A couple of years ago when I was visiting my family in Nashville, TN I got to go to a Predators hockey game. My family was blessed to get complimentary tickets to view the game from a suite and my mom and I arrived early. When we had just gotten inside the suite there was a knock on the door. A representative from the Predators wanted to know if we would like to ride the zamboni before the game started. My mom and I are always interested in having fun so we agreed and were lead down to the zamboni holding area.
Before we got on the zamboni we got to walk up to the glass and watch the players practice before the game started. It was really cool to get to be that close to the action. And I will go ahead and warn you now about how loud it is when the puck hits the glass. Previously the closest that I had been to the glass was the fourth row and I do not remember it being so loud. It was such a great experience to be right on the glass and someone was very kind to take our picture.
After a few minutes of watching the players practice it was time for us to board the zamboni. We each got strapped into a separate zamboni and it was time to go out on the ice. The ride is very smooth and while it is cool since you are on the ice it was a bit cold but not too bad. It was dark minus the lights that were on the ice and both my mom and I were on the jumbotron but my dad wasn’t there yet to be able to take our picture. I did take a video of my view from the zamboni and if you would like to check it out look at the bottom of the post for a link to that video on youtube.
It was a really fun experience but after the first lap I did start to feel really awkward because I felt like I had to smile the whole time because I never knew when I would be on the jumbotron. The guy driving the zamboni kept telling me I should wave but then I thought who am I waving to? I didn’t think anyone in the seats would care that I was waving because none of them knew who I was. It’s one of those situations where different people will have different responses. Even though I enjoyed it I did feel a bit awkward about just sitting there and trying to smile but I can see how other people might be yelling and waving and enjoying the attention.
My mom and I lucked into riding the zamboni because we were the only ones in the suite when the lady came in and asked if we wanted to ride. If this is an experience that you are interested in I would encourage you to reach out to your local hockey team and ask how you can be considered to ride the zamboni. It is possible that they might pick you just for asking or that they might say they have an upcoming contest and the winner will get to ride. Getting to the games early always helps because even if you are not sitting in a suite you never know when a representative might be in your seating area looking for people to pick.
If you are a hockey fan regardless of whether or not you want to ride the zamboni you should consider connecting with your team on twitter. Recently the Nashville Predators did a ticket giveaway on their account and gave the winner tickets to opening night. In addition to winning free tickets you can also find out about meeting players and other fun events related to your team. When I am in Nasvhille I am a Predators fan but living in Southern California I am certainly interested in checking out the LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. What is your favorite thing you’ve done at a hockey game?
My view from the zamboni video: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=tQLu4fb94ug
