We exited out of the stadium with huge grins on our faces and cheers lingering in the air. The area surrounding the stadium was filled with life and energy. Chants were ringing off the walls and echoing into the warm night air. As I walked out of the exit of the stadium with my brother, my mom, and my dad, we all couldn’t stop but recall what had gotten us to this game. We couldn’t keep from laughing at the events that preceded the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Arizona Coyotes game.


It was late March when my family and I went to Arizona for spring break to watch spring training games of both the Cubs and White Sox and to enjoy the warmth and sunshine that Chicago lacked. We had just returned from a White Sox spring training game when my brother discovered that the Blackhawks were playing the Arizona Coyotes. Both my brother and I begged our parents to take us to the game because we had never been to see a professional hockey game. We were ecstatic when they said we could drive over to the Arizona Coyotes stadium and see how much tickets would cost. Little did we know that our quest to find those tickets would leave a memory etched in my brain that I will always look back on with smile.

It was a warm, Thursday late afternoon when we arrived at the ticket booth to get our tickets for the Blackhawks vs. Arizona Coyotes game. As I did a 360 turn to take in all of the people surrounding us, all I could see were people dressed in red and black, all fans of the Blackhawks. I couldn’t believe how many Blackhawk fans there were at an away game in Arizona. As I stood behind my dad in line to get the tickets, I heard the ticket booth worker say that there were no more tickets for the game that was about to start in a half an hour. I whirled around to see my brother’s face with disappointment written all over it. We all started walking towards our car away from the stadium when I noticed a sign in the window, which read, “Arizona Coyotes’ tickets for sale here!” I excitedly pointed this out to my brother who immediately asked if we could go in to see if we could get tickets. My dad reluctantly agreed, and we walked into the store filled with Arizona Coyotes merchandise surrounding us.

As we walked up to the cashier to ask about the sign, the man behind the desk asked us what we were looking for. We described our situation to the cashier and he told us he had tickets that he would be able to sell. After a quick phone call, the cashier told us we would be able to get the tickets but if we would have to meet with another man who was selling them. The cashier told us that the seller of the tickets name was Steve and we would have to get in touch with him. We would have to call Steve and ask him where we should meet him. And we couldn’t meet him right outside of the stadium because technically he wasn’t allowed to sell these tickets. We would have to meet with him non-discretely in a restaurant, give him the money while he gave us the tickets. Then, we would part ways. All of this seemed a bit sketchy, but we didn’t think much of it. My dad dialed Steve’s phone number and discussed a meeting place with him. Steve said he would meet us at a restaurant a little ways from the stadium (but not too far way, definitely within walking distance) and he would be the man standing outside of the restaurant in jeans, a black t-shirt, and flip flops. It sounded a bit sketchy to us, especially how he had to describe what he was wearing. Was the action of purchasing these tickets through him such a top-secret thing that we had to set a meeting place and he had to tell us what he was wearing?

We walked over to the restaurant and found a man in a black t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops just as promised. We met him and he motioned my dad inside the restaurant. We reluctantly stayed outside while keeping an eye on my dad through the window of the restaurant. After a few minutes, right before we were about to go inside the restaurant to check on things, my dad came out victoriously with the four tickets in his hand. As we walked over to the stadium, we were all laughing at the events that transpired. Thankfully we were able to get into the game with these tickets which were reasonably priced and, luckily, weren’t fake! While we have never discovered why this purchase had to be so secretive, we always share many laughs about this experience. Not only did we get to experience a fun, exciting hockey game where the Blackhawks won in thrilling fashion, we also got to share this weirdly funny experience together. Who would have thought that a simple sign indicating where to purchase hockey tickets would lead to those strange string of events. One thing I can say is that it is not every day that you purchase tickets to a sports game like that!