Eurolanche member in New York
A report of the Eurolanche's member trip to the USA for the two Colorado Avalanche games.Hannes Gartner from Austria has been the Eurolanche member since 2011. His story may inspire many of the Colorado Avalanche fans who can't join the Eurolanche Invasion project because they are busy in the concrete date of the event or just can't spend so many days in Denver. Hannes traveled to State of New York last year and personally visited Colorado Avalanche away games against Rangers and Islanders in November 2014. He also didn't forget to take some Eurolanche merchandise with him.
Avalanche at Islanders
In the morning we visited Ground Zero, which commemorates the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Later we ate Burgers in a sports bar. After this delicious meal we made our way to Penn Station and from there we went with the LIRR (Long Iceland Railroad) to Long Iceland. The trip took about 45 minutes, and the world around us changed from a minute to a minute. The skyscrapers of Manhattan disappeared on the horizon, the city noise became silent and from the hectic rush on the streets was nothing to feel anymore. Arrived in Westbury we were "in the middle of nowhere". Next was a fifteen-minute taxi ride through the streets of Long Island. We did not feel really comfortable in this seedy neighborhood. With the intention to reassure us we asked the taxi driver if it would be dangerous here, but his answer did not improve our emotional state at all. - "Well, at least not for me."
Great relief then came over us when we finally got to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum -but this did not last long. The security did not allow us to pass. We were not allowed to take neither our backpacks, nor the objective lens of our camera with us. There was also no possibility to store our stuff for the duration of the game. We told them that wecome from Europe and were not aware of this (stupid) regulations and that we have very expensive valuables with us. The discussion brought nothing and so we tried our luck at the Marriott hotel next door.(Which was by the way the only hotel or largerbuilding in the neighborhood.) But it wasn’t a warm welcome there. A room for one night would have been the only option. Due to the high price, we decided to hide our backpacks in a tree top next to the Marriott parking lot. Fortunately, we arrived two hours before the puck-drop and came just in time for the game.
The biggest disappointment was yet to come. The Avs had no chance in this game and lost at 6:0. This was not supposed to happen at my first ever Avalanche game. At least our backpacks were at the same spot after the game. Disappointed with the way the game ended we arrived at midnight at our hotel in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan.
Avalanche at Rangers
On the last day in New York City we visited Times Square and the wax figures of Madame Tussauds before we went to the game against the Rangers. Compared to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Madison Square Garden can be reached quickly and easily as it is in the middle of Manhattan.
Learned from the mistakes we made, we left the backpacks in the hotel and were the first spectators in the Arena. The game itself became a thriller that went into overtime. After five scoreless minutes, the winner was determined in the shootout - and it was Alex Tanguay who became the hero of Manhattan with the GWG in the shootout.
Despite the defeat on Long Island, it was an unforgettable experience.
- by Hannes Gartner, Austria
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
26/02/2015 - 17:00
