N.L. in the Big “No” for the Fresno-Bakersfield Highway 99 Hockey Rivalry - By N.L. Belardes
Highway 99 was as dusty and flat as always. We drove through Central Valley farmland, past almond groves, herds of dairy cattle and vineyards, only to flip through talk radio and crack jokes.
We were on our way to the big “No”, Bakersfield’s Highway 99 rival in more than just hockey. Sure, hockey games between the Bakersfield Condors and Fresno Falcons are always a nasty affair. Fans yell and scream and hope for nothing short of a blood bath on the ice. Americans more than just love the Ridley Scott film, Gladiator. Many of us relish the toughness of a gladiator style sport in an arena that pits men with sticks who punish each other for 60 minutes. Blood on the ice is a bonus that invigorates the tamest of hockey fans, although such bloody moments are rare these days.
Fresno Whiffleball king
Sure, some of my readers are pacifists, They’re folks who scream “Food, not bombs!” and they will ignore this article. But there is a Highway 99 rivalry and hockey is a great way to display such competitiveness.
Myself? I’m of a fiery competitive spirit. Give me a game of checkers and I will trash talk as I try not to lose. I once played chess regularly with a combat veteran who was also a schizophrenic. When he was focused he fought chess just like a war. He hunkered in his chair, his eyes focused like a cat. He read playbooks and offered game strategies that escaped the game board itself. He wore big feathery hats, or a favorite Indiana Jones hat; he offered beer, or sat with Hustler magazine, trying to throw off my game and my attention as we sat in a courtyard in downtown Bakersfield in the mid-1990s. He pitted himself with middlegame strategies that were as mystic as the spiritual themes in Gladiator. “Toss some sand in the East to hide the sandstorm coming in the West…” and so on…
Find the rubber chicken
Although I play less hockey these days, the same spirit is abundantly there. And I brought it with me as I entered Fresno to see game two between the Bakersfield Condors and the Fresno Falcons.
With me were several fans: kids from Dirty Spanglish, Dude on the Ice, and Matildakay. chingpea was going to try to attend but couldn’t get off work early enough to make the trip.
Meeting us in Fresno was Mike Seay from Dorktown.net. He and I both write trash talk hockey blogs here in the Central Valley uplifting the local ice hockey teams in our hometowns. Mike wore a hat and brown jacket and we sat and ate some grub across the street from the Save Mart Center before walking over to the game.
The Save Mart Center itself is a huge facility that stands like a big mall out in the middle of the countryside near Fresno State. According to Mike that’s all going to change as an actual mall type atmosphere is supposed to spring up around the complex. Inside, the stadium is massive, though less friendly with an almost hospital quality: bare, clean, stone, bright. The rink itself was like a big empty hospital room where the Falcons perform cold surgery on their victims, Bakersfield no exception. No banners from the rafters like there are in Bakersfield.
Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena is tucked into downtown Bakersfield with a nearby ice rink and lots of parking options. Save Mart Center’s parking is $8.00 and game ticket prices were extremely high. We couldn’t get seats in the upper deck (off limits), so sat in the lower deck having shelled out an ungodly amount of money for minor league hockey. No wonder there are fewer fans in Fresno than in Bakersfield. Who can afford $19.00 a ticket? In Bakersfield I can get seats that are just as good for $8.00 - $12.00.
The hockey game itself was a disappointing 4-2 loss. I recorded a podcast and denied the crazy game I was witnessing. I focused on interviewing Mike to hear about his Fresno Wiffleball League, Dorktown podcast and hockey blog (coming soon).
Pummeling the foe
Ouch, we did that game...
Of course there was one good fight. I snapped some photos of the fracas as bodies piled on each other and hockey players threw punches. Two players paired off for an encore to the pile-up with the Fresno fans finally coming alive to cheer for their gladiator to win. Bakersfield got the upper hand in their only true victory of the night.
What really got me about the Fresno Falcons was their mascot “Freddie” who I now call, Freddie “Kreuger” Falcon. Right away, Freddie “Kreuger” Falcon isn’t half as funny as the Condors mascot this season. I’ll never forget the game where Colonel Claw’d threw a tamtrum as he tried and tried to get the crowd to do the wave. It was one of those exciting hockey game moments and so the entire crowd wasn’t involved. The Colonel kept beating the glass in a pleading silent wail as he had the audience around him laughing uncontrollably. The Colonel isn’t afraid to go flying down stairs or smashing into the boards. He sails across the ice in a saucer and shows off his fluffy extremities to unsuspecting fans. He’s a riot.
Here we see Freddie "Kreuger" Falcon right before he gobbles up unsuspecting young fans
Then there’s Freddie “Kreuger” Falcon who has a head so evil that it scares me. I swear kids end up missing from games as he gobbles them up.
Leaving the game I was surprised to discover more traffic congestion than Dodger Stadium. Where Fresno has a good hockey team this year and devoted fans, there’s more energy in Bakersfield in a hockey community that has plenty of fans in an exciting downtown arena. Yet, Fresno was a great time. I would go back and talk shop with Mike Seay and friends. As Mike said, “We Fresno people love people from around the valley.” He was more than hospitable. He’s part of a larger city, with a better media network that supports the arts. Bakersfield has KRAB radio helping support art, and that’s it so far that I can tell. Fresno has a lot more. Heck, Mike was on a Fresno Famous podcast and as a result helped out on a local radio show. Now that’s support.
Next playoff game is Friday. The Condors are down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series.
We were on our way to the big “No”, Bakersfield’s Highway 99 rival in more than just hockey. Sure, hockey games between the Bakersfield Condors and Fresno Falcons are always a nasty affair. Fans yell and scream and hope for nothing short of a blood bath on the ice. Americans more than just love the Ridley Scott film, Gladiator. Many of us relish the toughness of a gladiator style sport in an arena that pits men with sticks who punish each other for 60 minutes. Blood on the ice is a bonus that invigorates the tamest of hockey fans, although such bloody moments are rare these days.
Fresno Whiffleball king
Sure, some of my readers are pacifists, They’re folks who scream “Food, not bombs!” and they will ignore this article. But there is a Highway 99 rivalry and hockey is a great way to display such competitiveness.
Myself? I’m of a fiery competitive spirit. Give me a game of checkers and I will trash talk as I try not to lose. I once played chess regularly with a combat veteran who was also a schizophrenic. When he was focused he fought chess just like a war. He hunkered in his chair, his eyes focused like a cat. He read playbooks and offered game strategies that escaped the game board itself. He wore big feathery hats, or a favorite Indiana Jones hat; he offered beer, or sat with Hustler magazine, trying to throw off my game and my attention as we sat in a courtyard in downtown Bakersfield in the mid-1990s. He pitted himself with middlegame strategies that were as mystic as the spiritual themes in Gladiator. “Toss some sand in the East to hide the sandstorm coming in the West…” and so on…
Find the rubber chicken
Although I play less hockey these days, the same spirit is abundantly there. And I brought it with me as I entered Fresno to see game two between the Bakersfield Condors and the Fresno Falcons.
With me were several fans: kids from Dirty Spanglish, Dude on the Ice, and Matildakay. chingpea was going to try to attend but couldn’t get off work early enough to make the trip.
Meeting us in Fresno was Mike Seay from Dorktown.net. He and I both write trash talk hockey blogs here in the Central Valley uplifting the local ice hockey teams in our hometowns. Mike wore a hat and brown jacket and we sat and ate some grub across the street from the Save Mart Center before walking over to the game.
The Save Mart Center itself is a huge facility that stands like a big mall out in the middle of the countryside near Fresno State. According to Mike that’s all going to change as an actual mall type atmosphere is supposed to spring up around the complex. Inside, the stadium is massive, though less friendly with an almost hospital quality: bare, clean, stone, bright. The rink itself was like a big empty hospital room where the Falcons perform cold surgery on their victims, Bakersfield no exception. No banners from the rafters like there are in Bakersfield.
Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena is tucked into downtown Bakersfield with a nearby ice rink and lots of parking options. Save Mart Center’s parking is $8.00 and game ticket prices were extremely high. We couldn’t get seats in the upper deck (off limits), so sat in the lower deck having shelled out an ungodly amount of money for minor league hockey. No wonder there are fewer fans in Fresno than in Bakersfield. Who can afford $19.00 a ticket? In Bakersfield I can get seats that are just as good for $8.00 - $12.00.
The hockey game itself was a disappointing 4-2 loss. I recorded a podcast and denied the crazy game I was witnessing. I focused on interviewing Mike to hear about his Fresno Wiffleball League, Dorktown podcast and hockey blog (coming soon).
Pummeling the foe
Ouch, we did that game...
Of course there was one good fight. I snapped some photos of the fracas as bodies piled on each other and hockey players threw punches. Two players paired off for an encore to the pile-up with the Fresno fans finally coming alive to cheer for their gladiator to win. Bakersfield got the upper hand in their only true victory of the night.
What really got me about the Fresno Falcons was their mascot “Freddie” who I now call, Freddie “Kreuger” Falcon. Right away, Freddie “Kreuger” Falcon isn’t half as funny as the Condors mascot this season. I’ll never forget the game where Colonel Claw’d threw a tamtrum as he tried and tried to get the crowd to do the wave. It was one of those exciting hockey game moments and so the entire crowd wasn’t involved. The Colonel kept beating the glass in a pleading silent wail as he had the audience around him laughing uncontrollably. The Colonel isn’t afraid to go flying down stairs or smashing into the boards. He sails across the ice in a saucer and shows off his fluffy extremities to unsuspecting fans. He’s a riot.
Here we see Freddie "Kreuger" Falcon right before he gobbles up unsuspecting young fans
Then there’s Freddie “Kreuger” Falcon who has a head so evil that it scares me. I swear kids end up missing from games as he gobbles them up.
Leaving the game I was surprised to discover more traffic congestion than Dodger Stadium. Where Fresno has a good hockey team this year and devoted fans, there’s more energy in Bakersfield in a hockey community that has plenty of fans in an exciting downtown arena. Yet, Fresno was a great time. I would go back and talk shop with Mike Seay and friends. As Mike said, “We Fresno people love people from around the valley.” He was more than hospitable. He’s part of a larger city, with a better media network that supports the arts. Bakersfield has KRAB radio helping support art, and that’s it so far that I can tell. Fresno has a lot more. Heck, Mike was on a Fresno Famous podcast and as a result helped out on a local radio show. Now that’s support.
Next playoff game is Friday. The Condors are down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series.
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Thursday, April 27, 2006.
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Worse than Dodger Stadium traffic? What the hell? Oh, it's on now Mr. Bobblehead.
You should be more worried about Freddie "Kreuger" Falconeating all the fans. I mean there were only 12 or so Fresno fans in attendance....
Wow - you guys are down 2-0? I don't think you have the talent to come back from 3-1 like the mighty Wranglers. We're in a battle with Alaska now should provide a great weekend of hockey!
Although I'm not expecting a Bakersfailed-Vegas series, it would be fun.
Good luck in your series.
PS: Who's that girl in the Fresno outfit that your guy's pummelling?
PPS: Alaska sucks more than a black hole.
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