After checking out the Lake Erie kiteboarding yesterday, the Labatt Lake Hockey Tournament was the icing on the cake. First things first... before the game we stopped by Morrissey's for lunch (more on that later) before heading over to check out the scene at the tournament. After finding a parking spot, we moseyed over to the edge of the Erie Basin Marina and squeezed into the best vantage point that we could find. The weather was just about the best that anyone could have asked for. The crowd was a mix of young and old and anyone in-between. The backdrop of the city, with the sun shining upon the buildings and the moon hovering in the sky, was a sight to behold. This was the perfect day for such a fun event.
Originally, I was been disappointed that the tournament was not taking place at Hoyt Lake. I figured that the atmosphere there would be impossible to beat. And if there is a chance to host it on Hoyt Lake next year, then I hope that there is a change of venue. Councilmember Michael J. LoCurto recently made a request that the Labatt Hoyt Lake Pond Hockey event be the precedent for opening skating on Hoyt Lake to the public. Unfortunately that was not possible this year... but the Erie Basin Marina was a big success. The heated beer tent was an added bonus. As a matter of fact, people were wondering why this type of event doesn't come around more often. The Labatt 'Cold One' bottles were a big surprise too. Warm to the touch and cold going down... nice Labatt (you fooled the crowd).
The community feel was great. There was the feeling of the Ice Bowl on a small scale... something different, something that was not the norm for a Saturday in February. There were a lot of families with their dogs. Our athletic sense of community, both suburbanites and city dwellers, came together to promote this event downtown. We even ran into Gerhardt Yaskow (left) and Russ Maxwell promoting McCarthy's Irish Pub along with their two big Irish wolfhounds (Cormic and Conner L-R). It's these types of events that we should see more of. And we never would have seen it had Labatt not chosen Buffalo as its US headquarters. Thanks Labatt for giving Buffalo an incredible event that brought us together on the waterfront... during the winter season. How cool? Now we have to get Labatt and New Era to team up on a few events.
