San Jose Sharks High School Writers Day: A Night to Remember

McKeon and Wilson, along with Cafuir himself, also informed me of the rules of the press box, where I was soon to be watching the game in. Apparently, we were not allowed to cheer for the Sharks, even after a big goal. Wilson actually made that mistake once, and never appeared in the press box again.

After the heart-to-heart talks with McKeon and Wilson, Cafuir led us, once again, through the maze of business offices and through an elevator in order to reach the press box. Even from the highest point at the Shark Tank, I still felt the intensity of the crowd.

But as I looked down at the Shark faithful, I gulped in realization that the fall from the rafters to the crowd would be at least fifty feet. A not so very comforting distance. Yikes.

Fortunately, I overcame the thought of a drop of death, and settled down to see the beginning of the game, on our own side of the press box, virtually isolated from anything else. It was simply amazing.

Put simply, the game was great. There is one difference between watching the game on TV or listening to Dan Rusanowsky on the radio or actually watching the game from the Tank itself. The fans. The rafters actually shook every time a player scored a goal, whether it was Patrick Marleau, Jeremy Roenick, or Joe Thornton.

However, the best part wasn’t seeing Evgeni Nabokov make jaw-dropping saves every couple of seconds. It also wasn’t the big hits that Doug Murray applied on a helpless BlueJacket team. No, it wasn’t the fact that the Sharks won the game; they could have done that at any time.

The best part of this whole overall experience was talking to the players after the game.

As the most wonderful dessert to cap our night, we high school writers were granted the opportunity to speak with Sharks defensemen Dan Boyle and Doug Murray, in addition to being able to listen in on Sharks Coach Todd McLellan’s post game interview.

Boyle himself said that this team was much better than any other team he has been on, which includes the 2004 Stanley Cup Champions the Tampa Bay Lightning. That really says something, as all of us are looking forward to a Stanley Cup Champion Sharks team in the near future.

Writers’ Day is definitely a night that I will always remember. Growing up in San Jose, a city where hockey was never even heard of before the Sharks came to town, I will always remember my hometown roots. And as the Sharks continue their quest to begin their dynasty, I will continue my quest to proceed with mine.

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