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Red Wings Addict

The most annoying things about being at games?

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First off, being at the Joe for Wings games is awesome.

It's also not perfect. Nothing is. (That is, of course, unless they win the cup.)

Last night, for instance, I was at the game and unfortunately I was in a row with people who clearly were not there to watch the game. They constantly made everyone else in our row get up so they could get out and do God knows what.

I also can't stand those people who constantly try to take other people's seats because they think they're open. At some point it's just like, "Dude, the Joe doesn't really have many bad seats. Just chill out in the seat you paid for (I'm assuming).

I think the most annoying ones of all are those who leave early when they are either down a goal or the game is tied. Ugh.

How about you guys?

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Oh boy. So, I'm a first time season ticket holder who basically moved to MI for a great job and the Wings. I'm thrilled that I get to see most of the games and experience how much fun the Joe can be in person. But after two months these are my biggest complaints:

1) "f*** you, Howard." That was screamed by the large man who rented the seats behind me. I know he rented them because the season ticket holders never show up, which means I get to put up with a very entertaining group of drunks most nights. This man pretty much pummeled his knees into my back for the night, was upset that I wouldn't lean over to the row in front of me and steal him some extra purple towels (the "gift" for breast cancer awareness), and called me a ***** for looking at his wife, who leaned over the seat next to me, pretty much had her ass sticking up in my face and reached under the seat to get the towel that slipped into the crevice. And all this was during the warm up while they were stone cold sober.

2) Seat Poachers. My friend and co ticket holder is overseas for work. Nobody wants a single ticket as a freebie (they want both seats, go figure) so I had an empty seat next to me. But before the game started, this guy slides in and informs me that his friend is in the seat on the other side of my friend's seat and his ticket is way up at top, so he'll move when my friend shows up. Now I have a huge guy behind me, a sloth/stoner poacher next to me and another huge guy to the other side. It would have been nice to tell the guy to move because I technically have both seats, I possess two tickets and I want a space to put my coat. But I didn't know what the etiquette for such circumstances was and I hate being intolerant to a hockey fan, so I sat smushed.

3) "Who designed these seats, an anorexic model?" followed by "the AA center has cup holders and Wifi" (and the fact that you can't see the ice from 80% of seats is negated by cup holders?). I'm not a skinny person. But when I say that I mean that I'm a size 10 who wishes I was a size 8. It's interesting to listen to the people behind me (the towel stealers) complain about the seat sizes when they are huge people, who probably purchased close to 100 dollars in food. At the Joe. I'm all for having a good time but after eating dinner at the Joe for 4 preseason games in six days, I learned the value of not spending 5.50 for a chili dog. And I'm sure my cholesterol levels appreciate that awareness. The man patiently explained to the woman that the seat sizes were why we were getting a new stadium because the Joe was built in the 1970s when people weren't so fat. I'm not sure the new stadium has enough rows for the seat sizes some of these people need. It also doesn't help when people bring a ton of crap to the Joe. Huge purses, giant coats... I can't complain about the AA comment too much because my co ticket holder is from Dallas and that's enough punishment for any hockey fan.

4) Some of the elitism of season ticket holders. After showing up for three preseason games, the person next to me asked if I was a season ticket holder. I confirmed that and I was excited about the season. She looked confused and asked me why I had printed out tickets and not the real ones. I guess because I normally can't find my keys (or my pretty tickets) but I always have the ability to print off a ticket in a few seconds. She said that people would think I was a "renter" because I had paper tickets. It's like the high school lunch room hierarchy all over again. Except that who really cares? I've always traveled to see the Wings play and I've usually "rented" tickets from someone. Doesn't mean I was a bad fan, just one that didn't/couldn't have season tickets.

5) And the worst thing about going to a game, for me, is watching Dats and Z skate off the line while the national anthem is being sung. It's disrespectful and something I never saw on the broadcast at home. And seeing the young skater do the same thing, following Pavel's lead just makes me sad. Let's teach everyone that it's cool to skate while someone is singing the anthem. Maybe Karen could speed it up a bit, because they are so anxious to start skating before the game and we can't get them to skate DURING the game.

So those are my complaints. But I'm still thrilled to be at games. I just wished people used some common sense.

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The worst part about a Red Wings game is when the seller you bought your tickets from manages to sell the seats on both stubhub and ticketexchange so you spend the first period in the box office trying to sort it out.

That's what happened to my friends and I tonight. Obviously, that's not a regular occurrence but, I don't get to Wings games often and, I've never had a bad experience otherwise so it's the best I got.

Also, seeing Brendan Smith "play" defense was a pretty significant bummer.

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5) And the worst thing about going to a game, for me, is watching Dats and Z skate off the line while the national anthem is being sung. It's disrespectful and something I never saw on the broadcast at home. And seeing the young skater do the same thing, following Pavel's lead just makes me sad. Let's teach everyone that it's cool to skate while someone is singing the anthem. Maybe Karen could speed it up a bit, because they are so anxious to start skating before the game and we can't get them to skate DURING the game.

So those are my complaints. But I'm still thrilled to be at games. I just wished people used some common sense.

I've never got why professional sports feel need to play the national anthem before games. For one thing, there is no intrinsic connection between sports and patriotism. Why do we have it for games, but not at the movies or other large gatherings. There really is no reason for it. The other thing is that so many of the players in the leugue are not American or Canadian. I wonder how they feel having to stand for a foreign anthem 82 a year.

A liitle off topic, but I've had the thought recently.

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I've never got why professional sports feel need to play the national anthem before games. For one thing, there is no intrinsic connection between sports and patriotism. Why do we have it for games, but not at the movies or other large gatherings. There really is no reason for it. The other thing is that so many of the players in the leugue are not American or Canadian. I wonder how they feel having to stand for a foreign anthem 82 a year.

A liitle off topic, but I've had the thought recently.

It's tradition, and we can't sit around and sing 5 or 6 national anthems each game, so they sing canada and America cause that's where the league is based and the fans that are attending are from.

Side note, I love love love the canada national anthem, think it's the best sounding (I'm American)

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1) When we are at a game, my husband is in a wheelchair. He doesn't need it all the time, but in crowds, if someone jostled him the wrong way he'd be down on the floor with no feeling in his legs (degenerative form of arthritis in the back). No one has courtesy for wheelchair fans. They walk in front of you, they run into you, they don't care. I'd love to be able to bring his service dog with us, but no way in the world would I do that. Poor Loki would be trampled to death.

2) I swear to God, if I have to hear that damned "God Bless the USA" song again, I'm going to barf. It's nice to honor active duty people, but do we have to hear that crap song...it's as phony as a three dollar bill. I hate it with a passion.

3) Karen Newman. I'm surprised the Humane Society hasn't busted her for cruelty to animals when she sings (or rather, butchers) the anthem. At least at home, I can hit the mute button.

I know #2 is gonna get me in a lot of dutch with some people here, but I can't help it. That song is so nauseating it should be banned from the airwaves.

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1) When we are at a game, my husband is in a wheelchair. He doesn't need it all the time, but in crowds, if someone jostled him the wrong way he'd be down on the floor with no feeling in his legs (degenerative form of arthritis in the back). No one has courtesy for wheelchair fans. They walk in front of you, they run into you, they don't care. I'd love to be able to bring his service dog with us, but no way in the world would I do that. Poor Loki would be trampled to death.

Jeez. That's horrible. :no:

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I've never been to the Joe. I've seen them in a few different places, though. (PHI, NJ, NYC, NYI, SJ.)

The thing that annoys me the most? When they suck, like they did last night.

Buying stuff is, like, kind of a big deal in Detroit now, right? I mean, I'm not saying you're all poor. But to pay up for tickets (which I assume are generally massively overpriced) in rough times...you want your money's worth.

Edited by Dabura

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Oh boy. So, I'm a first time season ticket holder who basically moved to MI for a great job and the Wings. I'm thrilled that I get to see most of the games and experience how much fun the Joe can be in person. But after two months these are my biggest complaints:

1. Bah. Just dumb.

2. Yeah like I said in the OP, seat poachers are annoying as hell. I've just never used that term before to refer to those people. And I'm sure a bunch of people on LGW are probably guilty of that as well, smh. At the same time, "Nobody wants a single ticket as a freebie?" ...Umm... What kind of Wings fans do you deal with, man? I know I'd love one and I'm sure a bunch of LGW people would love one too.

3. Again, bah. Just dumb.

4. ...Seriously? Who the hell cares what your ticket looks like?

5. Zing.

It's not so much common sense that these 'fans' need but rather just even the slightest bit of self-awareness. I feel like a lot of people are there just for a night out and don't really care about the Red Wings. Oh well. At least they still keep the Ilitches in business.

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Being from Philly, I think we've cornered the market on drunk, obnoxious fans so my experience at the Joe was child's play in comparison. However, one thing I could not understand was the amount of people who stand up to go to the concession stand or bathroom WHILE play was going on. It seemed to me that no one waited for a stopage in play to roam around. I could only imagine what would happen if people did this in Philly.

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I very much prefer to just watch games at home, instead of going to the games. I don't have to shell out a hundred bucks for parking, overpriced crap beer, etc. Instead I can sit at home with my friends and enjoy great food that only cost what the ingredients cost, good beer, not have to deal with assholes, actually be comfortable, etc.

Oh, and to the person bitching about the people who complain about how the seats are too small, well they are. I am your average tall guy and I am not fat, but I could barely fit in the seats. They are made for shorter/skinny people. Its like the people who say the people complaining about the seats on planes are just fat whales, when in reality if you are over 6'2", there is no way you can comfortably sit in a coach seat. Thats just facts.

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Being from Philly, I think we've cornered the market on drunk, obnoxious fans

So true.

I went to one of the '97 SCF games. Some drunk-ass piece of s*** dumped his beer all over a guy in the bathroom, while the guy was taking a leak - all because he was wearing an Yzerman jersey.

I was a kid. It didn't scar me, but it definitely made me hate the city of Philadelphia that much more.

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I very much prefer to just watch games at home, instead of going to the games. I don't have to shell out a hundred bucks for parking, overpriced crap beer, etc. Instead I can sit at home with my friends and enjoy great food that only cost what the ingredients cost, good beer, not have to deal with assholes, actually be comfortable, etc.

Totally agree - especially with the rise of HD TV.

Oh, and to the person bitching about the people who complain about how the seats are too small, well they are. I am your average tall guy and I am not fat, but I could barely fit in the seats. They are made for shorter/skinny people. Its like the people who say the people complaining about the seats on planes are just fat whales, when in reality if you are over 6'2", there is no way you can comfortably sit in a coach seat. Thats just facts.

I'm 6'4, with a bad back (thank you, hockey). Sounds like the seats alone would ruin it for me.

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Oh, and to the person bitching about the people who complain about how the seats are too small, well they are. I am your average tall guy and I am not fat, but I could barely fit in the seats. They are made for shorter/skinny people. Its like the people who say the people complaining about the seats on planes are just fat whales, when in reality if you are over 6'2", there is no way you can comfortably sit in a coach seat. Thats just facts.

I'm 5'6" a buck fifty and I think the seats at the Joe are cramped.

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1. People who buy tickets and don't show up. It's really obvious on TV, and it bothers me even more when I'm at the game. They make the Joe look empty and they're wasting seats that would otherwise be used. The Joe is constantly 'sold out' but they haven't had full attendance in a very long time (at least in the regular season).

2. People who think it is appropriate to walk up/down the stairs during play. The ushers do a pretty good job at stopping people coming from the concourse, but every game there are people who can't seem to wait until there is a stop in play to move.

3. When they play God Bless the USA to honor the military veterans. I think it's really cool to honor them, but I feel like a round of applause should be sufficient. If the lyrics to the song didn't say "and I proudly stand up", I know people would be less inclined to do so. Sometimes I'll just sit anyway, but I feel like such an asshat when I do. Why I am being guilt tripped at a hockey game?

4. People who smoke in the tube. Just because it's cold, doesn't mean we're outside anymore. Wait the 10 minutes to get to your car, or light up before you go over the bridge. We're all in very crowed enclosed space, please stop.

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Maybe I'm being ridiculous because at Tigers games and such, I'm conversing about random things and having a grand old time. But at Wings games, it really infuriates me when some dude behind me is barely paying attention to the game, chatting about work, real estate, and a bunch of other crap, haha. This is hockey! Get into it.

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Guest Playmaker

I got rid of my season tickets, in part because of what a miserable experience the JLA is. The Ilitches may invest in their players, but they don't invest in their fans.

Where to even begin. Well, for one, the games should start at 7. Nobody who goes to the games lives in Detroit. The parking, the bathrooms, the bad food, the ridiculously crowded concourse (hey, lets put in a few more pizza stands and souvenir booths since it isn't crowded enough), the technologically obsolete scoreboard. Just to add to all the other things already mentioned.

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I live in Columbus and have family in Toledo so I have a chance to go to many CBJ games and a few DRW games a year. I don't know about you guys, but when I end up going to games its because I wanted to go and made a decision to go. I love hockey so I always enjoy myself and don't really care if the guy next to me is doing a crossword puzzle or some vapid businessman not there for hockey, I am going to have a good time because there is hockey being played. Hockey games aren't the only place I have ever been where people lack self-awarness, I don't know about you guys.

Shame on people for being so bitter about little things, and if I had good seats and an empty seat and someone wanted my extra I would most certainly give it up and not worry if my coat has a good seat. I can see getting upset if you have children and people around you are being belligerent but even than, you know you're going to a place where they serve alcohol. ENJOY THE GAME PEOPLE!!

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I prefer to watch games from home but my dad bought a full season package when the Wings were moved to the Eastern Conference so now we have to go all the time. I don't mind it as much, but my wife doesn't like going. She's pregnant, which makes the seats extra hard to deal with. The only real issues we have are those folks, mentioned elsewhere in this thread, that get up and down constantly throughout the game. There are some people, two rows in front of us, who sit patiently throughout the entire intermission and as soon as play starts, they get up. Man, is food and beer THAT important? To save on costs, we never eat at the stadium. And when one beer costs as much as parking, we don't bother with that either.

My biggest problem at games and other events are the a$$holes who are unaware how damn loud their whistling is? Who the heck doesn't know people don't want their ears pierced with their rediculously loud & constant whistling? What good does that do? Do you think the team really plays better when someone up in the rafters is whistling? It's hard to "enjoy the game" when you are going deaf.

Last year there the two seats in front of us were taking up by incredibly large people. How large? Well, one guy had a ziplock bag of bacon in his coat pocket. They would always violently throw their heads back at close shots, etc. then give us dirty looks when they broke our knees with their skulls.

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