Last night the Washington Capitals played the New Jersey Devils at the Verizon Center ice rink. As my luck would have it the Capitals lost after a very intense hour leading to overtime and then a shoot out. If you ever have a chance to go to a big sports arena GO. There is really nothing like it, there is so much noise and heat. The days of a quaint stadium with family and friends is long gone. There are loud speakers, giant TVs, Burritos thrown into the audience, cowbells, movie clips and of course beer, beer and more beer.
Before the game my friend and I went hunting for the ceremonial red Capitals shirt to somehow prove to ourselves that we belonged or that we were from DC (both of us just moved here). Downtown was packed with signature memorabilia: Jerseys, flags, face paint. All we could see was Red. The adrenaline that comes from joining a throng of impassioned fans is daunting and electrifying.
This morning I still couldn't help thinking about the intensity of the game so I decided to see what Alice Fletcher had been up to on October 13Th...
The Omaha were preparing for a dance at Spotted Tail's. There is something familiar about her description of the ceremony, "all the Indians were in dress. Buffalo-chip put on his Indian dress, white shirt, blanket and ornaments, Mrs. Buffalo-chip painted her hair part and put on her large earrings and dress gay in color, and when the chief called, he too was in full dress, paint and feathers."* This instance is not unlike the preparation for a hockey game, the painting of the face, putting on the home jersey. There is a phenomenal amount of pride shown through the effort of ceremony and celebration. I'm not sure how Alice Fletcher participated in the dance other than watching but I'm sure it was a remarkable experience.
*Video of Capitals game: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629427404&ref=ts#/video/video.php?v=151830532404&ref=mf
*http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/fletcher
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment