Favorite Fridays~"It's a Great Day for Hockey" (Badger Bob Johnson)

Tomorrow afternoon, at 4 o'clock, we'll see the puck drop at a Badger Hockey game for the last time...at least the last time holding our season tickets.  No doubt about it, one of the things I will miss the most about living in Wisconsin will be Badger Hockey.  

I had never been to a hockey game until I started dating Jeff.  We both lived in Milwaukee; I was a graduate student, and he was a producer for the weekday morning news.

Hockey was in Jeff's blood...for as long as he can remember, he and his brother would each get a night~if I recall correctly, I think Mike had Friday nights with Dad and Jeff got to go on Saturday nights.  Jeff and Mike grew up playing hockey, being driven to Madison in the wee small hours of the morning since there wasn't a team in Mt. Horeb.  The basement of the house in which Jeff grew up was nearly floor to ceiling Badger; and the majority was Badger Hockey.

I fell in love with the game the minute I stepped into the Kohl Center for the first time.  The roar of the crowd, the thunder of the Crease Creatures, the anthems from the UW Band...the atmosphere was one of magical excitement.  

So here are some of my favorite memories and Badger Hockey traditions that will never fade...

When I first started going to games, I didn't understand that we were to shout "SIEVE" at the opposing goalie...I thought we were shouting "Steve"...the name of a player...  That's a classic "Tammie-ism" that goes down in Section 203 history.

Another great memory is The Blue Line Club~before it became outrageously priced.  It was the only place to order an "adult" beverage, and we'd go down to the club in between periods and usually would stay well into the subsequent periods.

A Badger Hockey staple is The Count...Phil, in his white sweater, at all the games: 1, 2, we want more...Evie got to hold the "2" sign when she went to a game with us...Here's the video!

Five goals by the Badgers at a home game means free custard from local Culver's when you give them your ticket.  "We want ice cream".

We had our own "personal" game which made the season an awful lot of fun.  Choosing "My Guy" for the new year...Shane, Angie, Jeff and I would choose our freshman for the year and yell, "That's my guy!" when he would score. 

There was a special year that a young fella named Justin Schultz joined the team and we all wanted him for "My Guy" so we just decided to call ourselves "Schultzy's Section..."

I'll never forget being at the Frozen Four in Milwaukee when we won the National Championship game at the Bradley Center...FANTASTIC.  Magical.

We had our own "pre-game" traditional dinner at Jordan's Big 10 Pub...greatest pre-hockey food Evaaahhh...and the best staff.  Pub chips and Strongbow...I still can't believe they never added a sandwich to the menu called "The Shane."

Then there was the game where we met Blake Geoffrion; our first Hobey Baker award winner.  (That's the Heisman Trophy of hockey, for those who know even less about hockey than I do.)

To make the hockey games even more fun, we finally "met" the folks who sat behind us in Section 203.  We  REALLY met them for the first time when we all were going to the Frozen Four in Detroit...sharing that experience together, and all the games thereafter just made me love hockey games even more because our fun had become even "funner" (couldn't believe it was possible)!

My friend Vicki and I took a road trip to St. Louis for the Ice Breaker Tournament one fall.  That was a ton of fun, until a waitress asked if we were at the game because we were a parent of one of the players.  What?  Really?

Our Hockey Christmas parties and white elephant gift exchange were truly a blast.  Maybe we can talk our friends into planning the parties for a weekend we're able to come back for a game.  

We took many road trips over the years:  St. Cloud State, Detroit (Frozen Four), Milwaukee (Frozen Four), Minnesota, Boston...

A few seasons ago, one of us came up with the idea of officially dubbing ourselves the Real Housewives of Section 203.  However, we actually get along, unlike the "Real Housewives" on "The Real Housewives". 

A couple of years ago, the "My Guy" game turned into full Fantasy Teams; and Jeff's been kicking our butts since day one.

Last year, Evie went to her first Badger Men's Hockey game. (Click that link to the video; Jeff did a phenomenal job of capturing the event, and documenting the family history of Badger Hockey).  Evie had been to see the Badger women play before, but the crowds and noise of the Badger Mens' games were something we had to prepare her for.  She got hooked!  She will be with us tomorrow as we sit for the last time in Section 203, (officially).  

How will I explain my tears to her, other than that these games have been more than a sporting event to us~they have been a part of Jeff and I through good times and bad. 

Badger Hockey has a phenomenal history...a legacy...more than a game, more than a team...

Our Saturday nights in Reno will be difficult come October...but it will always be "A Great Day for Hockey."

My Dream Come True...I DO Believe in Miracles

It was a Sunday morning.  The sun was shining, and Jeff had given me the chance to sleep in.  We were in the final stretch of Evie’s chemotherapy for Wilms Tumor.  I had been working 10 hour days Monday through Wednesday to meet the minimum hours needed to keep our health insurance, and then would take Evie to her chemo appointments on Thursdays, with Fridays spent at home dealing with the side effects.  Evie was not even two years old, and we were a family that had been treading water, trying to stay afloat in the murky waters of desperation.

Maybe it was the extra sleep that Jeff had allowed me, or maybe it was the glorious sunshine beating through our living room windows; either way, there was a promise of joy dancing in the air that morning.  I fell lighter than I had in weeks.  

The CBS Sunday Morning show was on the TV.  I loved that show; it reminded me of being at home with my parents and sister; protected, cared for and without the responsibilities of life.  Jeff was making trips back and forth from the living room to the kitchen to deliver Evie’s medications to her.  There was Zofran for nausea, Lactulose for constipation, a prophylactic antibiotic to stave off pneumonia, and probably a high blood pressure med or two.  

In between his trips he asked me, “What does black tie optional mean?”

I replied, “It means you can wear a tux, but you don’t have to wear a tux.”

“Well, would you wear a tux?” 

“I don’t know.  What is it for; something with work?”  I said, trying to figure out where this was going.

“Well, I just saw something on TV about a fundraising dinner for the American Family Children’s Hospital,” he began, “They said it was black tie optional.”  

The AFCH had broken ground just around the time of Evie’s first eye surgery.  Jeff and I would watch the construction and digging while Evie was under sedation.  There was something comforting about watching the progress of the building; it was like a promise that everything would be okay.

“The theme for the dinner is ‘Go for the Gold’ because it’s the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice.  The keynote speaker is Mike Eruzione and the hosts are Mark and Leslie Johnson.”

I’m glad I was already sitting down, because I’m pretty sure that I would have passed out.  I felt overwhelmed by the memory of a dream I had that night.

Evie and Bucky at the Grand Opening of AmFam Children's

“We have to go.”  I said.  “Last night I had a dream that you and I were in a car driving on Mineral Point Road in Madison.  We were at the stop light by Pizzeria Uno’s and you looked at me and said, ‘I have the chance to meet Mike Eruzione.’”

Now, I realize I married into a hockey-family; and I recognize that I had become a big fan of hockey with all the Badger hockey games we went to; but there’s really no reason I should have known that Mike Eruzione was the captain of the Miracle on Ice Olympic team back in 1980, nor should I have been dreaming about Jeff meeting him.  This was a sign; plain and simple.

We ordered our tickets and happily counted down the days to the dinner with great anticipation.  

The night was magical.  It was 5 days before Evie’s last chemotherapy appointment, so there was a certain air of anticipation around our home anyway.  Jeff and I got all dressed up, braved the snowstorm that was so typical of February in Wisconsin, and made our way to the Monona Terrace in Madison.

There was a silent auction, but most of those items were far outside our budget; but there was also a raffle for some jewelry from a local designer.  Jeff bought two of the raffle tickets, and we settled in for a delicious dinner.  After dinner they drew the names for the winners of the raffle.  The three sets of jewelry were identical, except each was made of different metal; bronze, silver and gold.  So, they cleverly called the winners by saying, “The bronze medal goes to…” and there would be applause as they announced the name of the bronze medalist.  

“The silver medal goes to…” more applause.

“The gold medal goes to Tammie Hefty.”

The American Family Children's Hospital

I looked at Jeff, “Did that just happen in my head, or did that happen out loud too?”  I had to ask because I had seen enough TV shows where a character wanted to hear something so badly that she imagined it and made a fool out of herself by standing up when her name hadn’t actually been called. 

“That really happened!”  Jeff replied with the biggest smile stretched across his face. 

 

That’s right; God gave us a gold medal.  1 Corinthians 9:24 says Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  God was telling us, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”  

Evie is eight years cancer free.

The American Family Children’s Hospital has been open for almost 7 years now, and is already expanding.

We saw Mike Eruzione in a pub in Boston this fall and I got the chance to tell him about my dream, and about his part in our miracle.

I do believe in miracles.

Do you?

Twitterpated with Twitter~Favorite Fridays

I love Twitter.  I love the challenge to use fewer words to convey full/rich content.  I love that famous people will favorite, tweet back, retweet or even *gasp* FOLLOW me!  On this favorite Friday, WEGO Health has requested that those blogging for National Health Blog Post Month talk about their 3 favorite people to follow on Twitter.  It's a tough task, but I'll try to narrow my list to fit that requirement.

First and foremost, I love to follow Snappin' Ministries .  This lady loves ministry and is an avid disability advocate.  What more could I be looking for???  I follow three of her lists as well, so I can see more things without having to follow more people.  She has a great "Cool Christians" list, "Disability Ministry" list, and "Wisconsin" list...oh, yeah, and she follows me and added me to all of those lists.  *love it* *love her*

My newest fave is Surprising Treasures.  I found her through a Snappin' Ministries list, and just had to start following her especially because I love her blog, also called Surprising Treasures!  Cindy reminds me of how I want MY attitude to be, and that helps me reset my compass for my true north everyday.

Finally, I have to just enjoy following something for the sake of following it.  It's not ministry, it's not disability; folks, this one is hockey.  I follow Andy Johnson because he does some great coverage of Wisconsin Badger Hockey.  I love his Wisconsin list which has all the past, present, and future Badgers who are on Twitter.   It's a fun way to read the shout-outs to the fans for coming out to a game, to see how former players who are now NHL players STILL follow Badger hockey and stay close to their alma mater, and to just watch them talk smack to one another. 

It's no surprise that with as much as I love Twitter, I'm not only on Twitter myself (www.twitter.com/tammiehefty) but I also manage the Twitter page for the non-profit organization, International WAGR Syndrome Association (supporting people with WAGR/11p Deletion Syndrome).  You can follow me, or the IWSA (www.twitter.com/11pdeletion), at anytime! 

Have a happy favorite Friday~and be SURE to check in tomorrow for one of my favorite entries (I had to type it in advance because I'll be at a conference on Saturday)...it's about my most embarrassing moment as a mom to a child with a rare disorder.  That TOO was a hard list to narrow down, but I'm sure I nailed it by picking the one I did.