LetsGoDU

Hey, Potato Man

Left: Arnie shows Denver fans how to partake in the Maine tradition of Saturday night loaded baked potatoes (click on picture to enlarge)

I'm settling into my seat on Opening Night for DU's big showdown with Maine, when some DU fans start signaling to me that there's a Maine fan looking for me. Worried that it might be an irate poster, Jimmy Howard's parents or someone else that I offended in Boston, I'm not exactly in a hurry to meet anyone with a blue sweater.

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Turns out its Arnie Davis, Maine's 85 year-old most avid fan. He tells me he's glad I've made the trip out East and he has a few surprises in store for me the following night. I ask him if he posts on USCHO.com and he says that he reads all of the posts, but that entering posts is a little beyond his computer skills. He also reads LetsGoDU Blog (the average demographic age of the readers is going up).

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Turns out that Maine and Idaho residents regularly argue about which state produces the most potatoes. In northern Maine, all kids receive a two-week break from high school to harvest potatoes during the season. In other words, spuds are a big deal up in Maine. I guess it can get pretty cold in Alfond during the winter and a nice hot potato really can hit the spot while watching the Black Bears. The only downside is that all of those steaming potatoes cause the ice to fog up and delay the game several times a night.

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On Saturday night between the first and second period, Arnie returns to take me on a whirlwind tour of Alfond Arena. Practically every Maine fan we pass says, "Hey Potato Man" to him. I soon realize that if I can keep up with Arnie (not as easy as you might think) and let everyone know I'm with him (not as believable as you might think), I may not get assaulted, away from the relative safety of the DU visitors section. We arrive at the "Potato Stand" and business must be good, because there are only two foil wrapped steaming hot 'tators remaining. I have no idea who I'm going to give the second potato to, but I grab both of them figuring that if a Maine fan goes hungry, perhaps they won't yell as loud.

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Arnie offers to pay for my spuds, but I refuse. I don't want to be known as a "freeloader" (OK-bad joke). I load them up with the fixins' and as I'm about to head back to my seat, Arnie asks, "Do you want to meet the Walrus?"

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The answer to a question like that can only be "Yes," so I follow him towards the opposite end of Alfond. More "Hey, Potato Man's" from the Maine faithful as we wind through the crowd. I'm a little concerned that my potatoes are going to get cold, but Arnie doesn't seem too worried. I figure that I'm with an expert, so I plow on through the crowd behind him.

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The "Walrus" is a big powerful lumberjack looking fellow who regularly posts on USCHO. He likes to stand above the dressing room tunnel behind the Maine goal and watch the games standing up. Legend has it that once a errant puck just narrowly missed him because he is so agile. Unfortunately, it hit his wife when he moved out of the way (that's gonna leave a mark).

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The three of us talk about hockey and posting for a few minutes and then, Arnie escorts me back towards my seat. We pose for a few photos with Arnie in the DU section and, I sense that a few DU fans want to try the spuds, but they've run out. My compatriot, Jim Orchid grabs the other potato and we both agree they are pretty good.

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Thanks Potato Man.