Oh gosh, it’s gonna snow. Oh gosh, the sky is falling, literally. J
We will publish info on my blog and on our Washington Capitals website about the games but my bet is if the other teams are here, we will be playing both games.
This is hockey weather. If we can play, we will.
Stay tuned for more info but no freaking out please. Go Caps!
Well, the NOAA announcement a few minutes ago about “life threatening” conditions kinda’ got my attention. A lot of us would appreciate some sort of announcement from the Verizon Center: go/no go, so that we can at least decide for ourselves whether to get out of Dodge alive, or, stick around for the fun. Thanks much.
Ted, you have long said that owning a team is a Public Trust.
Playing this game in weather that is outright dangerous is a violation of that trust.
The weather service is now saying that even *walking* in the weather we are going to have after sunset is dangerous and to avoid doing it.
If the game is played, I hope and pray that nobody (players, officials, or fans) is injured or harmed trying to get back home afterwards.
I’m not afraid of snow–I grew up in Iowa. But because I grew up in Iowa, I also know when a storm is something to defy, and when you need to yield. I won’t be risking my life and limbs–not to mention my car–getting home just because I want to see, and paid for, a hockey game. You better use the money I spent on my ticket wisely, Mr. Leonsis. I worked very hard for that.
Ted – I generally approve of your actions as owner, but you’re way off here. Mocking fans for worrying about making a trip downtown during a blizzard is hardly the level of maturity you’d expect from a man in your position. Metro has already said they will suspend service when total accumulation reaches 8 inches, which will probably happen right around puck drop. That leaves all your fans stranded in the streets of DC during this storm. Do the right thing here, talk to whoever you need to talk to, don’t make us risk our lives because we don’t want to eat the cost of an already overpriced ticket.
Isn’t the primary objective of playing the game to benefit the fans? If the fans can’t get to the game, what’s the point of playing it?
Metro closes about ground stations during snow? Well, that changes things. I live 30 minutes from Shady Grove. I drive to Shady Grove and take Metro. The first three or four stops are all above ground and there are a few others (I think) along the way that are above ground. How in god’s name do I get from the Woodley Park Zoo to Shady Grove. That’s a damn long walk.
I was given the tickets tonights game as a (very expensive) gift from my mother in law (who lives on a very tight budget but becuase of the year she had wanted to do something extra nice for me). My wife is already guilting me into going becuase of what was spent, so come hell or high water (snow) I will be there with my two sons. Just hope we can manage the walk.
I am very disapointed in the attitude by Ted. I have no problem driving in snow and anything less than 14 or 15 inches can be comical (I am a New Englader who also lived in Chicago,Detroit and spent a few winters in MN). But this is D.C.where they can’t even operate metro on sunny days and people around here wreck just when they hear the word sonw. Toss in a sprinke of snow and this area is a disaster.
I want to see the Caps play, will be my first game in a few years. And I have no choice but to go. I just hope the experince is better than Ted’s attitude and I can get home from tonights game in time to see Sunday’s on T.V.
I get that the snow could be “hype”, but I have to say I am a bit offended by Mr. L’s seemingly cavalier take on the impact the snow could have.
“This is hockey weather. If we can play, we will”
If I was being picked up at my house and driven by someone else in a car / bus that was safe and could leave 4 hours before game time, like Ted or his team and was getting paid to do it, I wouldn’t care about the snow either.
But the reality is I have to work, get home, count on Metro to get me there, three hours later have to count on metro to get me home and from metro drive home. If there is only a few innches of snow, who cares. But if the visability is only 1/4 of a mile as being called for, if there is the foot or more snow that could be on the ground by 10 or 11, it’s a whole new ball game.
Tell you what Ted, why don’t you and your team rent cars from Hertz, stay at a hotel in Germantown, leave at 5:00 PM, drive to the Shady Grove metro and take metro to the game. When the game is over reverse the trip (each player has to drive their own car).
All you needed to say was something as simple as:
“The snow could certainly have an impact on our fans ability to get to the game. Our fans safety is a concern, but if there is any way we can play tonight, we will. We will monitor the snow situation and provide updates as the day progresses”.
“It’s hockey weather”? The season starts in early fall and ends almost in summer. What isn’t hockey weather?
Ted’s right. If the teams and officials can get there, I presume that the game tonight will be played. If the fans can’t get there, that’s just too bad I guess. Now if the snow is as bad as forecast, Sunday’s game may be more problematic, as VA suggested, because the Pens may not be able to get here. But I’m sure that the NHL is going to want to get tonight’s game in, because they don’t want to have to reschedule two games.
But Ted: We aren’t freaking out – we’re simply assessing the reality of what’s staring us in the face. I’m one of the season ticket holders who needs Metro, including the above-ground portion, to get to and from the game. I figure I can probably get along on the roads OK if the snow doesn’t start too early. But Metro is what it is, and if they shut down the above-ground section before the game is over because the snow piles up too much too soon, I’ve got issues.
So we are very likely to stay home tonight, which would be disappointing if only because the team deserves a thunderous welcome back home. But what is, is. That’s what TV is for, I guess.
I am not afraid of myself on the road — it’s the other wackadoodle drivers that worry me.
Anyway, I will enjoy watching both games in the comfort of my own home in beautiful HD.
Ted
think about the safety of your fans. Listen to the local news. This isn’t suppose to be a 3 inch snow. Fans travel from great distances to support your team.
Assuming the Thrashers are now here, how will they get back home? Delta has canceled all flights out of National starting Friday afternoon.
My local emergency management folks are ticked off that this game might still go on. Guess we get to practice our snow rescue skills Friday night in a big way.
Thanks Ted/NHL.
I agree with Guy–the NHL needs to reschedule. We have $500 worth of premium tickets for tomorrow’s game which I bought for my husband’s 40th birthday, we haven’t been on a date since we had a baby 18 months ago, and we live in Loudoun county with no Metro. I am not afraid of the snow, but our babysitters are, and this is just impossible.
I actually tend to agree with many on here already. My wife and I carved out the time/money to make Friday’s game the one and only game we could go to this season. Lined up babysitting – the whole thing. I’m just afraid that the roads won’t allow us to get back if the above ground metro is closed, let alone the general safety aspects of driving in it.
Cross your fingers that somehow EVERY weather report is way wrong…
Only problem is that the Pens have to come from a 2pm Saturday game in Montreal to get here for that noon start. A little too far for a train or bus, although some of the Pens players got out of a bus stuck in Buffalo before a game earlier this season and actually helped to push it. Might depend on the airport being open. Will be interesting to see what happens.
Don’t freak out over snow but the forecast is really bad like in 20 or more inches. I love the Caps but my safety and the ability to get home and not getting stranded are more important. I actually made contingency plans to be able to attend on Sunday and now it looks like I may not be able to get into DC on Saturday. If not physically there, will be there in spirit and cheering from my living room (fingers crossed power and cable stay on). Is it bad that I am praying for the Pens to not be able to get into DC from Montreal for Sunday so it gets rescheduled?
I hate hysteria also, but I’m afraid the concerns have some value. If the Metro is closed above ground tomorrow night, it is going to be extremely difficult to get from the last underground station to points outside the Beltway. The team serves the whole region – not just D.C. – please give the fans a break and find a way to play another night.
If Metro shuts down above ground, I can theoretically take a bus to Georgia Avenue-Petworth and pick up the Green Line from there. But if the buses are shut down, too, getting to that stop would mean a four-mile hike. Down Georgia Avenue. Through the third alphabet. In a “conditions will deteriorate rapidly” snowstorm. With no idea how (or even IF) I’ll be able to get home after the game.
I might not be that dedicated. We’ll see.
BaltimoreBerserk -
I’d be happy to take those tickets off your hands…
chris@crgee.org
It’s extremely rare for me to miss a home game, but Friday night is definitely giving me pause. I live nowhere close to a metro station, and my tiny car doesn’t handle especially well in severe weather. Snow doesn’t freak me out (I’ve driven back from Hershey in it a number of times), but we’re not talking a couple of inches here. Common sense says stay off the roads and let the professionals do their jobs in getting things cleared. Sorry, Ted…I love the team, but personal safety trumps hockey every time. Unless you’re going to send Brooks over in the Laichmobile to pick me up, I may have to view this one from the comfort of home.
Hey Kevin, this isn’t Ted’s call whether or not to play the game. The general NHL rule is that if the teams and the officials are in town and can get to the arena, the game is to be played.
It would be up to the local government to ask the league to postpone the game.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA @ “Mass Hysteria”
If fans get trapped in the blizzard Friday night, will you reimburse the local governments for the costs of rescuing them?
This isn’t Buffalo, Ted. We’re not prepared for this sort of thing.
I have 2 wheel drive, live in Baltimore, and have about $350 to $400 in Caps tickets to both games this weekend.
I love snow more than most sane people, but this is worth freaking out about: I don’t think this State’s incompetence at snow removal will allow me to come to the games because the outdoor metros close if it snows and Amtrak wants like $60 to get home Sunday if I stay somewhere… Not that I didn’t spend all my money on tickets already so hotels are out… I am not freaking out about snow, I will make no extra trips to the store as i shop sufficiently at other times, but at the fact that I may miss some of the very few opportunities that my limited budget allows me to see my team!
BaltimoreBerserk <—freaking out
Well, I’ll be there snow or no snow, but if its just you and me can I sit in the owners box with you? What the heck? Its snow, not a giant asteroid!
One thing I do not miss about the Washington area is the snow hysteria that takes hold on every forecast of the white stuff. I fondly remember back in high school when my girlfriend’s Dad told us not to bother studying because due to Ryan’s forecast on Channel 4, “there is definitely not going to be any school tomorrow, kids”. Not a flake of snow fell. Game on!
Will the jersey auction still be held on Friday if turnout is tremendously low?
I remember the Roanoke Valley Rampage (a now-defunct ECHL franchise) playing a game at the old LancerLot in Vinton during a massive snowstorm in 1993. Despite what was then called the “storm of the century,” about 500 fans still showed up. I guess that’s the meaning of the word “diehard fan.”