Merry Kiss Cam

It was far from our first date but it was a good one. 

On Saturday Michele and I took in a UMD Bulldogs hockey game at Amsoil Arena. Before we left the AirBnB, we watched a little NCAA volleyball. Michele gave way and knew that we had to get going and that volleyball could wait. Together we navigated a bustling parking problem around Superior Street. Bentleyville, an ice fishing show and the Dogs game created a maze of holiday hype and congested cars. We parked out in the tooleys and walked and talked and held hands in the Skywalk. It was a perfect beginning to a lovely evening with my wife. 

After checking in with our e-tickets, a stroll around the rink made for some good people watching before we finally took our seats in the 10th row. Because we were so early, we got to sit hand in hand again and take in the sights and sounds of the college hockey experience. Bright lights, a peppy Pep Band, beer drinkers and unique pre-game rituals. The game itself was competitive and exciting. It was immediately apparent that the speed of the college game was intensely faster than the high school games that we're used to.  The Denver Pioneers and UMD Bulldogs exchanged blows and took turns in and out of the penalty box. At the end of regulation, the score was tied. 

We were hopeful that our presence was going to be the good luck charm that the Bulldogs needed to pull out a win against the nation's number one seeded team but such wasn't the case. A turnover in the defensive zone wound up in the back of the UMD net and Denver got the W.

But so did I.

Tomorrow marks 20 years that I've been married to Miss Michele Dinius. I've long said that I won the Wife Lottery and if that's the only lottery I ever win again, I'd be happy the rest of my days. Sure Michele and I dream about the Mega Millions but we have always dreamt together...dreamt of a happy home...dreamt of healthy kids...dreamt of loyal dogs and family trips...by all accounts - we are living the dream.

2.5 kids and a white picket fence. 

There's a recent movie release on HULU called "Merry Kiss Cam". It's a Romantic Comedy set in Duluth around the holiday season. It is borderline corny but it's got hockey and romance and bourbon... all the things I like. The unsuspecting couple become the talk of the town when they appear on the Bulldog Kiss Cam while on their first date. The rabid fans are convinced that this couple are the reason that the UMD team wins and subsequently dig themselves out of the gutter...the more they show up and kiss...the more the team wins....

Michele and I never made it on the Kiss Cam last Saturday... the Bulldogs LOST.

Coincidence? Maybe - maybe not.

I wish the PR department at Amsoil knew that I was sitting in Section 116 Row 10 right next to the love of my life!

I love you FIVE - Happy Anniversary!

25 - in NYC?