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Meltzer's Musings: Hockey Where You Least Expect It |
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Yesterday, I accompanied my two-year-old son to Sesame Place in Langhorne. While we were standing in an endless line for Grover's World Twirl, I noticed something. A person off in the distance was wearing a t-shirt with the logo of Slovakian hockey team Dukla Trencin. I certainly wasn't expecting to see that that in Langhorne, PA.
I thought it would make for a good summertime blog topic: Where is the most unexpected place you have seen a Flyers (or other) shirt or jersey? Also where is the most unusual place where you have seen a hockey game played (or played in a game yourself) or at least heard the sport being discussed?
For me, the most unusual place that I have seen a Flyers shirt was in the Dominican Republic, being worn by a kid in Santo Domingo. I also saw a man in Aruba decked out in Detroit Red Wings apparel.
In terms of live hockey, I've seen minor league games and youth practices in Europe but nowhere where it would be considered exotic to see the sport. I've seen some Division III international hockey on video, but not live. Someday, I'd like to get to Merkaz Canada in Metulla, Israel (the rink that is the hub of Israeli hockey) and, in terms of pro hockey, would love to see an Asia League game in Japan or South Korea.
The most unusual place I ever heard a spirited -- albeit not very knowledgeable about the sport -- discussion about hockey was at a Bodacious BBQ in Henderson, TX during the 2010 Olympics. The TV in the restaurant had NBC's Olympic coverage and they were showing clips of Team USA. Two restaurant patrons in cowboy hats were talking about Team USA's chances of winning the gold. One of them had learned Ryan Miller's name by that point, the other hadn't.
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In tomorrow's blog, I will talk about the best and worst captains in Flyers' history. The top two (Clarke and Poulin) are no-brainers but there's plenty of room for debate over the rest of the list.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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