures and met cheli while having lunch.i dont like the fact we as fans cant ever get close to the players especially at open practice.we are fans and thats what we do try to get auto's and chat with our favorite players right.

[wingnut40 176]

Dude there were these 2 chicks I was ready to kill! They were so rude. Downey's signing stuff as fans feed stuff through the glass and these two chicks come up to get him to sign crap. They were total puck bunnies! One of them I guess didn't have any RW stuff so she took off her hoodie and gave it to him to sign. He's like 'Where do you want me to sign?' and she said 'It doesn't matter you can put your number(as in phone number) on there too.' He gives it back and she's like 'Thanks cutie'. Then she's like 'I just got Downey to sign my ex-boyfriend's sweater!' And then this guy kept nagging him for his stick and Downey said no about 5 time 'til he finally signed it and gave it to the guy.

I caught a puck from McCarty so that was cool. Maltby was SO funny!! There was this little kid with his face against the glass. Maltby didn't see him there and shot the puck right at him. Maltby's eyes got so huge and he's like 'OMG I'm so sorry'. Then Downey checked him for scaring the kid. A little while later He opens the thing on the glass and starts feeding his stick through. The kid just looks at it and Maltby's like it's for you. I was so cute. Also at one point Fil said something to Malts that he didn't like so he hit Fil in the balls with his stick. He did it to Lebda too. It was pretty funny!!! And Kopy was like flirting with this chick infront of us. He'd stand around there so she could take pics, and at one point he stuck his toung out at her. It was great!!

We went to Cheli's after and talked to him a little. I thought he was serious about Nick, but I should have considered the source. Then it was SO cool. We're waiting to be seated and my mom sees this guy and she's like 'He looks just like D.B. Sweeney' The guy from Jericho and The Cutting Edge. He's standing right infront of us and my mom's like 'Mr. Sweeney' He turns around and my mom couldn't believe it was him!!! He must be friends with Cheli or something.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Dude there were these 2 chicks I was ready to kill! They were so rude. Downey's signing stuff as fans feed stuff through the glass and these two chicks come up to get him to sign crap. They were total puck bunnies! One of them I guess didn't have any RW stuff so she took off her hoodie and gave it to him to sign. He's like 'Where do you want me to sign?' and she said 'It doesn't matter you can put your number(as in phone number) on there too.' He gives it back and she's like 'Thanks cutie'. Then she's like 'I just got Downey to sign my ex-boyfriend's sweater!' And then this guy kept nagging him for his stick and Downey said no about 5 time 'til he finally signed it and gave it to the guy.

:puke: I hate chicks like that. Give us all a bad name.

[joshy207 156]

i still think if they had them more often maybe people woudnt act crazy,anyways i saw that this time it was more for the kids so i sat back and let the kiddies have the fun,just watched them practice and took some pictures and met cheli while having lunch.i dont like the fact we as fans cant ever get close to the players especially at open practice.we are fans and thats what we do try to get auto's and chat with our favorite players right.

I'm sure you're right. Maybe they should have a screening at the door, a test to keep the crazies out... haha. The Wings really do need to open the doors more often.

I agree that it's a shame you can't get closer to the players, even for a hello and a handshake. But I think too many of those "crazies" have made the players and the team a little gun-shy...

[wingslogo19 281]

Dude there were these 2 chicks I was ready to kill! They were so rude. Downey's signing stuff as fans feed stuff through the glass and these two chicks come up to get him to sign crap. They were total puck bunnies! One of them I guess didn't have any RW stuff so she took off her hoodie and gave it to him to sign. He's like 'Where do you want me to sign?' and she said 'It doesn't matter you can put your number(as in phone number) on there too.' He gives it back and she's like 'Thanks cutie'. Then she's like 'I just got Downey to sign my ex-boyfriend's sweater!' And then this guy kept nagging him for his stick and Downey said no about 5 time 'til he finally signed it and gave it to the guy.

I caught a puck from McCarty so that was cool. Maltby was SO funny!! There was this little kid with his face against the glass. Maltby didn't see him there and shot the puck right at him. Maltby's eyes got so huge and he's like 'OMG I'm so sorry'. Then Downey checked him for scaring the kid. A little while later He opens the thing on the glass and starts feeding his stick through. The kid just looks at it and Maltby's like it's for you. I was so cute. Also at one point Fil said something to Malts that he didn't like so he hit Fil in the balls with his stick. He did it to Lebda too. It was pretty funny!!! And Kopy was like flirting with this chick infront of us. He'd stand around there so she could take pics, and at one point he stuck his toung out at her. It was great!!

We went to Cheli's after and talked to him a little. I thought he was serious about Nick, but I should have considered the source. Then it was SO cool. We're waiting to be seated and my mom sees this guy and she's like 'He looks just like D.B. Sweeney' The guy from Jericho and The Cutting Edge. He's standing right infront of us and my mom's like 'Mr. Sweeney' He turns around and my mom couldn't believe it was him!!! He must be friends with Cheli or something.

Sounds like you had a great time there. Im jealous haha.. I hate puck bunnies as well