Teddy Bear Toss

Its that time of year again:  teddy bear toss!

It took me a while to get the hang of it, so for this exercise we'll look at my personal experiences for all of us to build upon.

I'll never forgive myself for not going to the 2006 game.  I bought a bear and everything, but that was the year where there was no radio coverage, but almost all the home games were on local cable for some reason.  Games that I didn't have someone to go with, I stayed home and watched on TV - this was one of those games.  I ended up giving that bear to a girl that I had just started dating, then she dumped me via myspace blog.  You ever get dumped via myspace blog?  I have.  It sucks.

This was the first year of  "the dark ages" - and Vancouver was on the road to the Memorial Cup.  Well, this game turned out to be pretty good:

In 2007, this goal was actually waved off - the net came off of the marsh pegs.  But, you know, the horn went off and folks just started throwing bears.  I think this was the first time it occurred to me that you could bring more than one bear - I had one, and saw dudes walking in with garbage bags full - it was like I saw nuclear fusion.    Looks like 20,372 bears:

2008 was the first teddy bear game that the woman I love attended, and she was all excited about getting tickets close to the ice, in order to make sure we could reach the ice.  The main thing there was we got pelted with fur the whole time.  These folks probably shared a similar fate:

For the 2009 game, we were in the first games of the Mike Johnston era.  Back in the Rose Garden, full of hope, even if we still didn't see 20 wins that year:

2010 rolls around and the 'Hawks are back in business.  Chris Francis is scoring last second goals, and we'd see a return to the playoffs.  Let the bears fly:

2011 turned out to be quite the party.  As the bears were being collected, a happy couple were legally married on the ice surface:

It looks like last season our friends The Timbers Army were there.  I like it when those guys come to games - the chanting, standing the whole game, scarves, signs, all of it.  Its a nice change of pace for a hockey game:

This year's game is this Saturday: 12/14/13.  My understanding is the game is sold out, but checking with the office or craigslist may bear fruit.  Plan ahead:  its a full house, and it appears as though there is Duck Basketball in the Garden - and its a 6:00 start.  Its bugs me that the events calander for that facility doesn't feel that the Winterhawks are worth listing - even the New Years game.


The gold standard?  Calgary.  25,000+ bears just last week.

I went to the dollar store this weekend.  The woman I love is always critical of how many bears I get for these games, even if I get a small amount its too much.  So this year I'm going with what you see here - whatever quantity fills a shopping cart at the dollar store. She also tells me she reads this blog, but I doubt it.   I'll see you there.