11/25/14

Playoff Games Are the Best

Going to regular season Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers games is fun, but going to playoff games is a whole different experience. I attended my first-ever playoff game in 2008. It was Game Two of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers. Mellon Arena was loud. It was so loud that it was a completely different atmosphere than what I was used to. After a one period of play in which seven minor penalties were called, there was no score. A little over halfway through the second period, the Pens were on the power play, as Rangers forward Chris Drury took a hooking penalty. The Pens scored at 13:55 of the second period, as Jordan Staal flipped the puck top shelf against Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. After two periods of play, the score remained 1-0 Penguins. The score remained the same through most of the third period, but something crazy happened. Rangers forward Martin Straka shot the puck and it went under Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's pad. The referee blew the whistle, but right as the ref blew his whistle, the puck slid across the goal line. The officials deemed this as "no goal". The Pens put the game away, as Adam Hall scored an empty-net goal at 19:43 of the third period to give the Pens a 2-0 win and a 2-0 series lead over the Rangers. My first Steelers playoff game was in the 2010 season. The Steelers faced the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field on Saturday, January 15, 2011. The atmosphere was so intense. It was amazing. The Steelers took a 7-0 lead at 06:18 of the first quarter when Rashard Mendenhall scored a one-yard rushing touchdown. The Ravens tied the game at 01:20 of the first quarter when "he who shall not be named" scored on a 14-yard run. The Ravens took a 14-7 lead at 00:53 of the first quarter when Cory Redding recovered Ben Roethlisberger's fumble and ran it back for a 13-yard fumble recovery touchdown. The Ravens expanded the lead to 21-7 at 05:43 of the second quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Todd Heap. The score was 21-7 Ravens at halftime. The Steelers had something to prove in the second half. At 9:11 of the third quarter, Ben Roethlisberger found Heath Miller for a nine-yard touchdown pass to cut the Ravens' lead to 21-14. The Steelers tied the game at 21 when Roethlisberger found Hines Ward for an eight-yard pass at 01:21 of the third quarter. At 12:15 of the fourth quarter, Shaun Suisham kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 24-21 lead. That lead did not last long, as Billy Cundiff kicked a 24-yard field goal at 03:54 to tie the game at 24. The Steelers took the lead for good when Rashard Mendenhall scored on a two-yard run at 01:33. The score held true and the Steelers defeated the Ravens 31-24. The first playoff baseball game I went to was the 2013 National League Wild Card Game. The Pirates took on the Cincinnati Reds. After a scoreless inning and a half, the Pirates got on the board first when Marlon Byrd hit a solo home run off of Johnny Cueto to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Russell Martin hit a solo home run to increase the score to 2-0. In the bottom of the third inning, Pedro Alvarez hit a sacrifice fly to expand the lead to 3-0. In the top of the fourth inning, Jay Bruce hit an RBI single to put the Reds on the board and to make the score 3-1. The Pirates responded in the bottom of the fourth inning when Neil Walker hit an RBI double to make the score 4-1. Marlon Byrd hit an RBI fielder's choice in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase the lead to 5-1. Russell Martin hit his second solo home run of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to increase the Pirates' lead to 6-1. Shin-Soo Choo hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to cut the Pirates' lead to 6-2. The score held true and the Pirates defeated the Reds. These are some of my amazing experiences. What is your take on playoff games?