The first ever Washington Capitals Convention this past weekend was a roaring success -- an all-day extravaganza for fans of the entire Caps team and individual players.
My daughter and I attended together -- a wonderful mother-daughter bonding day. But in saying that, it sounds like the two of us are Caps fans -- and in actuality, every member of our family follows and roots for the team. In fact, my first game was with son, Stuart. At the time I was completing a media analysis for the Capitals as my college internship, and Director of Public Relations Lou Corletto offered two prime-location tickets. Stu and I had the time of our lives watching the Capitals win -- and we were hooked! In fact, it was such fun that it became a tradition that Stu gave me Capitals tickets as a Christmas gift each year. And later it became a tradition for the whole family to go to a game during the holiday season.
But to get back to the convention. Right off the bat, Drew and I stood in line for an assigned time and table in order to collect autographs -- and, as we were standing there, we glanced up to see owner Ted Leonsis walking by us. Thrill number one for the day! Since our time was limited, we opted for the earliest autograph time slot -- each taking a different table so that our autographs would not be identical.
Next, we scoped out the Convention Hall -- joining the large crowd gathered for the Opening Ceremonies and later searching though the used hockey equipment for some "gem" used jerseys. And then it was on to the shop where we stood in line with other excited fans to buy Capitals sweatshirts and jerseys. Drew bought a Clark t-shirt, and, while I wanted one for each player -- there was no way to bypass the Ovechkin one! Everyone loves Ovi!
And the Capitals' trophies were numerous and amazing! Our race horses have won quite a few stakes level trophies -- but none of the trophies in our sport could compare with those awarded to the Capitals!
But I had just one "absolutely must do" item on my convention list -- attending the Let's Make A Deal session with panelists George McPhee and Dick Patrick. The event was to provide a glimpse into "how a trade is constructed and how it progresses, who is involved and what actually is in the Caps 'war room.'"
Now for what might be a stunning confession -- as much as I enjoy watching the Capitals play and was eager to see favorite players, most of all I wanted to attend vice president and general manager George McPhee's session! No question -- I must be his biggest fan! I have admired him for the excellent decisions he has made in structuring his career, his talent on the ice as a player and also for his brilliance at the helm of the Capitals. It seems incredible to be so skilled and talented on so many levels. So nothing could have been more exciting than his glimpse inside the Capitals operation -- a chance to hear his beliefs and thoughts on the trading process.
The session was everything that I expected -- enjoyable and instructive. I've never heard GMGM speak without learning something. The only disappointment was that occasionally, at least were we were sitting, the sound system was not perfect so that we could not always decipher what was being said. Still, it was a minor point -- and the session lived up to expectations as the highlight of the day! In fact, it was so enjoyable that we regretted that we could not stay for all of the sessions throughout the day. But that will be the plan for next year!
Collecting autographs was the final event in our plans -- but the lines were long so that we didn't have the time -- so simply walked around the convention hall for a glimpse at the players who were there to sign. That actually was a whole lot of fun -- especially for my daughter who saw her long-time favorite Peter Bondra. Once she had snapped a few photos of the Capitals' once superstar, she quickly phoned her older sister, and exclaimed, "Guess who I saw! Peter Bondra!" She knew that would stir up a bit of envy!
It was a terrific day -- one that we will never forget! And you can count on the fact that we'll be back there again next year, hopefully with more time than we had this year! Sphere: Related Content
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