Enjoying Local Women's Sports

 Minneapolis, MN

Lynx Basketball Finals

The other night Donna and I attended game 3 of the MN Lynx vs. New York Liberty WNBA Finals.  It was an incredibly exciting game but sadly a loss and they ended up losing the series a few games later.  We had a great time cheering them on and we will cheer them on again next year.  The games are incredibly entertaining.

We all got "Free" T-Shirts to wear and towels to wave.

It was the largest attendance for a Lynx game yet at 19,521 attendees.

Donna sporting her spots shirt and sports hand towel.

Golden Gophers Hockey

About a week later we attended the women's Minnesota University Golden Gophers Hockey Game vs. The Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks.  It was a really fun game.  Seats were general admission so we were able to sit in a few different places to check out the action.  We decided our favorite place to sit was low in the corners so that you could see the whole rink in one view.  It was really fun watching the puck bank around the glass right in front of you.  We will have to try other hockey games in these seats.

We took a selfie with Goldy the Gopher.

Ridder Arena appears to be a dedicated arena for the Women's Hockey Team.

We have been to Otter Tail County!

It was a really fun game.  "We" won 8 to 2.  Another great thing about the night is that we were able to take The Green Line light rail right there.  It was an easy trip and we look forward to seeing more sporting events at UMN.

That's it for today.  If you missed, Disney World, check it out.  We went to Disney World and survived a Hurricane (The windy kind, not the drinky kind).

Let's Go Lynx!

 Minneapolis, MN

Mary Tyler Moore!  We're going to make it after all!

$1 WNBA Minnesota Lynx Tickets

Today we continued unpacking and then walked over to Target Center to use our $1 Minnesota Lynx tickets Donna found for us by subscribing to the local newspaper.  Right after we subscribed we were offered $1 tickets as a thank you.  

The walk to Target Center as well as Target Field is about a mile.  It was a little rainy but we were not deterred.  We arrived and were surprised to be able to enter the arena without showing our tickets.  The ticket check started inside.  I guess that makes sense when you could maybe freeze to death while waiting to get in during a winter storm.  

We always just follow the crowd that looks like they are going where we are going.  It works pretty well.

This Prince mural caught my eye as we got close to the arena.

The Target Center hosts concerts too.  Minneapolis is a really big music city.

Security was fast.  Also we didn't really have anything other than what was in our pockets.  We know better.

They scanned our E-Tickets and then handed us printed tickets.

It isn't open but if it was should we count it?

The fine beers on offer.  I was snacky and thirsty so I decided to spend a little money on food and drink seeing as how the tickets were only a dollar each and we didn't have to pay for parking because we walked.

They did card me so I guess I look to be 30 years of age or younger.  I will take it as a compliment.

My food choice was a Walking Taco.  Walking Taco, Chili Boat, and Frito Pie are all similar fast food concoctions.  The internet tells me that The Walking Taco is always made in the chip bag but the Frito Pie AKA Chili Boat can be made outside the Frito bag as well as inside.

The finest ingredients go right in the bag!

I'm counting my calories these days (and approaching my goal weight), so I checked the bag which I thought would be in vain, but it's packed to be a walking taco!

I tried to showcase the fine ingredients.

It was as good as you would expect.  I figure it's worth the price because I would never make it at home.

The game was super fun and exciting.  The arena staff really kept the crowd energy up with all sorts of things.  One of the pauses in play featured a slam dunk contest for 3 very shy 4ish year old girls.  It was fun to watch the handlers try to get them to dunk on a basket made just for them.  It looked like they all just wanted to hang on to the basketball so no one would take it away from them.

I was disappointed when I saw the camera guy wearing Timberwolves branded work attire.

I then noticed that The Lynx have their own floor at the arena.

Dessa, a local rap artist headlined the halftime show.

The Lynx won the game.  They have a strong team.

All of the players did a dance to celebrate the win and the arena staff danced along in the aisles as we left.

We went out the wrong door so I was able to get a better view of the Prince mural.

That's it for today.  If you missed, A Quick Pinball Tournament at Broken Clock, check it out.  We played pinball all day.

Rip City!

 Portland, OR

Moda Center

Tonight we went to Moda Center for a Portland Trail Blazers Game.  I always look on Stub Hub for cheap tickets and the other day I picked up 2 tickets for $18 all in for Portland vs. NY York Knicks.  It's always fun to see a sporting event in a new place and check out the arena.  As an added bonus, the arena is only a 15 minute walk from our place.

They had some nice merch.

The name Rip City came about in 1971, during The Trail Blazers first season, when Bill Schonely, the announcer for The Trail Blazers, was so overwhelmed by excitement, he yelled, "Rip City!" when Jim Barnett made an improbably shot during a game against The Lakers.

High Five if you have to pee!

The Ultra Club didn't seem very exclusive so we didn't join.

Portland is "Plaid Out"

Donna fills her water bottle at a water bottle filler.  After taking this photo I found out the filler wasn't working so the photo is a lie!

The view from the cheap seats was great.

Portland is the opposite of a dry county.  There is alcohol around every corner.

Donna pointed out these cool condiment logos.

The view from the cheap seats was fine.

Fire!

I made good use of my 4x optical zoom here.

Halftime Entertainment was provided by Ms. Viola Brand, an Artistic Cyclist.  Before researching her and Artistic Cycling,  my only context were these scenes from The 1986 Kevin Bacon Film, Quicksilver.  Here and Here.

This is the soda cup that the guy next to me dropped on the floor full of soda.  It was an expensive mistake.

As I was looking around noticed something odd.  The Trail Blazers retired #30 twice.  In 2008 they retired Bobby Gross' #30 and Terry Porter's #30 well after both players had retired.

In the end, New York prevailed.  Most of the teams we have gone to see have won their games when we were there.  I guess we didn't bring the winning magic tonight.

The walk home was very pretty.

That's it for today.  If you missed, Burger, A Beer, and Pinball, check it out.