Opening Faceoff – February 7th, 2010
The Capitals and Penguins face-off today in the NBC Game of the Week, and a surprising number of Capitals Fans made it to the game, considering the weather. The photo above was taken at the opening face-off, however fans continued to file in for the majority of the 1st period. Metro completely shutdown service for above ground trains, and even the trains underground were running very sporadically. Ted Leonsis addressed the issue of potentially postponing the game on his blog :
Postponing or rescheduling a game is a tough call for the NHL. If both teams are here and the on ice officials are here and the network trucks and staff are here and the building folks have arrived, then it is game on. It has been that way forever for all sports leagues. We are playing today. I have great empathy for our fans. I do not want to have anyone be in any danger but the game is on. You will all have to use your own judgement as to whether to come to the game.
So while it is probably against our better judgement, many in the area braved the elements and made it out to Verizon Center today. I personally made the trek from near BWI Airport, and witnessed countless vehicles stuck in the snow on my journey. I actually pulled two vehicles out of the snow with my retrieval strap on 295, both of which contained fans making their way to the game. Apparently Capitals fans are the only people in the region stupid enough to be on the roads today. Crazy stupid for a 14th straight victory against the hated Penguins.
