Changing priorities

So then, how good was last weekend's hockey, eh? EH?!! I don’t mind admitting that from getting out of bed on the day of the Manchester game, I was nervous. Nervous in a way that I used to reserve solely for Sunderland vs Newcastle derby games.

I kept looking at my watch to see how long it was until we left for the rink. How long it was until face-off. How long until it’d all be over and we’d know the result. Would I be coming home afterwards on a massive high or low? Even I knew what a big game this was. The Mancs want our title, and we don’t want to give it up without a fight... ‘specially not to them. All that rubbish about G-Man and some ‘code’ after he DARED take on The Untouchable One (aka Tony Hand MBE....Mighty Big ‘Ead)

The Mancs have also signed a fine example of Neanderthal Man, better known as Andrew Sharp. Even TUO has admitted that he didn’t sign Mr Sharp for his playing ability, and I quote: “I’m not bringing him in for his skilful play. He’s tough and he’s willing to drop the gloves at any time. It will help the guys and give them a bit more confidence” Sorry? Can’t they just play a decent, skilful game of hockey and take their confidence from that? If they’re not doing well, they set their pet Rottweiler on the oppo?

As Saturday went on, the butterflies set in. I won a bottle of whisky in a raffle recently but it sat unopened – neither me nor hubby drink it (to be accurate, I can’t even stand the smell of the stuff since I drank rather a lot of it one night in Dalgety Bay a few years back) and crossed my mind to take it to the game and hand it around the rest of the behind-the-scenes team at the Thunderdome, help settle a few nerves!!

My preoccupation with Saturday’s game almost obliterated any concerns I might’ve had about my former love, football – and Sunderland facing Blackpool. I checked the score, wondered how Kieron Richardson suddenly got good, briefly hoped Blackpool wouldn’t equalise and that was that. How priorities change. Don't get me wrong - I'll never stop supporting Sunderland, I'm just out of love with football in general, but the manner of Darren Bent's departure recently didn't help. SAFC have been in my bloodstream too long to give up on them completely and theirs will always be the first result I look for on a Saturday afternoon....but it's not the sport it once was.

Got to the rink on Saturday night and the first reaction was just WOW....it was SO full, and this was with half an hour still before face off! Lots of people from my work were there – I’m always banging on about hockey rather than footy on a Monday morning (another change in priorities), now it was my colleagues' turn to see what a fantastic sport this is. But it was amazing to see the rink SO full...one of those moments when I was incredibly proud to be involved with MK Lightning.

The butterflies were in residence right until the first goal. Phoenix looked like they had every intention of giving our boys a full-on workout. They were confident on the puck, not afraid to pass it around. But as the first period went on, our boys got their teeth into the game and were first to score – and the butterflies disappeared. They must’ve escaped out when the cheer lifted the roof off Planet Ice!!

To summarise: there was no looking back after that. There was only a brief period of any concern when Kristofferson scored twice but there were no signs of panic from Nick and the lads – they kept calm and the win was theirs. Top of the league? You’re ‘aving a larff!! Absolutely magic....lots of happy supporters and lots of happy players in the bar afterwards – a change from the previous week when despite having stuffed Telford, the final whistle shenanigans seemed to leave them a bit flat.

I love Sundays: a proper lie-in, no dashing around, just enjoying being at home. But Sunday gone I found myself in the car with MKL’s ticketing lady Jan, her son, and Golly, all heading for Sheffield...all of us I think still on a high from the Manchester game. Sheffield’s a bloody long way away, Yorkshire for a start, half way back home to Sunderland and that’s a journey I don’t do often. But for the cause of supporting Lightning I gave up an afternoon at home – how times change! It was worth it though – good hockey craic in the car there and back, Jan and Golly helping with my hockey ‘education’, watching a Lightning game is NEVER time wasted, and a really good giggle during warm up: Jan told us it was Monir’s birthday and Jamie Line’s 21^st so she’d done some ‘happy birthday’ posters - and some praising Nick’s coaching. So while the guys were warming up we held them up to the plexi, and the looks on their faces were priceless!! Lukas tried to make out he wasn’t looking then couldn’t help laughing, Carrsy did a rubbish job of making it look like he hadn’t seen us, Farny looked mildly amused, Jamie looked a bit embarrassed at the attention and Nick read them, laughed, skated off, then did a double take and shook his head... They don’t call us 'Nick Poole's barmy army’ for nothing...

Back to work this week and a colleague was talking to me about Formula 1, my other long-term sporting love apart from football. I’ve followed F1 on and off since the mid 70’s and love it. My keyring is a McLaren one with earplugs in, I’m the Williams team’s official stalker and everything stops on Sunday afternoons when there’s a race on. But I had to admit to my colleague that I had no idea when ANY of the teams were launching this year’s cars or even when pre-season testing started - things that are normally tattoed on my mind. I normally get F1 close-season withdrawal symptoms but since the last season ended, the only sport I’ve really paid proper attention to is ice hockey. Blimey, this isn’t me!!

So supporting Lightning now takes priority over football and even F1 when it’s the close season, changing the habits of a lifetime. Not sure I’ll do every single Lightning away game as I need a bit of weekend calm occasionally, but I’ll sure as damn it be at our rink every home game!!