Beer Prices at Verizon Center

You're attending a Caps hockey game at the Verizon Center for the 2011-12 season and are parched. Well it's time to quench that thirst with a ice cold beer. It has been noted that the Verizon Center has just about every beer under the sun available for purchase inside the Verizon Center. But does this come at a cost to the fans? My math says yes.

Below I'm taking a sample from 2010-11 season versus prices for the 2011-12 season. The assumption is that you are purchasing a draft beer at any concession stand on the main concourse or 400 level. It is also a "light" or domestic beer (non-premium).

This year (2011-12 season) the concession stands have not changed their draft prices of $8.00, no big deal, however the size and volume of this beer has changed. I'm not a math major, but the breakdown of last year to this year's draft prices has increased for less product and hits the hockey fan straight in the teeth like an Ovechkin slap shot.

Notes about the Beer Vendors in Zebra Stripes

It should be noted that the Aluminum Bottles are sold by the beer vendors in ref uniforms that wonder the concourse and aisles of the Verizon Center. They also sell 16 oz Premium beers for $9.00 ($0.56 per oz.). Some of these same premium beers can be found on draft for $8.00 for 16 oz. if you search the right spots.

So in conclusion, if you want to purchase cheaper beer in the Verizon Center, don't buy it from the Zebra beer vendors. The convenience comes at a price. Overall, beer is more expensive and is going up just like the ticket prices.

Caps Win a comeback Thriller

Last night the Caps came back down 4-1 at one point to rally back & tie it up in the third at 4-4 to force an overtime frame & eventually a shootout.  Flash nabbed the victorious goal to complete the comeback last night 5-4, and the Caps stole 2 points from the Panthers.


Observations
I'm not generally one to question Bruce Boudreau's coaching, but I have to respectfully disagree with starting Neuvirth again on the back to back game when he clearly had a bad breakdown in the 7-4 rout by the Lightning the prior night.


I thought BB should have started Theo from the get go last night.  I have a feeling that Theo is ready to get back in the saddle & become more focused.  BB needed to give Neuvy a breather as he has been starting quite a bit lately.  Also he's been letting in those "soft" goals of late.


In the shootout, Brooks Laich finally potted a goal.  Hopefully this will help him get a few in regulation on Friday against the Maple Leafs.


Mike Knuble has been getting some of that good net presence to help screen the goalie & redirect some shots on goal.  There were a few missed opportunities last night, but they will start to pay off soon.

Epic Fail times two

Wow.  I suck at updating this thing.  Fail.

The Caps had an epic fail tonight in Tampa on the score sheet.  A 7-4 FAIL.  Just because I think it underscores the frustration and I remembered this from somewhere a long time ago, a small negative reaction from Mr. Leonsis :)

But where most people saw a fail, I saw a victory and a much needed victory that has been missing from this team since they have "come of age" from the 2007-08 season.

The victory was the toughness & team effort of grittiness.  The team fought for their captain tonight.  See Matt Bradley (video coming later).  Then Steckel started fighting a seasoned veteran.  They weren't pretty fights, but at least they weren't Matt Bradley bloody ugly.

I think this is a good thing for the team.  They need to learn how to be tough & stay tough.  This will come in handy in their playoff runs in the future.  I'm not suggesting that they need to goon it up ala Slapshot (NSFW: language), but it wouldn't hurt every once in a while.

Starting Fresh

So I haven't posted an update in over 1.5 years. WOW. Is that really correct? That's just sad.

I've recently had a little inspiration & some new angles to persue in this blog. I want anyone who has followed or visited to help keep me accountable to keep this site up in regards to new material & ideas.

New posts & materials will be sparse as some redesigning will be required as well.

Now onto the Caps! What a dominating performance tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers! I'm very excited to see back to back games where the caps have flat out dominated the opponent. I hope they are developing this "killer instinct" that many have talked about. The fact of the matter is that they are now as of tonight #1 in the Eastern Conference & also have the fewest losses in the league with the Most Goals For.

Keep on trucking boys! I'm glad that I'm back posting my reactions & thoughts about you as well!

Caps Idle, Fans Not

Tonight I joined some other Caps fans from the Washington caps boards (forums) at Summer's in Court House, Arlington. We enjoyed a few beers and talked about Caps hockey and almost every scenario possible for the Caps to make it into the playoffs this year.

Summer's had all the important games on in a section setup for us. I was pretty surprised and it was great. We had all three important games going at once; Tampa vs. Carolina, Boston vs. New Jersey, and Philly vs. Pittsburgh. Carolina won, Boston earned 1 point in an shootout overtime loss, and Philly lost to Pittsburgh.

The new picture that is resulting is that catching Carolina does not seem likely in the division. We can still possibly sneak into seventh position if Ottawa continues their catastrophic implosion. As long as Philly loses one more, we should be in.

Thursday is a huge day for everyone in the NHL. It will probably make the playoff picture a little more clear. I am going to try and get some tickets first thing tomorrow morning for the Tampa game. It's another Red Out in DC tomorrow. See ya at the game!

Caps Idle, Others Gain Ground

Today the Caps were idle, probably enjoying a well deserved rest after their 6 game road trip where they went 5 of 6 snapping up 10 points. As it sits now tonight, the caps are 3 points from an 8th place playoff spot and 2 points behind the Southeast Division leader Carolina.

I can't emphasize how important Tuesday's game at the Verizon Center is against Carolina. The Caps are in a must win situation Tuesday night. They will tie for points with the Hurricanes, but unfortunately will not gain the division lead. The Hurricanes still have more wins than the Caps.

The only scenarios that remain would be for Carolina to lose the remaining three games that they have. This would give the Caps an outright division title. This is possible, but not likely. Boston, Philly, and New York all have 91 points, as of tonight. At least one of those teams would need to fall from grace and lose 2 out of 3 (or in New York's case 4) of their remaining games.

It's time to start hoping for some minor miracles from the Hockey Gods. It could be entirely possible that if the Caps win the final three games in regulation, not surrendering any points to any other teams, that they could still not make the playoffs. Lets hope as Caps fans, that this scenario is not the one to come true when all 82 games have finished.

On the road, into the eye of the Hurricane

So this is a bit delayed, but here is my story of my adventures to Raleigh, North Carolina.

10:00 AM - Purchased my ticket online for the game at the RBC Center. Good thing it wasn't a 'Limited View' seat. I was confused why there would be limited view seats in a new arena. I'll explain later...

3:00 PM - Finally hit the road and left DC a bit later than I wanted to, traffic was terrible until I reached Richmond.

5:45 PM - Stopped at the NC/Virgina border for a stretch and a bathroom break.

6:30 PM - Very close to Raleigh, wondering if I would make the game on time.

6:58 PM - Still idling in my car, waiting to get into the Stadium parking lot. The 'Canes utilize the same lots for parking as the NC State Wolfpack as their football stadium is right next to the RBC Center. Don't think I'll make the opening faceoff.

7:19 PM - Finally parked the car, threw on my Ovechkin road jersey and my red Capitals hat, making my way to the RBC Center.

7:22 PM - Entered the stadium, WTF? A freakin' TSA security checkpoint? Seriously, they had metal detectors, wands, dishes to put the contents of your pockets into. It was ridiculous... I have never seen that kind of thing for a sporting event... I'm glad the Verizon Center doesn't have this. It was rather annoying as it delayed me further from seeing the Caps 1st period action.

Venue Score:VC 1, RBC 0.

7:29 PM - I was thirsty, so I grabbed a beer at the concession stands. They are $0.50 more expensive in NC compared to the ones in the Verizon Center in DC.

Venue Score: VC 2, RBC 0

7:34 PM - Finally made it to my seat. Upon entering some fans grumbled "You got balls buddy", "Get the F*#@ out of here", "Ovechkin sucks!". There was roughly 5 minutes of 1st period play remaining. I had made it, but missed most all the action.

7:45 PM - Spied the crowd for Caps jerseys, I could count them on 1 hand...This isn't good, I'm in extreme hostile territory. Filling seats with your own fans...

Venue Score:VC 2, RBC 1

I had a chance to take in the landscape and layout of the RBC Center. The seats in both the lower & Upper bowls have higher rises than the VC center. This is both good and bad at the same time. It gives you a good perspective/view of the game, but you'll get a nose bleed fast climbing the stairs. Also, the upper seats aren't built to hang over the lower bowl and it feels like you are further away from the action than at the VC.

Venue Score:VC 3, RBC 1

Now, back to the limited view seats, I was looking around the ceiling and i noticed a lot of white painted iron that supports the roof. It hung quite low and as I looked across the arena, I couldn't see the fans on the other side. So I would guess if you get the higher rows in the upper bowl, you would have some perspective issues.

Venue Score:VC 4, RBC 1

I began to look for the stats to see how many shots on goal we had and what the other scores were in the league, none of these informational boards were available anywhere in the arena. The main scoreboard in the center had some small video screens, while 10 years ago they were the latest and greatest things, they aren't so great anymore. Maybe we are spoiled in DC with the new HD monitors. While these items are not mandatory, they make the experience a lot better.

Venue Score: VC 5, RBC 1

Also, during the intermission, I noticed that the Hurricanes had some very attractive ladies dubbed 'The Storm Squad' who would help pump up the crowd and also help with the fan promotions, launching of t-shirts into the crowd, and assisting the Hurricanes mascot 'Stormy' the ice hog. Yes that's correct, an Ice Hog... Back to the Storm Squad, while they weren't quite cheerleaders, this is about the closest thing you'll get to some in the NHL. Capitals, take notice... we need a crew of these beauties parading around the Verizon Center. Maybe they could be called the 'Capital Paiges'? LOL...bad joke... *cough*. Hurricanes get the point in this department.

Venue Score: VC 5, RBC 2

Back to the Ice Hog... enough said... Slapshot wins this hands down.

Venue Score: VC 6, RBC 2

I needed to stretch and use the facilities in the concourse. I was impressed with the space that was available and how well lit it was. It felt open and relaxing, where in the Verizon Center it seems dark and drab. I think RBC gets the point here.

Venue Score: VC 6, RBC 3.

The fans. Well it was a sold out game and no joke. Nearly all the fans in the building, I would say a solid 60%, were wearing a Hurricane jersey. I was very impressed about the fan support. For those who make the argument that people in NC don't know or care about NHL hockey, they obviously have not been to a game there lately.

I sat next to a couple who were celebrating 10 years of marriage, so again congrats to them, and they were extremely pleasant to talk with. Most all the fans were well mannered and were impressed that a fan drove all the way from DC to Raleigh for the game. There were a few bad apples, which I will address later. But overall, the fans were a lot more tolerable and pleasant than say Flyers, Pens, and Rangers fans that pass through the turn styles in DC. RBC fans + 1.

Venue Score: VC 6, RBC 4.

2nd period - Goals! I stood up and cheered as loud as I could when Semin & Ovechkin lit the lamp. Each time I did so, popcorn, peanuts, empty water bottles, empty soda bottles, and more "Ovechkin you suck" came flying at me. Most all of it missed me and hit all the other fans around me. Now, I'm not sure, but I've never personally witnessed our fans throwing crap at other fans, I'm not saying it doesn't happen because I'm sure it does. I wasn't very pleased about it, but there's not much you can do about that. Goal Review, Hurricanes -1 point.

Venue Score: VC 6, RBC 3.

Ok, time to fast forward... since I missed the 1st period, I was treated to an OT session and a shoot out.

Shoot Out - Everyone in the building was on their feet cheering. Huet, stop. Ward, stop.Huet, stop. Ward, stop. Huet, stop. Kozlov, goal. It was so exciting to see the Caps get a win on the road. It definitely made the trip complete walking out of the building with 2pts. The Caps bench emptied and everyone swarmed Kozlov to congratulate him on the huge goal. It was truly amazing to see in person. Sure it was nice to see Ovechkin break the Capitals single season goal record, but it was way better to see the Caps walk out of there with a win.

(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

10:10 PM - Back in the parking lot... Talk about madness, mayhem, and a cluster spank...I didn't leave the lot until 10:41 PM. The Verizon Center definitely takes the cake on transportation and accessibility.

Venue Score: VC 7, RBC 3.

10:45 PM - On the road again finally starting my trek back to DC.

2:51 AM - Arrived back home, I was exhausted. I hit the pillow hard... too bad I had to get up in 5hrs :/

Overall, it was a great experience. I would love to do another road trip there next year and maybe spend some time tailgating a bit more. Who knows... maybe there will be a playoff game down there this year :P

Final Score for facilities, events, fan amenities, friendliness, and game day experiences:

Verizon Center 7, RBC Center 3.