content: firebirds-inaugural-season
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| author | category | content | published_date | slug | summary | title | url |
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| ryan | musings | On Wednesday June 21, 2023 the local sports puck team (i.e. Hockey), the [Coachella Valley Firebirds](https://cvfirebirds.com/) hosted [Game 7](https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1025179) of the [Calder Cup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Cup) Finals against the [Hershey Bears](https://www.hersheybears.com/). There are sports writers that can write on how the series went, better than I can so I'll leave that to the pros. What I will talk about is why watching that game and seeing the Firebirds lose in Overtime hit me so hard. I'm generally an introverted person. Even before the pandemic, I wasn't particularly fond of attending crowded events. The pandemic only intensified my preference for solitude. Suddenly, I found myself being advised to avoid social interactions altogether. As an introvert, the circumstances necessitating isolation weren't exactly ideal for me, but I did appreciate the fact that my family and I had to isolate. However, after 2+ years of isolating from most everyone, being in large groups would bring out anxiety. And when I say large groups I mean like 10, maybe 15 people. On December 18th there was work holiday get together, the first one since the pandemic started. There were about 100 people in a mostly enclosed space and I did not do well with it. Super anxious, wore a mask the entire time, and generally ducked into the closet that also serves as my office more than once just to get away from people. That same night was the home opener for the Firebirds at Acrisure Arena (due to construction delays their home arena opened 2 1/2 months after the start of the season). I didn't know it at the time, but it was a sell out (attendance of 10,087). This meant that I was going to a sporting event, in an enclosed arena with 10,000+ people. To say that I nearly lost my shit would be an understatement. The only thing that really got me to go was that the tickets I had purchased weren't cheap, and my wife and I were going with another couple friend. That [first home game](https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1024284) was amazing. The Firebirds won 4-3 over the Tucson Roadrunners. The energy was amazing and I decided that I _had_ to go to another game. And so I kept going. Again and again and again. I saw 34 games in person with an average attendance of 7,500. I'd like to say that "just like that" my anxiety surrounding large indoor gatherings was gone, but it wasn't. It took me going to lots of hockey games to get through it. So coming back to game 7 on Wednesday night. With less than 1 minute into the second period the Firebirds scored their second goal to go up 2-0. The crowd was the loudest I'd ever heard at Acrisure. Chants of "we want the cup" roared through the arena. It was unreal. And I sat there and realized that if it hadn't been for this team my anxiety surrounding large gatherings wouldn't have gone away for probably a very long time. And other than being a HUGE fan, I wanted the players, coaches, and team to win because they had helped me deal with something so personal. I won't ever be able to repay them for that, but my cheering them on to try and win the cup could maybe start. And then the unthinkable happened. A penalty was called on the Firebirds and a Power Play goal was scored. Then less than 4 minutes later an even strength goal was scored and we were tied at 2 a piece. The third period ended without any scorning by either team, and for only the second time in Calder Cup finals history, the first time since 1953, we were going to Overtime in a Game 7. As we entered Overtime everyone in my section (107) was on their feet. We stood for the entire overtime period. Cheering, and screaming (honestly, I was still exhausted from the experience as I wrote this 2 days later). About 2 minutes into the Overtime period Ryker Evan sent a shot on goal. From where I was sitting I could see the flight of the puck and my heart leapt as I thought it would find the back of the net ... but sadly it didn't. Within the first five minutes of overtime the Firebirds had outshot the Bears 5-0. It seemed like we were in control. The next 10 minutes was some of the most intense back and forth hockey I'd ever seen. With less than 4 minutes on the clock I thought, this might go into double overtime ... and then the unthinkable happened. The Firebirds defense was unable to clear a puck in their end, lots of players in front of the net, and just like that I see a puck flying over Joey's shoulder and past the cross bar, hitting the back of the net. The Bears player and their fans roared with joy, and suddenly a once deafening Acrisure was stunned into silence. We lost. They won. The inaugural season was over. I stood in disbelief for a minute and then just sat down and stared across the arena at the Bears fans I could see that were losing their minds with joy. I wanted to cry. Some people around me did. I stood up and looked over at our defensive end. The Firebirds players on the ice had taken a knee as they watched the Bears players celebrate. They don't show that part on TV. The defeated team looking sadly on as the victors celebrate. It was heartbreaking. And then, in the middle of the celebration, the chants of "Let's go Firebirds" started. In short order, the fans were all saying it as loud as they could. An amazing season that didn't end the way we wanted it to, but we did our best to let the team know what they meant to us. When I started writing this I thought maybe it was just me that needed something like this to get over some of the anxiety of large indoor gatherings, but maybe it was others. And those others at that game let the team know how much we appreciated them and what they did. This team will always hold a special place in the hearts of it's fans. We didn't win it all this year, but there's always next year. Always. ## Postlude A friend of a friend of a friend works at a golf course called the 'Classic Club'. There were 3 players that were golfing the next day and they told this friend of a friend of a friend that the chants of "Let's go Firebirds" even after the loss meant so much to them. | 2023-07-01 | firebirds-inaugural-season | On Wednesday June 21, 2023 the local sports puck team (i.e. Hockey), the [Coachella Valley Firebirds](https://cvfirebirds.com/) hosted [Game 7](https://theahl.com/stats/game-center/1025179) of the [Calder Cup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Cup) Finals against the [Hershey Bears](https://www.hersheybears.com/). There are sports writers that can write on how the series went, better than I can so I'll leave that to … | Firebirds Inaugural Season | https://www.ryancheley.com/2023/07/01/firebirds-inaugural-season/ |