One fan's experience

A couple of weeks ago, I wondered how some lucky Caps fans won during Fan Appreciation Week. Today, one such fan wrote in to tell me what happened to her:

I noticed in your blog you wondered how the winners were chosen for the prizes at the Caps/Panthers game. I can tell you how I was chosen for mine - I sat in section 105, because my season ticket seat partner was using our two tickets in section 426 and I couldn't resist going to the game. I too wonder how the whole prize giveaway really worked. This year, on the last game of the season, a Chris Clark autographed stick went to the empty seat directly behind me one row away.

I was the first winner on Tuesday night - an autographed Olie Kolzig cutout. Now, take into account the fact that I am a huge Kolzig fan, which trumped the fact that I 1. live in a studio apartment and 2. had arrived at the game as the passenger in a Toyota Spyder (2 seats, no trunk). The thing is huge. I got it home via a cab after riding Metro to L'Enfant Plaza (an interesting ride, to be sure). I brought it into the apartment, and thought - now what? Headboard for the bed? Back drop for the TV? How do I display this thing without making my apartment look like some guys basement shrine? No time to figure that out - I was scheduled for back surgery on April 10. My best friend, a goalie from upstate NY arrived to surprise me and take care of me for a few days after surgery. He had the answer, and a visit to Home Depot while I was recuperating made it happen - here is how you turn your Olie Kolzig cutout into pop art for the apartment:

He just needed a net to tend :-) What I really want to see is what happens when I set loose my Roomba robot vacuum and it head over towards him - will Olie come to life and poke check it away?

Funny part about my friend from NY - like I said, he's a goalie in an adult league, and he was sitting on my couch trying to figure out what to do with the cutout - once he got started it was comical to watch, him trying to make sure Olie looked right, guarding the net correctly, having the right angle. Before he left last night, he had to have his picture taken, and then made sure to say goodbye, "tapping gloves" with Olie as he left.

Now I'm even more jealous- an autographed Kolzig cutout and a great friend to rig it up. At least the Caps got one giveaway right!