Gary BUTTERWORTH Online

I’ve tagged this post as “travel,” but in reality, nothing in it requires me to go very far from home!
With the beautiful weather this week, I felt like going for a bike ride.
Well, once I realized that my bike had a flat tire and that I didn’t have a pump, I decided on a walk instead.
I knew there was a new pizza place in Laurel Springs, just about one mile from my grandmom’s house.  So, I thought, I would walk to that.
Well, the pizza place was closed (at 4:30pm on a Monday!?!?), so I thought I’d walk around town a bit.

Near the railroad tracks in Laurel Springs, there is row of stores.  I guess this is what “downtown” was like here 75 years ago.  The stores are still there looking interesting, but there is really nothing worth seeing in that area.
BUT!  I remembered that Walt Whitman had a summer home nearby, so I thought I’d walk up there.
It took me about 10-15 more minutes until I got to Crystal Spring park.

It’s a cool little park, but it looked like some punk rode a four-wheeler through here recently, and that really messed things up.
Even still, it’s nice, quiet, and pretty, and the spring reminds me of the one near my old apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland.
This spring, though, still has water.
But where is Whitman’s house?!
 
The funny thing is, I remember the Whitman house being here in this park.  Well, I guess memory is a funny thing. 
Here’s how my memory worked: “Laurel Springs = Cool Park with Actual Spring = Whitman-Stafford House.” 
It makes sense; Laurel Springs is indeed home to a cool park and to the Whitman house.  Having not been to either in a decade, my mind combined all of them into one cool little area.
While it would certainly be cool if Walt’s house was in the park, as I remembered/imagined it being, this is not the case.  In reality, his house is about half a mile away, on the corner of a residential street.
I talked to my mom on the phone, and it only took a minute for her to point me in the direction of reality.
So, I walked another half mile, and there it was!

While it is not in Crystal Spring Park, the Whitman-Stafford House does have a nice garden of its own.  Since the house is only open by appointment, I walked around the garden for a few minutes then walked back home.
It’s nothing terribly special, but it’s cool to have at least some natural and historic sights nearby, however modest.

So, that’s Laurel Springs, New Jersey!
Philadelphia Phantoms Hockey: Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
Tonight my brother, my dad, and I went to the Phantoms game in Philly.
For two consecutive Fridays, we had free tickets to see AHL hockey!
It’s kind of funny; during middle school and high school, I used to go to the Spectrum about a dozen time per year.
Then, I moved away, and, until tonight, I don’t think I had been back since.
(I had been to a couple of Phantoms home games in the mean time, but they were in the Center.)
In the mean time, I had heard horror story after horror story about how the Spectrum, with its myriad name changes, had fallen into disrepair.
I went in expecting the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Sure, I guess it might be showing its age a little bit, but that’s expected.
The building is nearly 40 years old, and, considering that, I think it’s in decent enough shape.
At 40, I also think it’s interesting as a middle-ground between the post-Depression era barns and today’s sports palaces.  Not to mention that it has hosted some really interesting and important events, like Elvis’ last live performance and the Flyers-USSR Red Army game, which, for my cricketing readers, is very much hockey’s version of the Bodyline Series.
While it’s not my favorite arena, I generally prefer the Spectrum to hockey’s newest buildings, and I admit it’s more practical than the true antiques.  For this reason, I hope it hangs around for MANY more years.

While the building itself is almost exactly as I remembered it, the crowd wasn’t quiet the same.
Philadelphia, Toronto, and Chicago are the only cities that support both the NHL and the AHL, ice hockey’s highest and second-highest level, respectively.
In order to keep both teams afloat, the ownership in Philly has taken different attitudes towards marketing both teams.  The higher-level Flyers are marketed as real hockey for the hockey fan, while the Phantoms are presented as merely “entertainment for the whole family.”  I really dislike this.
Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing wrong with bringing kids to games.  I think it’s great.  HOWEVER, I think sports should be the attraction in their own right, and kids should grow into understanding the game.  I think this is a sustainable, long-term plan.
The Phantoms take the opposite approach; they dumb-down the game so that it appeals more to children.  You can tell simply by the shrillness of the crowd noises that the average fan at the game has not yet seen an R-rated movie, and there is no real interest in keeping them interested in the Phantoms as they grow up.  Either they’ll grow into Flyers fans or forget about hockey for 25 years until they bring their own kids to see the Phantoms.
I was once at a Phantoms game in Philly with over 19,000 other fans.  I have been to several with over 17,000.
Tonight’s announced attendance was 6,700, and I am sure this was an exaggeration.
Even giving out a free bobble-head doll to all ticket-holders, and even with guaranteeing a win (if the Phantoms lose, your ticket gives you free admission to Wednesday’s game, which features $1 hot dogs), I don’t think there were more than 5,000 fans in the building.  That’s normal these days.  They keep black curtains over the upper seats to make it feel less empty.  It used to be full.

But enough whining.
Darroll Powe, whom I saw play with Princeton University just a few weeks ago, has since finished his NCAA career and signed with the Phantoms.  It was cool seeing him.  He got into a fight.  Good fight, too!

For reasons I can’t explain, there was a group of about a dozen Ukrainian fans at the game.  Also for reasons I can’t explain, we took each other’s pictures.  Tak!
If you see an ugly bearded guy in some Ukrainian paper, that’s me!

While the picture below doesn’t really show it, the screen on the scoreboard is in pretty sorry shape.
What the picture does show, though, is that the Phantoms are in pretty sorry shape.  They lost 5-1 to Norfolk, which is fine by me. 
So what if everyone else forgot about their great rivalry with Hershey?
I still HATE the Phantoms.

I have now seen ice hockey in six cities this season.    I know my record came in 2003-2004 with, I think, 9 cities.  I don’t think I’ll be able to top that this year, but you never know!

SoCal Amaretto Lime
California, here I come!
It’s official; I will be in sunny Southern California April 12-18. 
$216.59 roundtrip with taxes, and $0 lodging with a friend.  You can’t beat that with a stick!
I can’t wait!

Filed under: Ice hockey, Posts with Pictures, South Jersey, WHAT?!, Sports, Stadiums, Travel