Wednesday, November 2, 2011

#PracFest!

For those that follow me (@johntkemp, thanks you 85 out there!) on twitter, you may see an occasional hilarious 140 character message about normal everyday things.  On most days, however, you'll see a great deal of tweets and RT's related to #CBJ hockey.  For a CBJ SuperFan, twitter becomes a necessity.  I've always been a rather hard core fan when it comes to the Blue Jackets, but twitter has really opened my eyes to see that there are a lot more of you out there as well!

The way I see it, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a very good following in Ohio.  And just because almost everyone I work with chats OSU football at the water cooler, that doesn't mean these CBJ SuperFans aren't mixed in.  Twitter has become the preferred tool to harness all of this amazing CBJ fanness.  All it takes is a few #CBJ tags and you can quickly find all of those other hard core fans, just waiting to talk, live and breathe Blue Jackets hockey.

CannonFest picture courtesy of 10 Minute Misconduct
In a sense, that's how I believe a great event like #CannonFest was born.  Put all of the SuperFans and bloggers online sharing ideas, and you get an amazing grass roots showing of Blue Jackets support in AUGUST!  I have great memories of CannonFest from this past Summer, and after this 2-9-1 start, I almost want to go back and feel that anticipation again.

Excitement carried over into Training Camp where the Ice Haus was packed with fans to watch the Owner's Tournament.  Opening night at Nationwide Arena was sold out.  Fans are driving in from Cincinnati, Cleveland and all over for games even after a rough start.  I believe it's time to take our fanhood to the next level...Practice!

All non-game day practices are open to the public and are usually at the main ice of Nationwide Arena.  The entire lower bowl seats, even along the glass, will be wide open.  Let's all gather together for a practice, show our support and mix in a few "Let's Go Jackets" chants.  For now, I will call this event #PracFest (patent pending) as a combination of 'practice' and 'festival', but with a tribute to 'CannonFest'.

Looking at the schedule, I believe a great date for this will be Monday Nov 14.  The Blue Jackets will destroy the Jets on Sat Nov 12, will probably get the Sunday off, and then have practice in preparation for the Clutterbuck and the Wild coming to town on Tues Nov 15.  This also should time out very well for the return of Carter and Dekanich.

So tell your friends, wear your jerseys, and come ready to cheer on the CBJ during their practice on Mon Nov 14! (Official time will be announced the day before, should be around 11am)