Last week I got to leave my mark on one of my favorite buildings in Detroit: Joe Louis Arena. Thanks to my father, I'm a very big Red Wings fan so when I saw the ad for "Paint the Joe" I was immediately like Fry from Futurama and shouted "take my money!"
My boyfriend had been wanting to do a date night downtown, so I figured this was the perfect date for both of us. The event was very well organized and we both had a lot of fun looking at all the old pictures hung up around the Joe and taking a few pictures of our own.
It saddens me to hear that the Joe is being torn down especially with as much history as it has, but I do realize that it's time to move on to the LCA (I'm still not happy about the name and refuse to say it). If the walls at the Joe could talk, I know that they'd tell some amazing stories. One of them being my all time favorite: Turtle Day. A day I will never remember seeing because I was only a day old sitting in the crook of my father's arm, but will always go down as one of the best fights in hockey history.
Sadly, I've only been to three games at the Joe. One pre-season game and two season games, but my best memory will always be painting the ice. I got to walk out on the ice, sit on the bench as well as the penalty box, and got to view the whole arena from the same place my favorite players did. It was every hockey lover's dream. It was even better because it was on my friend's birthday who had passed away two years prior. The day is usually hard for all of us, so the event was the greatest distraction I could have. I even made sure he left his mark there as well.
So I wanted to say thank you to the Joe Louis Arena as well as the Red Wings for 4 beautiful Stanley Cup wins, many great fights, as well as wonderful memories. It was very sad to see you go, but you're passed your prime. You've been good to us, I just hope they're as good to you as they take you apart. No matter where the Wings go, 19 Steve Yzerman drive will always be my home away from home. Thanks for the memories, Joe. We'll miss you.
