John Shaw was born in Montreal, where the NBA doesn't have a franchise, college football is practically a hobby and Major League Baseball's Expos left in 2004 for Washington, D.C.
He lives in Houston now, and his passion for hockey remains intact. Shaw is an Aeros fan, and more — he's the director of the minor league team's booster club. Tonight, he has decent tickets for the Astros, but there's also the matter of the American Hockey League playoffs at Toyota Center — it's Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Aeros and the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Tough choice? Not quite. Shaw spent Thursday morning attempting to reach the baseball franchise's box office in hopes of switching, trading or simply unloading the tickets. If he couldn't, he said he was prepared to eat the expense.
"If I'm not in the hospital or at a family event, I'm at the Aeros," he said. "They're the only winning professional team in the area."
To some, that's disappointing. After all, what would life be like if the Astros, Texans, Rockets and even the Dynamo were all successful — and at the same time? Of course, it's been just the opposite lately for those franchises and their fans.
But for the 19,660 who supported the Aeros during home playoff victories against Peoria (4-0 series sweep) and Milwaukee (4-3 series triumph, culminating in a 4-2 win in Game 7 at Bradley Center), and the estimated 6,000 or more the team's public relations staff is expecting tonight and possibly Sunday for Game 2, this has been building.
The midseason acquisitions of Patrick O'Sullivan and Jed Ortmeyer provided a sizeable boost to the offense, allowing some younger players to flourish. Rookie goaltender Matt Hackett has been a revelation, ranking among the league's best in goals-against average.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hki/aeros/7563045.html#ixzz1MFpC2pVc
No comments:
Post a Comment