My first hockey game

I went to my first ever hockey game this past Friday night. Auburn vs. Alabama. As many people know, I didn't grow up an Auburn fan. I converted when I joined the school back in 2009 :) I grew up, and deep down still am, a Georgia Tech fan. My dad graduated from there, and I have a respect for those men and women in the field of engineering. The rivalry between Georgia and Georgia Tech is big. But my first Iron Bowl showed me an even more passionate and intense kind. Alabama fans are one of a kind. I've never met a more classless and loud group of people like them. All this to say, I showed up to this hockey game where the Alabama fans treated it like the Iron Bowl of hockey. Booing us, telling us how much we suck, screaming nonsense, and not singing to their own fight song. Typical behavior seen at football games. I was almost discouraged while watching us. Auburn once had a team, like in the 80's I think, and then somehow, the team broke apart. 20 years later, we have a team, but like all new things, we're not the greatest at it. And that's ok by me. Great things have to be built up. auburn managed to score 2 goals against the "Frozen Tide". And I sang my song to them. While all this was going on, there was an older couple sitting in front of me. They had the Alabama hats, jackets and blankets on and were sitting calmly. They we're being obnoxious, and actually knew their fight song. But what kept my attention, and my respect, is simply how they treated each other. He made sure she was nice and warm and comfortable. She knew that he wasn't going to pay attention to what she was saying because there was a game going on. He would gracefully rub her back. She would lean against him, and just watch the game in the quietness they had created. It was said, without saying anything, that both of them were there for each other. Recently, I've been thinking about how faithless marriage has become. People age, and suddenly, they're not attractive anymore. And for someone who, on all sides of her family has good, solid marriages to look to, this scares me. But, while watching this couple, full of grace and tenderness, I realized that it is still possible to believe in someone. It is possible for a man and a woman to grow old together and still believe in each other.