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I am back from the final game of the Torrent's inaugural season. The worst season of any team in PWHL history! Sold out crowd at an area 2-3x the size some other teams even get. I may make a separate post about the team's problems and the issues that could create for the league, but I am going to try to ignore that. Just hard today after some player statements today in their exit interviews >.>
I went up on the bus that Sports Bra charted for the game. The bus had a bit of a wait list. Good thing I kept an eye on that and nabbed my seat immediately. The group for the bus was really cool. I sat next to a girl was was knitting scarves for the trinket exchange people do at Torrent games. (I'd hope to do that but my project did not come together...) Half way through the ride she knotted some yarn to make a little holder for her cell phone to hook on the back of the seat in front of her so she could watch the Goldeneyes at the Frost on her way to see the Victoire take on the Torrent.
My first visit to Climate Pledge Arena, the place I've seen on TV so often! I thought my seat would be pretty bad, but it was great. People who say there are no bad seats in that house might not be wrong. My cheap seat was waaaay better than I expected.
The food situation was dire. Well, when we arrived my priority was trying to get some of the PWHL Pride Collection, only being sold at pride nights at pride games. Teams have been struggling to meet demand for even basic generic shirts, so I expected stuff to sell out and it did. Even with our bus dropping us off at the lesser-used entrance and not having a bag at all, sizes where gone by the time I got the merch.
I did get some, but when I got it home I realize it's all too big. There was no way to try things on, sizing was wonky overall, and I got that sweatshirt in the smallest size they had left. I wasn't going to get the sweatshirt, but other people had nabbed it and put it on already, and it seemed to wear really nicely on them, especially the trim around the waist. It's too big on me, not in an intentionally-oversized way, but it's still a sweatshirt disappointing but I can get some use out of it. The T shirts are a problem. I grabbed it in 2 sizes and both are two big for me, but I am pretty sure a size smaller would have been too small. I need to figure out what to do with them, sadly even the smaller one makes me look like I am wearing scrubs. Maybe if I figure out how to style them right? Might need to just use the larger one as raw material for something.
If I can make these pieces work, they will solve several problems with my wardrobe, including my perennial 'what to wear to pride / this queer event' problem. They are currently air drying after a very gentle wash to get the stadium smell out of them. I will find a way. I paid [redacted] for them PLUS this thing called sales tax that I forgot about.
Yeah, if I hadn't been so focused on the exclusive drop and also team store exclusives, I might have found a food option that wasn't... beer.
The game was a lot of fun. The crowd was hype. For the puck drop, they started listing the accomplishments and awards of the person who was going to drop the puck. People around me started freaking out. Lots of 'no way... no way... omg really... it's her!!!!' The very hype person brought out for the ceremonial first puck drop of the Pride Night game turned out to be Brandi Carlile. I have no idea who that is. Everyone around me was losing their shit. I will look up some songs by her later.
The game did go double overtime. The bus service we had was great, but around 1 AM I was feeling it a bit.
Really, really hope to see more of those buses next year! Also, with Amtrak finally getting more rolling stock so they can start to meet demand for train travel between Seattle and Portland, maybe train/ticket combo packages for both teams next year?? One of the PDX teams has an Amtrak deal so fans all ride down together, would love to see the squids or toothpaste get in on that.
Also, I was in the same building as Alison Lukan. I <3 Alison Lukan. Maybe someday I'll meet her. I'd love for her to be involved in one of the Kraken or Torrent events in Portland next season
I went up on the bus that Sports Bra charted for the game. The bus had a bit of a wait list. Good thing I kept an eye on that and nabbed my seat immediately. The group for the bus was really cool. I sat next to a girl was was knitting scarves for the trinket exchange people do at Torrent games. (I'd hope to do that but my project did not come together...) Half way through the ride she knotted some yarn to make a little holder for her cell phone to hook on the back of the seat in front of her so she could watch the Goldeneyes at the Frost on her way to see the Victoire take on the Torrent.
My first visit to Climate Pledge Arena, the place I've seen on TV so often! I thought my seat would be pretty bad, but it was great. People who say there are no bad seats in that house might not be wrong. My cheap seat was waaaay better than I expected.
The food situation was dire. Well, when we arrived my priority was trying to get some of the PWHL Pride Collection, only being sold at pride nights at pride games. Teams have been struggling to meet demand for even basic generic shirts, so I expected stuff to sell out and it did. Even with our bus dropping us off at the lesser-used entrance and not having a bag at all, sizes where gone by the time I got the merch.
I did get some, but when I got it home I realize it's all too big. There was no way to try things on, sizing was wonky overall, and I got that sweatshirt in the smallest size they had left. I wasn't going to get the sweatshirt, but other people had nabbed it and put it on already, and it seemed to wear really nicely on them, especially the trim around the waist. It's too big on me, not in an intentionally-oversized way, but it's still a sweatshirt disappointing but I can get some use out of it. The T shirts are a problem. I grabbed it in 2 sizes and both are two big for me, but I am pretty sure a size smaller would have been too small. I need to figure out what to do with them, sadly even the smaller one makes me look like I am wearing scrubs. Maybe if I figure out how to style them right? Might need to just use the larger one as raw material for something.
If I can make these pieces work, they will solve several problems with my wardrobe, including my perennial 'what to wear to pride / this queer event' problem. They are currently air drying after a very gentle wash to get the stadium smell out of them. I will find a way. I paid [redacted] for them PLUS this thing called sales tax that I forgot about.
Yeah, if I hadn't been so focused on the exclusive drop and also team store exclusives, I might have found a food option that wasn't... beer.
The game was a lot of fun. The crowd was hype. For the puck drop, they started listing the accomplishments and awards of the person who was going to drop the puck. People around me started freaking out. Lots of 'no way... no way... omg really... it's her!!!!' The very hype person brought out for the ceremonial first puck drop of the Pride Night game turned out to be Brandi Carlile. I have no idea who that is. Everyone around me was losing their shit. I will look up some songs by her later.
The game did go double overtime. The bus service we had was great, but around 1 AM I was feeling it a bit.
Really, really hope to see more of those buses next year! Also, with Amtrak finally getting more rolling stock so they can start to meet demand for train travel between Seattle and Portland, maybe train/ticket combo packages for both teams next year?? One of the PDX teams has an Amtrak deal so fans all ride down together, would love to see the squids or toothpaste get in on that.
Also, I was in the same building as Alison Lukan. I <3 Alison Lukan. Maybe someday I'll meet her. I'd love for her to be involved in one of the Kraken or Torrent events in Portland next season
no subject
Date: 2026-04-27 01:28 am (UTC)From:Here's her Wild Cards interview:
https://youtu.be/j_OHsKHBW0o?si=nxq4wbSPdtbl1TJv
And also her Tiny Desk concert:
https://youtu.be/BoQctt3WEy8?si=r6yN-NnwLsDKVLca
And it's so cool you got to go to the final Torrent game, even if the season wasn't what you hoped. Hope you can make the merch work for you.
no subject
Date: 2026-04-27 03:27 am (UTC)From:Congrats on the better-than-expected cheap seats!
Sucks that the sizing on the clothing was wonky. :/ Are the t-shirts something where you could basically take them in to get a better fit? Maybe that sounds silly for a t-shirt, and it obviously depends on which parts of the fit are wrong, but sometimes just restitching a seam can fix things.
I'm glad the game itself was fun!
I do know OF Brandi Carlile, but... beyond "queer music artist" I really couldn't tell you anything.
Excellent that the bus was worthwhile! If functional train travel were an option that would be extra great!