Gnash

For reasons I've never quite understood, Jude and I have become huge hockey fans. 

We're in a group that has four season tickets to the Nashville Predators' games.  We have 14 games each season, great seats and really, from day one of Nashville receiving an expansion NHL team, Jude and I have really enjoyed going to the games.  It helps, I guess, since we live maybe five minutes away from the Sommet Center, where the Predators play.  It's easy to leave John Patrick with a babysitter and slip out after dinner for a game.  Actually, we watch them on television most nights when they're at home and we don't have tickets or when they're on the road.

While many of my friends don't share my passion for hockey, some do.  It's pretty special, I think, for a city the size of Nashville to have two professional sports franchises - the Tennessee Titans and the Nashville Predators.  Of course, Jude and I also have Titans' season tickets, University of Tennessee football season tickets and Nashville Sounds' baseball season tickets.  Yeah, we're sports fans.

Yesterday, Valentine's Day, I mentioned to Jude as we were getting dressed for church that I might drive separately, so I could go for a run afterwards.  She looked at me kind of funny, then suggested we should ride together.  I was mildly irritated, asked her why, after which she said, "I need you to be home at 12:30 p.m.  "Uh oh," I thought, "she's got something planned for Valentine's Day."  I didn't ask any questions.  I just said, "ok."

We got home from church about 12:15 p.m.  I was curious and thought, at one point, I saw Jude glance out our front door.  12:30 p.m. came and went and I started to get bored.  While I was channel surfing, I realized the Predators were on television, playing Pittsburgh and Sid "the Kid" Crosby at the Igloo.  I settled in my chair to watch the game and within a few minutes, fell asleep.

Suddenly, I heard Jude say, "Phil, someone is at the door."  "What," I said, sitting up, looking confused.  "Someone is at the door.  Will you get it," she said.  "Sure," I replied.  I stood up, turned around and was startled, to say the least, to see Gnash, the Nashville Predators' mascot, staring in our front door, waving at me.  Actually, I was speechless, which doesn't happen very often.

I opened the door and Gnash stepped inside our house.  He had "cupid wings" on his back, for Valentine's Day, and was carrying flowers and a couple of bags of goodies (t-shirts, hockey pucks, etc.) for John Patrick and me.  Way cool.

Jude carried John Patrick up to Gnash.  I wasn't quite sure how he would react - John Patrick, not Gnash - particularly after the reaction he had to Santa Claus (tears, tears and more tears).  Jude and were pleasantly surprised when John Patrick just looked at Gnash, then reached out to touch his nose.  I grabbed my camera and quickly snapped some photos.

That's a Valentine's Day I'll never forget.