Triskaidekaphobia

In celebration of today being Friday the 13th, I thought I’d take a look at triskaidekaphobia in relation to the Calgary Flames. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, one of the most common phobias amongst North Americans. Why the number 13 is considered unlucky is not known for sure, but a common speculation is that Judas, who betrayed Jesus at the last supper, was the 13th person to sit down at the table. Whatever the reason, it is quite common, and examples of this phobia are evident throughout our society. Many high rise buildings do not have a 13th floor, some airports do not have a Gate 13, and hotels often do not have rooms numbered 13. Some say the ill fated mission to the moon on Apollo 13 was doomed from the start due to the unlucky mission number, and others point out that some of the most infamous men in history have names that contain 13 letters, like Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson and Jeffery Dahmer.

When it comes to jersey numbers, 13 is by far the least worn number in team history. Only four players have worn the unlucky number; Martin Simard, Shawn Heaphy, German Titov and Mike Cammalleri. Even the number 9 has been worn by more players, at it has been retired for 20 years! It’s no doubt a case of triskaidekaphobia that has caused so few players to select it over the years. In comparison, lucky number 7 has been worn by 22 different Flames players, and number 15 has been worn by 19 different players.

The longest tenure for a Flames player wearing ‘13’ is by German Titov, who played 345 games for the team over five seasons between 1993 and 1998. During his career with the Flames, Titov notched 107 goals and 228 points. The most recent member of the Flames to wear ‘13’ is Mike Cammalleri, who led the team with 39 (that’s 13x3) goals last year. Cammalleri only played the one season with the Flames before signing with the Canadiens as a free agent this past off-season. Martin Simard played 37 games with the Flames during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons, recording six points and 172 penalty minutes. He was then traded to the Nordiques, played seven more games for the Lightning, and was out of hockey by 1997. The final Flame to wear number 13 was Shawn Heaphy, who is included on the NHL’s list of one-game wonders, playing only one career game in the NHL, for the Flames in 1992. These four players had varying degrees of success wearing the number 13, but Flames fans will not see this sweater raised to the rafters anytime soon. Combined, the four players notched 147 goals and 169 (that’s 13x13) assists in 464 games.

The number 13 becomes particularly unlucky, when there’s a Friday the 13th on the calendar, which some say is because Jesus died on a Friday, while others think it was because the Knights Templar were arrested and disbanded on Friday, October 13, 1307. Tonight’s game against the Sabres will be only the fourth time the Flames have played a game on Friday the 13th. I’m not sure if this is because the NHL has paraskevidekatriaphobia or not, but it seems someone is trying to avoid scheduling games on this dreaded day. The first time was in the playoffs on Friday, April 13th, 1984, which saw the Flames defeat the Oilers, in Edmonton, by a 6-5 score in overtime. It was the 2nd game of the 2nd round series, which the Flames would eventually lose in seven games. The team’s 2nd Friday the 13th tilt occurred three years later at the Saddledome, where the Flames took on the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, November 13th, 1987. Again the Flames came out with a victory, beating the Kings 10-7. The third game was against the Ducks in Calgary on Friday, February 13th, 2004, when the Flames won 2-1.

It would seem that the Flames aren’t affected by the superstitions of this day, and perhaps tonight’s game against Buffalo will have similar results as the previous two Friday the 13th games. But just in case, I have recommended to the team that nobody wear number 13 tonight, and that the players are sure not to walk under any ladders, spill any salt, or break any mirrors. Just in case.

-The Rev

There are 13 letters in Calgary Flames
This blog contains:
3510 characters, which is 13x270;
767 words, which is 13x59;
65 lines which is 13x5;
And 13 paragraphs.

Just in case you are superstitious.

Arena #5 - HSBC Arena

My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…

February 10, 2007 – Buffalo, NY

We flew to Toronto for this February trip, where we would be taking in two Flames games; one in Buffalo against the Sabres, and another in Detroit against the Red Wings. We made the two hour drive from Toronto to Buffalo on the day of the game and arrived at the arena about two hours before puck drop. The HSBC arena is located in downtown Buffalo, at the Eastern tip of Lake Erie, less than a kilometre from the Canada/US border. As we were driving to the game, I didn’t notice what public transit connections were available, but since the arena is centrally located, I’m guessing there are buses readily available.

I had an “American Encounter” before the game, as we were waiting to enter the arena. Standing on the sidewalk, I struck up a conversation with a Sabres fan as with both stood huddled on the sidewalk, trying to protect ourselves from the cold winter wind blowing off the lake. The sidewalks were covered in ice and waist-high piles of snow, which lined the sidewalks and parking lots in every direction, as the temperature hovered around 15C below zero. After telling the man I was from Calgary, he said, “it must be good to get out of the cold and snow of Canada.” Standing there is disbelief, I asked him if he was serious.
“What do you mean?” he asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Well, Canada’s right there,” I said, pointing to the international boundary that was a mere five minute walk from where we stood.
“So, there isn’t way more snow there?” he continued, still confused.
“Well, no, it’s just on the other side of the river, so there’s the same amount of snow,” I told him, not bothering to mention that Calgary was over 2000 miles away, and had never had as much snow on the ground at one time as the streets of Buffalo had on that Saturday. While I don’t expect him to be familiar with Calgary weather, I found it quite amusing that he assumed the weather across the river in Canada, which he can probably see from his house, was much colder and snowier than Buffalo.

There was a brief security check at the doors, where they went through bags and purses, but no metal detectors. After passing that, we entered the giant atrium that greets all visitors to the HSBC Arena. A full two storeys, and stretching nearly the entire length of the arena, the atrium includes a massive team store at one end and ticket windows at the other. Between the two is a large media area with a sports ticker and several TV’s showing various games and sports highlights. On the 2nd level of the atrium is the Headlines Sports Bar, which overlooks the lower level and has great views of the downtown skyline.

Like other new arenas, and unlike the Saddledome, the concourses of the HSBC are wide and clean, making it easy for lots of traffic to get around the arena. We headed to the upper concourse for a beer and a snack, and came across a unique concession item, the bologna sandwich. Essentially, it was a grilled cheese sandwich with bologna and onions, and it tasted delicious. We washed those down with a beer at a neat little bar nestled in the corner of the concourse called, The Poor Man’s Aud Club. The bar featured artifacts taken from Buffalo’s former arena, the Memorial Auditorium. While sitting there enjoying our beers, we saw Flames play-by-play man Peter Maher buying some french fries. I bet he couldn’t walk around the Saddledome like that without being bothered by a legion of fans.

The seating bowl of the arena is fairly standard, with lower and upper bowls of roughly the same size. In between the two is a level of luxury suites and a level of club seats. Our seats were located in the very last row of the arena, in the upper tier. We were sitting next to a group of 20 hockey fans from Fort Erie, Ontario, who often make the half hour trip into Buffalo for games. One of them mentioned that 30% of the Sabres’ season ticket holders are Canadian.

The game was a tightly fought battle, as the two teams traded goals, resulting in a 2-2 tie after regulation and overtime. The game went to a shootout, where Phaneuf, Lombardi and Huselius failed to score, while Buffalo’s Ales Kotalik was able to get one past Mikka Kiprusoff.

Five arenas down, twenty-five to go…


-TheRev


HSBC Arena Fast Facts

Seats: Section 308; $40.00USD; Sabres website (tickets.com)
Score: Flames 2, Sabres 3 in a shootout
Arena Rating: 7/10
Unique Concession: Fried bologna sandwich
Souvenir Stick: Sabres stick w/team autographs, wooden
Public Transit: Unknown
Unique Arena Trait: Giant Entrance Pavillion
Swag: None

Photos




Next up is a trip to the Motor City to see the Flames take on the Red Wings…