One of my friends on the Blades was affiliated with a group of folks who created an “All Star” tournament down in Philly for charity. Although this was part of an all-male mid-Atlantic league, my friend and I joined the dudes with glee.

We got to play at the then-named First Union Center right before a Phantoms game. It was cool to use the locker rooms there and to see a few of the AHL players. Of course, none of the Flyers were around, but it was still a thrill to play on the “same ice” and to hear my name over the loudspeaker.

I wasn’t very good in the game, but the men got a kick out of me.

After the game, we stayed for the AHL game. My friend and the guy I had just started to date sat with me in the bleachers. The original plan was that my friend would drive me back to New York. My date would drive back to his home in Washington D.C.

But, since this was sort of our first official “date” and the guy didn’t want it to end, he offered to drive me back to New York. He’d leave first thing the next morning and still get into work on time.

(Okay, that sounds really bad. Here’s the deal: I had known this guy for many years and he had visited me in New York overnight before, so it wasn’t like I was being a total slut, okay? By “first date” I mean this was the first time we had done something date-ish, and this was pretty much soon after we had decided to go from “friends” to “something else.”)

My friend had to leave early anyway, so by agreeing to take me back to New York, he enabled me to see the whole game.

We got into it, cheering, and so forth. We got some nachos. I stood to clap for a Phantoms goal.

I sat down.

In the nachos.

Why this guy decided to put the nachos container on my seat while we were cheering is totally beside me. Except it was under me.

Mortified, the guy apologized for my salsa ass, and it has been one of our oft-told stories ever since. Because the guy turned out to be my husband.

It was indeed an exciting day: to play in an NHL arena, hear my name over the loudspeaker, and then emerge from the experience with salsa, cheese, and tortilla chip particles on my butt!