The Long Lost Lizard

Last night Michael and I got invited to watch a game that has become a rather exciting Portland tradition. The game is something that people from California usually only make fun of, but people up north take rather seriously. I'm speaking, of course, of hockey. And this hockey game in particular had a rare touch of hilarity that drew us out of our cozy home and off to downtown Portland for a late night.

If anyone follows minor league hockey you have probably heard of a teddy bear toss. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, I'll help you out a little. Wikipedia describes the toss this way:

"A teddy bear toss is a popular Christmas season promotion at many minor and junior hockey arenas throughout North America. Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears to the game, and to throw them onto the ice when the home team scores its first goal. The toys are then gathered up to be donated as Christmas presents to hospitals and charities. In many cases, the players themselves personally donate some of the bears to children at area hospitals."

So this is what we had to look forward to. Unfortunately we didn't have any teddy bears kicking around our house that we could donate, so I was feeling really bummed out about that. I really wanted to be one of the crazed fans, hurling bears onto the ice. But alas, I would have to be content watching.

You can imagine my uncontained delight when we walked in the doors and a lady asked if we'd like a bear. She handed one to each of and I was overjoyed. That excitement tripled in size when we looked to the back wall where stuffed animals of all kinds were heaped in a giant mountain, just waiting to be claimed. We had seen so many people with armfuls of animals that we couldn't help ourselves. We skittered over to the giant heap and went to town selecting a nice assortment of animals. Soon we too were walking the halls, arms filled to the brim with fur, scales, and fluff.



A couple minutes into the game the Portland Winterhawks allowed us the moment we had all been waiting for, the first goal. The goal horn sounded and the stadium roared with the passionate sound of a crowd gone wild. Instantly, bears (and other creatures) were hurled, thrust, thrown, dropped, and propelled into the air and onto the ice. It was pure mayhem, and it was wonderful!

As I happily chucked all the animals that had been resting in my lap, I realized that when they were all gone I hadn't thrown my lizard. That was my choice animal of the night and I couldn't find it anywhere. I was very sad since I had been looking forward to throwing that one since we sat down! I figured I must have dropped it somewhere along the way and tried not to think any more about it.

A hockey game, we found out, has three quarters that are played. After the second quarter had finished we decided it was time to stretch our legs. After a nice little jaunt around the place, we wandered back to our seats to see the exciting conclusion of the game. As I shifted my way through the row to my seat I noticed something wedged way down in the fold of my chair. It was my long lost lizard!

The final count of animals was announced at 16,321. I happen to know the real number of animals though, as I had one more that needed to be thrown. My little lizard got his moment of fame after the game had finished and we were getting up to leave. Just before we went through the little corridor, I handed the lizard to Michael who gave it a mighty heave toward the ice. Of course a lightweight lizard wasn't about to get anywhere close to the ice from where we stood. But it triumphantly walloped a lady in the head before dropping out of sight. We walked out grinning ear to ear, knowing that we had fulfilled the teddy bear toss to the fullest! Our long lost lizard had made it an even 16,322!



(Here's a link that gives a little taste of what a teddy bear toss is like)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOoA3EOwA4&feature=player_embedded