Midland High School Marching Band

Chapter 8

Joe and the rest of the Midland Marching Band was getting ready to go to the Bruins vs. Predators game in just a few short hours, and Joe was getting himself ready for the time of his life. 

Despite living in Midland since he moved to the States, he had always rooted for the Boston sports teams, and his favorite player in the NHL played for the Bruins: Patrice Bergeron, who was the sitting captain for the team, as their normal captain, big Zdeno Chara was out on Injured Reserve, or IR. 

Joe was so excited because he got to see not only his favorite current NHLer, but also the goalie who he modelled his game after, Tuukka Rask. Tuukka had already started off the season on a very high note and looked to continue that in the Music City. 

To Joe, this was more than just any of that. It was a chance to turn his attention from the stress of the marching show to something that was far less stressful and that could allow for much more fun and relaxation. To him, this game was going to be paradise. 

Just as he and Kierstan were going to leave their room and head down to the commons area where they would board the buses, Kiers yelled out to him, “Babe! I think I forgot something!” 

“And what exactly was that?” Joe was trying not to sound annoyed, but it was rather clear that he wasn’t too happy with his girlfriend right then. 

“Uhhh.. My Bruins hat and Pasta jersey,” she replied. ‘Pasta’ refers to David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. 

“I can’t help you with the hat, but you packed your Pasta jersey with my Bergy one," he paused for a moment, "And you can use my Bruins trucker hat. I have my Stanley Cup one."

"Kkay thanks, babe!"

"Of course. Now let's get down to the commons area!"

The arena was only about 15 minutes from the hotel, and the sports fans of the group had yelled and screamed just about the whole time. Most people would be rooting for the Bruins, as they were Stars fans, and it is unheard of to root for the Preds if you're a Stars fan. Especially where the Stars are relatively competitive in the Central and the Predators aren't.  

Looking at the arena, it seemed to glow in the night with Predators (or Bruins) gold everywhere like a beam of light from the Heavens. It was beautiful, and Joe was getting butterflies looking on. He had been to plenty of hockey games, having played the sport for so many years. This was different though because of the fact that the Bruins were in town while the Mud Pigs were. 

The band members were all wearing Bruins gear with the very few Predators fans of the lot wearing Preds gear and getting ridiculed for doing so. It was something Joe knew that he enjoyed doing. He loved the sports banter. It helped him relax, in a sense, and relax he did. 

Their seats were all of maybe six or so rows behind the penalty benches, which are amazing seats for an NHL game. They had to be at least $500 per ticket. At least. Joe pulled his ticket, that had Roman Josi, Pekka Rinne, and, for some reason, the former Predator P.K. Subban, and saw that they were worth $612 face value per ticket. 

“That’s why the trip was so damn expensive!” he hollered, now aggravated with how much money he had to fork over to come to Nashville. 

“What?” Michael asked. 

“Look at these damn ticket prices! $612 per fucking ticket.” 

“Holy hell. At least they’re good seats. Look at how well we can see everything!”
   
“I know but I hope they got a deal done for it cause this is absolutely insane. Like what? Almost $94,000? That’s just too much.”

“Yeah, I guess. But let’s just enjoy the game, Joey. When do we ever get to see the Bruins play?” 

Kiers could tell that Joe was having a rough time with something, but she couldn’t quite tell what that something was. “What’s going through your mind right now, José? I know it’s more than just the money.”