I got up as late as I could and got to breakfast with just 15 minutes until closing. Got back to my room and took it easy for another hour before taking an Uber to the Dallas World Aquarium.
The complex was much bigger than I first thought. Several floors and smart walkways, so you got through it all in an orderly manner. Not that many visitors on a Friday at midday.
Some very nice rooms/environments you passed through.
I spent around 90 minutes in there and then went for a walk in downtown Dallas. I ended up at Berkley’s Market, where I bought a nice Italian sandwich and a Coke for lunch. They usually have an issue when asking for my name, even though I spell it.
I walked back to the hotel. Passed by an ice rink in a park. Probably saw the world’s smallest working Zamboni.
Uber was expensive, Lyft had a wait time of 15 minutes, so I logged onto Lime, an electric scooter service, and rode to the arena instead. I mainly rode on the road, but at a couple of blocks, I got onto the sidewalk, four lanes in width, and with large SUVs and pickups made I felt a bit unsure.
I went into Hero once again. This time, the bar I sat at last time was full, and they had a 20-minute wait time for a table. However, they had a back room with free seating, and there I found a spot, ordered myself a burger and a Coke. It was quite loud, and I left as soon as I had finished my meal.
I put on my Leksands IF jersey and headed into the stadium. I asked about the belt this time, and I could keep it on. I realized that the souvenir shops were the same as during the Mavericks game; however, they were now filled with Stars stuff. So I guess they pack and unpack everything for every game. Lots of work!
This time I sat on the 300-level, namely on 326:B:14. On each side I had two season-ticket-holders, with me in the middle. Interesting that they had been allowed to buy these and leave a single seat in between (though they did buy them separately). The guys on the left had inherited them from their aunt, who got them from the guy’s parents. Apparently, two seats cost about $4500 for the whole season, so roughly $50 per game. However, the guys on the right sold the seats on the second-hand market when they couldn’t go, so they got back roughly half the money that way.
It was noticeably colder up on the 300-level. It might be the ice, and it felt like I sat in some kind of draft. Had to put my jacket on, so t-shirt, sweater, (thin) jacket, and then a jersey.
Things I noticed during the game:
- They sell the pucks they used during warm-up in the souvenir shop.
- During the national anthem, when the word star comes, they scream it. Shocked me the first time.
- When the puck is in play, it’s basically dead quiet. Unless their mascot bangs on his small drum, there is a goal, a “questionable” penalty, or a fight, you could hear someone shout, anywhere in the arena. Quite the difference compared to the NBA game, which had both music while the ball was in play and a speaker coaching the crowd, all the time.
- The Sharks had their first shot on goal after 16 minutes!
- There are three “power breaks” per period, when they bring in “ice girls” who scrape the ice. They were quite slow onto the ice, though, maybe TV had to decide whether it was time or not.
The game itself wasn’t the best, and even Google Gemini said that the Stars had an expected win-percentage of 70-30; it was 1-1 after two periods, and it could have gone either way. However, Stars won the third period by 3-0 (one ENG), which doesn’t reflect the game at all. The Sharks did 3-2, but the Stars challenged it for offside and won that. If that had stood, the game might have gone a different direction.
It was fun to see an NHL game, but not as good hockey as I had hoped for. And I do miss the atmosphere from SHL/Hockeyallsvenskan. I got a couple of compliments about my jersey. It was nice to name-drop Filip Forsberg; everybody knows who he is, and tell them he’s from Leksand!
After the game was over, I said goodbye to my new friends and wished them good luck for the rest of the season. I had gotten some suggestions for my upcoming stay in Las Vegas, which is appreciated. The broker escalator hadn’t been fixed since Wednesday, but someone found a staircase we could use, the normal Swedish way to exit an arena. Escalators aren’t that common. I aimed to take a scooter back, but they stopped their service at 20:45, the app told me. I guess it’s too common to drink and ride. So I walked.
On my way back to the hotel, I met a delivery robot, I assume. Not Amazon, though, but Avride.
When I got back, I prepared for tomorrow. Parade, laundry, some lunch, and then off to the airport for a flight to Las Vegas.