A touch of class from the Rangers, who should otherwise be despised by all thinking sports fans everywhere (sorry, NC Cop…had to throw that in!)

DOH!!!

The reception was indeed mixed. The boos started first, then the cheers. I’d say the applause and the cheering had the upper hand, slightly. Lorica’s correct. It was not, as the NYT reported here, a case of “resounding, almost defeaning, boos.” But then, inaccurate reporting is why the NYT is useful mostly for fishwrap anymore.

There were a handful of Obama signs in the crowd…the word around here is that the local Obama campaign was actively looking for people going to the game and handing signs to anyone who responded (gee, and I thought they didn’t want this to be a political event). Still, there weren’t many at all. I saw maybe 20 out of an arena that holds 20,000. There were a couple of hand-made signs as well. I only saw one “Flyers Fans ‘heart’ Palin” sign, but keep in mind that her appearance was to honor the Hockey Mom, not a political appearance. I’m sure that’s why there wasn’t a rope line or other chance to see her (to my disappointment).

I got a couple of pictures, which I’ve forwarded to ST, but the ones linked above are much better.

A couple of FYIs, if you watch the video above:

Brian Propp, the ex-Flyer who accompanied her to the ceremonial puck-dropping is now a businessman here in south Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully last year on the GOP line for the state Assembly in the district just north of mine.

The usual tradition in these ceremonies is for the two team captains to take the draw. Instead, the Rangers had assistant captain Scott Gomez do the honors. My understanding is that he asked for the role since he’s from Alaska and had already met and likes the Governor. A touch of class from the Rangers, who should otherwise be despised by all thinking sports fans everywhere (sorry, NC Cop…had to throw that in!)

Oh, and as for this:

(snort! Do they even do polite applause in Philly?).

Don’t confuse us Flyer fans with the brain-dead Eagle fans. They’re the ones who booed and threw snowballs at Santa. We’re the ones who cheered Mario Lemieux when he played his first game in nearly two years after beating cancer. Besides, let’s not forget that it was boneheaded trades by the Flyers that brought Rod Brind’Amour and Justin Williams to the Hurricanes, and without them you’d never have won the Cup in 2006.

snort! Do they even do polite applause in Philly?

The word applause doesn’t even exist in Philly lexicon

The funny thing that is missing from all the regular news stories, but appears in all the sports stories of the game, is that Martin Biron, the Flyers goalie, was boo’d by the Flyers fans when he yanked for giving up too many goals.