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Rob and Jon attended the 2010 Flyers Wives Carnival for the first time!
| (photo by: Blackberry) |
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| Flyers Goalie Emery signs for fans! |
When Jon asked me if I wanted to go to the 2010 Flyers Wives Carnival at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia,
I said to him; a) are you buying lunch? b) do you think it's worth going down? I figured
-- it would resemble an "over crowded "cattle call" card show" complete with long lines, $15
to park, and everything inside would be expensive! When I walked into the Center I was
amazed and -- impressed!
Entering the lobby a DJ was playing upbeat music and the Wachovia
Center was decorated in Flyers colors and themed in full Flyers spirit. The colorful signs showing the event agendas were
very visible and done very professionally. When a volunteer came towards me with a high gloss, colorful, and expensive looking event
program, I was expecting to be asked for $5 for one, didn't happen, the amazing program was free and is an outstanding
piece of literature complete with tons of photos and stories about --- our Flyers! Walking around the Center's concourse,
there were plently of information tables, and at some of the concession stands, there were HERSHEYPARK games of chance set
up, priced fairly from $2 to $5 with all prizes being -- Flyers items!
I went straight to the Flyers
Alumni Area and was impressed with the Alumni participation and the crowd that was lined up! Knowing Brian Propp, I said
"hi" and stepped back to watch the interaction between Schultz, Propp, Kelly, Watson, Clements, Jones
(and others!) and the fans---what class acts! The guys really made a favorable impression on the fans with plenty of autographs,
pictures and true smiles of kindness!
Going up the escalator looking to meet up with Jon, I saw him coming
down on the other side and instantly yelled his nickname for all to hear----JUICE! He laughed as we met up
and commented on what an impressive event this was and we started walking around. What a festive atmophere!
Down
on the covered ice, we watched as Goalie Brian Boucher took shots from the fans in a carved out ice area, watched the live
band play and chatted a bit with Joe Mullen (former Penguin great and current Flyers Assistant Coach) and laughed with
him a bit about when he came to our event in 2005! (he actually remembered us!)
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| NOON at the Wachovia Center, got very busy later on -- but comfortable! |
My hat goes off to the Autograph Committee for placing
the Flyers Autograph and Photo Booths in the numbered sections of the Center. What an easy way to keep things organized and
moving -- which seemed to work pretty well! The $15 for a "live" Flyers autograph and $20 for a
"live" Flyers photo seemed fair. In both cases, the player small talked a bit. ( I told Claude Giroux
while signing a jersey that --"Jon needs some help with his slap shot" he laughed -- and said
that he doesn't get too many chances for one, and could probably use some help himself! (what a cool guy, down
to earth!)
I would have liked to see $10 and $15 for the autographs but then again -- I'm not in charge!
Most of the autographs were clear -- although some were a bit disappointing. Paying $15 for a scribble is always dissapointing,
but with the amount of people there, every autograph can't be perfect. Probably the worst autograph of the day was
Van Riemsdyk. For having a very long name, $15 for a two - three letter scribble was not worth the money, but with a long
name like his, it's tough to write it a hundred times! (memo to Flyers Wives, pick a player with a shorter name!)
Fan favorites (longest lines) were Danny Briere, Ray Emery, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell, and of course Mike Richards.
I also noticed that Riley Cote is loved by Flyers fans and has a great personality along with being all "tatt'd"
up, the fans love him!
Each player signed whatever you put in front of them. Many fans brought helmets and color
photos to get signed. Some fans even brought hockey sticks. I actually saw sticks with Dicks Sporting Goods price tags still
on them which was funny. (Hey dude, where'd you get the stick?) The coolest thing I saw got signed by the
Flyers was a 11" x 17" framed 2010 Winter Classic photo -- that is priceless! When Jon handed Danny Briere
a Buffalo Sabres All-Star photo -- Danny laughed and asked Jon where he got it, Jon explained that he was from Buffalo ---
and Danny and Jon shared a Buffalo moment, pretty cool! Danny is a class act!
Seeing Daniel Carcillo
in the dunk tank was awesome, what a personality and I admire him for allowing fans the opportunity to "dunk him"
and get a way with it. I told Jon to "whiz" a ball at the cage -- instead of the bulls eye and see what Daniel does,
he chose "not" to do it -- although the thought of Carcillo chasing "the Juice" around the Center in a
wetsuit would have been worth the price of admission! Walking around, we chatted with other Flyers and visited the booths
and tables in the lobby and down on the ice. I enjoyed watching Daniel Carcillo play WII Boxing with the fans on a 16'
TV Screen. When he "knocked" out an 8-year old, the crowd hecked and laughed, Daniel did great -- playing the part
for the fans, what a cool guy! (who can score too.) After watchin' Carcillo interact with fans-- Jon and I quickly decided
that Carcillo is our new "boy!'
For the Flyers fan, the Flyers Wives Carnival is "must
do." The access to players was amazing, the Center looked great, plenty of food and booze available and the Flyers Wives
not only raised a ton of money that day, they did it in true Flyers spirit--------and class! Nice job ladies! Look for Jon
and I next year too!
Some "off the cuff" notes:: Emery seems like
he can go off at anytime and has that goalie, wildman swagger, Pronger is a pretty big dude and is very personable. You can
also see him from anywhere in the Center. Hartnell's "hippie lettuce" hair is "really something" in
person, Daniel Carcillo is a young Dave Schultz, Joe Watson wears glasses when he signs autographs, Van Riemsdyk is really
a man-child and needs help with writing his name. (kidding, although he is a very young man) Asking Keith Jones about his
Game 6 Pens/Flyers clash was hilarious -- he really did take a 3 second shift in that game! The "Bang for the Buck"
was the Flyers Alumni, for $20, you could get over 13 autographs, with many being from the Philadephia Flyers Stanley Cup
Teams. The laugh of the day came when Jon and I noticied two "guys" carrying a suitcase to the Simon
Gagne Autograph Session, we watched in amazement as no less than -20- Flyers Jerseys were carefully placed in front of
Simon and signed quickly in a row, then folded and put back into the case. I'm sure none of those were for ebay???
eh? IN CLOSING: $37.50 for early admission seemed high, but the $20.00 admission for later admission was fair. No money charged
for parking was great.
Hey-- It's all for Charity, all good, and that's the best part!
(Written by Rob Ziemba)
| (Rob and Jon's new boy--Carcillo!) |
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| Daniel Carcillo was a fan favorite playing Wii Boxing with the kids! |
| (Photo by: Juice) |
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| Jon sat in a 4 mile backup on the SureKill Expressway going to the Carnival! ON A SUNDAY! |
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