Game 1 : PIT vs VGK

When we set out on this trip, I don’t really think any of us had expected how crazy this day was going to turn out to be.  I mean, we have traveled all the way across the country with hot dog suits and Phil “American Hero/Two Time Stanley Cup Champion/NHL Nice Guy” Kessel… but yesterday was NUTS!

We started off at the Grand Bazaar Shops on the Strip.  Matt and I are not exactly “shoppers” but Marc needed to grab a new Pens hat to complete his game day wardrobe.  Met a few pens fans and they asked to take a photo….. then the photos didn’t stop 🙂 

Phil needs a bit of makeup….

Stopped to get a caricature! (Prints will be available for #penscation superfans, LOL!)

Our new friends Kristy and Cory from Maryland.. they also met Flava Flav.. We think they were more excited to see us 😛

Our first hotdog stop of the trip was Dirt Dog. The dogs were unbelievable!!

Thank you so much to Justin and Kai for their amazing service!

The House Wins…

We arrived at T-mobile Arena surrounded by Penguins fans from all over. Our walk to the the arena took twice as long as it would normally, but that’s what happens when you are traveling with an American Hero like Phil. We had our pictures taken with dozens of fans and we were even featured on the Penguins Snapchat Story!

The Black and Gold continued to pour into the Arena, but alas we needed to part ways with Phil and go to our seats. Special thanks to the Valet staff at the Monte Carlo for allowing us to leave our sign with them until after the game.

The game didn’t go as we were hoping, but it was great seeing Marc-Andre Fleury back in net and putting on a 2009-esque performance. We made friends with a couple from Alberta and bonded over a mutual love of Sidney Crosby and, more generally, hockey. Hockey brings people of all types together.

Despite the game not going the way we wanted, we had a great time. (2-1 VGK) We were in Las Vegas in their inaugural season! T-Mobile Arena is a great new hockey venue, and the Golden Knights are pulling out all of the stops to try to build a loyal fan base for this new franchise.  Our only gripe is that there was WAAAAYYYYY too much Carrot Top. Apparently he is the #1 comedian in Las Vegas… Pretty sure the seats we were sitting in tickled us more than Mr. Top, but then again… what do we know? We are just a coupla hot dogs from WV.

This might be hard to believe, but two hot dogs walking down the street wasn’t the most unusual thing seen in Las Vegas yesterday 😜 – we may have to turn up the heat on our hot doggin’ humor in Phoenix.