IceCreeps.com Hockey Fest 6-4-10

I attended two Social Media gatherings in one week? Wow, that’s a record for me. I’m the woman who doesn’t drive far, but I made the trek to McFadden’s of Rockville Centre armed with my MapQuest directions and a renewed sense of adventure. I will be honest; telling me to drive to the border line of Nassau County is like saying “Go drive to Brooklyn.” I’m a country girl. The maze of streets that intersect Merrick Road in that area made me nervous, as did the designated “Shoppers Parking.” I’m from out east. We go some where there’s vast open space with nice lines painted on the pavement. There isn’t a choice of a) try to remember how to parallel park the way you did for your driver’s license 100 years ago or b) walk five blocks from public parking. Yeah, okay. I’m spoiled.

However, it could have been worse. It took Chris Wassel (@TheProgramBTR) from TheHockeyProgram.net only an hour and 15 minutes by train and poor Carlos @SpeakOfTheDevs over 3 hours by car. @TravelChick59 and @namnum had it a little easier as they live within 10 minutes of RVC. @Kathygc and @PeterG11742 made it with plenty of time to spare before puck drop. @Katrina_Doell and @dani3boyz were fashionably late as their schedules are always full. Why am I telling you all this? Because it just goes to prove the lengths that Hockey fans will go in order to gather and be with other like minded individuals. Not only electronically, but physically!



And THAT is the point of IceCreeps.com. Early in the evening I asked Mike where the heck he came up with that name. He told me seeing as Hockey fans are in the minority of sports fans we are sometimes looked down upon and disrespected. “You know -- like we’re creeps. So that’s how we came up with the name. I’m IceCreepsMike, my cousins over there are @IceCreeper and @icecreep. We’re all ‘creeps’.” And the mission has become a family affair.

IceCreeps.com has a simple mission statement: Hockey Fans United. It’s US against the world of Sports fans who can’t understand how we can be so passionate about a sport that garners so little attention. But I asked Mike if he didn’t feel that as hockey fans, we are a lot better off now. “Oh, absolutely! With the Social Media explosion, it’s changed everything.”

How else would you be able to get fans from various teams to actually break bread (or drink shots from an ice sculpture of the Stanley Cup) together in one place without there being bloodshed? You don’t. And I scoff at those who say Hockey fans aren’t interested in the Stanley Cup games once their team is out of contention.
I overheard two men walk into the bar and greet Mike exclaiming. “I’m a Ranger Fan, he’s an Islander fan. This is the only time we can watch a game together and both root for the same team. “

There were those sporting jerseys in the bar; Quite brave on a hot night in June. Mike had an impressive array of raffle prizes and T-shirts, stickers and key chains. This was a first class operation all the way and as the night progressed McFadden’s began to pack out. The game was on all 27 HDTVs in the bar and there was Wi-Fi service. Something us “social” people can’t live without. Okay, maybe just me because I don’t have a blackberry or an iPhone line everyone else in the place. I was the only one sporting my NetBook. I was going to try to get a head count, but knew facing the long drive home ahead of me I had to pack my gear and go.

IceCreeps.com will have a table on the floor at the NY Islanders Draft party at the Coliseum on June 25th. Make sure you get your tickets and come for the party. Not only will you be able to see John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Trevor Gillies (Seriously, you can’t miss Trevor), but you’ll be able to meet a lot of other like minded hockey fans just like you.

And check out Mike Carver on SportsRadioNY.com from WGBB AM 640 for his sports talk shows and many great guests.

Okay, the video is dark, but bear with it. A little footage of the Icy Cup from last night’s Hockey Fest.