The Penguins Student Rush

Penguins tickets for college students in 3 words: expensive, expensive, and expensive. Especially if you want to take a friend (or two). The recent success that Bylsma and friends have had over the last few years haven't helped the prices any, but hey - supply and demand is a part of life. But the Penguins organization has the Student Rush, which is an absolutely phenomenal program that allows students to purchase tickets for $25 a ticket, which is much less than you can find on TicketMaster.  To get these tickets though, you're pretty much required to stand outside in line for several hours since it's on a first come, first serve basis. They could tell me to stand outside in just my boxers in 20 degree weather - for a $25 for a Pens ticket - DEAL.

On October 20, 2011, I decided spur of the moment that I wanted to try to get to the game and see what the student rush was all about. I was lucky enough to round up a great friend of mine from Clarksburg and we headed up to the Consol Energy Center for a pretty eventful day and night.

I never thought that a 1.5 drive and a 4 hour wait could be so eventful... And cold.

So my friend Kody got here at around 1:00 PM and we promptly got the HELL out of Morgantown and after a quick pit-stop at sheets, headed up to the CEC. It was a nice, rainy drive and we even managed to get stuck in the awesome traffic getting on towards Washington, PA. Great fun.

We arrive in Pittsburgh around 2:45 PM, about 4 hours away from game-time. After parking the car, I realize that I forgot one of the most important things next to my student ID... Under Armour. Sweet.



Pictured above is the godsend app that my friend and I relied on to get us through the wait time, the cold and to keep our minds off of the fact that we had to visit the men's room and that we required food... and soon. I'd like to include here that I went 3-0, with the final game being a decisive 87-24 victory. Anyhow, if you ever have a lot of time to kill, get this app. It's great fun, even if you don't have a partner to play with, not to mention that it's pretty nostalgic, remembering back to all of the attention I didn't pay in elementary and middle school with real paper football.

Midway through one of our games, we started realizing that there were reporters....reporters everywhere. The couple standing in front of us were interviewed and the young woman asked if they knew about the "big surprise" coming our way in a while. The guy replied that he didn't, but the girl he was with seemed pretty sure she knew what it was. I didn't know. I didn't have a clue in the world. And I'm glad I didn't, because it was one heck of a surprise.

No more than 15 minutes later, I hear a wave of cheers heading back to where we were standing next to TGI Fridays and I stop playing paper football, look up... and what do I see?

Dan Bylsma and the other Pittsburgh Penguins handing out pizza to everyone standing in line. Needless to say, I didn't  have to use the bathroom anymore. My legs weren't cold anymore either. In my excitement, all I could do was stare and think to myself, "holy crap... it's Dan! It's Staal! It's Dupis!" Meanwhile, while basking in the moment like a kid in a candy store, coach is yelling at me to take some pizza so he can keep moving down the line. Following Coach B down the road were Dupuis, Engelland, and Staal.
Honestly one of the coolest moments of my life. There's really nothing like seeing the guys you look up to, up close and on such an impersonal and friendly environment. I snagged a couple good pictures of the guys handing out pizza and talking with fans. Really, such a neat experience.


I know this picture is a little bit blurry, but keep in mind that I'm rushing to get the picture...and free food. Also, this was a completely random picture. I wasn't planning on him stopping for too long, and I'm not 100% sold on the idea that he was ready for the picture. He just looks so happy. From head coach to pizza delivery guy - he had a good attitude about it.

Coach Bylsma cheesin' it up!
(See what I did there?)

I heard that earlier in the day that a few people had come out and brought the students who had been there since the very early hours of the morning hot chocolate as well.

Staal handing out some food and some woman tryin' to cop a feel. 

I had mentioned to Steve Mears in a tweet during a 24/7 broadcast that overall, I thought these were both awesome gestures from the organization. When you think about it, they didn't have to do that. They bought 60 pizzas for everyone in line and while I'm sure they got quite a break on the price, they still had to fork over some money - I'd predict about $500-$600. They also handed out quality T-shirts to everyone as well, retailing in the Pens Shop about $30 a shirt. To over 600 people waiting in line, I'm sure you can do that math and figure out that again, this is a lot of money. Most organizations are looking for ways to hold on to money or to at least earn some kind of revenue on their products. The organization took the time, money, and their players and coaches and reached out to the youth who follow their team and gave incentive and reason to keep following and supporting them and I applaud them for that. I know there was a press conference, where the coaches and players were talking about the success of the student rush and each person really emphasized of getting to those who are the future ticket holders and supporters of the team. Things like this will certainly keep us coming back and draw other students in trying to get in on the fun and experiences.

After a few more games of paper football, FINALLY, it was game time. The line started moving a little quicker and we finally got up to the box office. I handed the gentleman my money and in return, got my tickets. I about fell over. Section 118. Just to make sure you read that right, I'll write it again - Section 118. For $25, I had a lower section ticket, right behind Marc Andre-Fleury. Sure, this wasn't a seat right down next to the glass, but still - I otherwise would have spent at least $200 PER TICKET for a seat like this on any other day. Glorious to say the least.

So what to do now? I met Coach Bylsma and Jordan Staal, got free pizza, an awesome T-shirt, an awesome seat for $25. It would seem like there's nothing left to get, but there was. A Lebatt Blue (or two) and a great performance from the Penguins putting it to the Canadiens with goals from Neal, Vitale, and a mid-air goal from Asham. You CANNOT ask for anything more. Seriously.

For those wondering what it's like to get to a student rush game - I hope this helped you visualize it and I hope it motivates you to get to the next one. I know I'll be there. Again, the American Eagle and Penguins organization deserve some serious praise here. It's not every day that people (especially college students) get the opportunity to experience things like this. Can't wait for the next one and as always -

LETS GO PENS.

http://www.wtae.com/video/29546287/detail.html <---- Video of WTAE news coverage of the Rush.

Skating on Dreams

I've never blogged before, so this is new to me. I should probably introduce myself, too. The name is Brian D. (@DyeHardPensFan on Twitter) and I'm 21 years old. I'm a pharmacy student at WVU and play hockey and guitar in my spare time. I have aspirations to become a professor and a hockey coach for kids. Over the last couple of years I have developed an insatiable obsession with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the NHL in general. I really want to aim this blog to discuss the Pens, but I won't just limit myself to them. So, here's to skating on dreams.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First came track in middle school. It was the first scholastic sport of my life where I excelled, trained hard, and even broke a school record in the 400m dash. Then came high school with a year of football where I played a prominent role in keeping the benches nice and warm and acted as a body to put into the ground when the varsity guys needed someone to play defense against. I'm not mad about it - I knew my role and I'm proud to say I tried it. Combine this with two years of basketball, three years of cross country, and three years of track and you have yourself a full school year athlete who rarely did anything but run. I wasn't the best in any sport I played, but I tried like hell to be. I certainly wasn't the tough guy on any team either - I was a very passive person. Again, I knew my role, I was a support guy running and playing against the other support guys. Not to my surprise, come senior year, there were no athletic scholarship offers and it was off to WVU to pursue a career in pharmacy.

So of course, college was here. Time to start working on my career toward a doctorate degree and to really crack down and start making good decisions. That's the smart thing to do, right? Here, nobody is making me exercise anymore, no more sports, team practices - all of that is history. So it went from busy all of the time - to just schoolwork. Sure it kept me busy, but it definitely didn't keep me active, and it definitely wasn't exciting. Then I found hockey. I started watching it on TV occasionally to kill time with my suite-mates, then started developing interest in learning how to ice-skate. This is when I learned about one of my true passions.

I know it seems kind of outlandish to say - but HOCKEY has impacted me in the most unusual way in the last year or two. What started off as occasional Pittsburgh Penguin hockey nights (on what was formerly Fox Sports Network) to relax after an exam or just to take a night off, has turned into an out of control obsession where I absolutely HAVE to be paying some kind of attention to the Pens on game night. What started out as searching for local rinks just to go skate on has turned into trips to Washington D.C. to be taught by world-class coaches and former NHL pro's. It's turned into hundreds of dollars spent on gear, gas, tickets to pro games; the list is endless. What started out as being familiar with just Sidney Crosby and the bigger names has spawned into knowing not just all of the players, but trying to know all of the AHL counterparts that could possibly be called up, Badger Bob, Steve Mears, Rob Rossi, and the myriad of people covering the Penguins. I have invested more time, money, and energy to expand my knowledge and skill in the game of hockey than all of the sports I ever participated in combined. Within the last couple of years, hockey has become a distinct part of my life.

I do play rec-league hockey, where I have scored one-goal (against a team whose goalie didn't show up) and have had maybe just a few assists. Even though I am absolutely horrendous, I am soaking everything I can up about the game from line-mates and even from a fantasy camp I attended in Washington. But out of everything that I have ever done - Hockey is by far the most enjoyable and rewarding. While it's a team sport, it depends so much on individual skill and determination, personal accountability for decisions made on the ice, and discipline on and off the ice. I owe it to the mama for helping me out around Christmas time to get my gear. Still trying to get a win with her and dad in attendance.

So maybe in high school I had dreams that I would someday play D-2 college ball or run track or cross country. In hindsight, these were unrealistic dreams but got me through the days as a teenager. As a hockey player, with an astonishing record of one goal in a season, I know that I will never, ever, ever, be a professional hockey player - and I'm just fine with that. What I have found though, is that I have a new ambition; to learn as much as I can about the game, about my favorite team, and try to make hockey as appealing to other people as possible. I never understood hockey as a kid and I never had a reason to. The big sports in the small town of Clarksburg were basketball and football, plus there wasn't a rink within an hour drive of my house. So I think I've found a new goal - to write about what keeps me going from day to day.

So what am I expecting to come of this? Probably nothing. I will probably get bogged down with school work and never write a blog again. Or maybe I'll be sitting in an office or at my pharmacy someday thinking "Wow, I never thought this would grow into what it has". I mean in the back of my mind of course I'm hoping something could come of it. As the great Wayne Gretzky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take", so here goes nothing.

Most of you are probably reading this asking yourselves why I just gave a monologue about my life and about why I like hockey. Like I said, I'm new to this, and this is something I want to take on. Look at people like Bylsma, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury,or Johnson - they were all probably equally as horrible at hockey at some point in their lives too. Look at the reporters like Lange (who is brilliant on the air), Rossi, Mears, Madden, McKenzie, Kasan, and Crechiolo. They were all probably equally...not...writing reports for the Pens or something at one point in time. Everyone has to start somewhere and I just so happen to be getting a late start. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something up for the Islanders game.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy!