No Guts, No Pain, No Glory: Bruins vs. Canadiens- Meditation # 1

• Growing up in RI, I was raised to love the Patriots, Red Sox, and the Bruins. Hockey was never a big thing in my life until I began dating my current boyfriend. Not only is he a die hard hockey fan, but roots for the Montreal Canadiens. After two years of watching the Canadiens play, I slowly became a traitor. For a hockey fan, the rivalry between the Bruins and the Canadiens is like no other. (Do not own or have the rights to Bruins/Canadiens jersey photo. Obtained from an article by Jeremy Krantz for Bleacher Report.)

Most Canadiens vs. Bruins games get completely sold out but earlier this month lady luck was on my side. I scored a pair of prime seats at a Bruins vs. Canadiens game on February 4th at TD Garden in Boston.

The game was really great. At first the Bruins held the lead, and then at the very end of the second period the Canadiens tied up the game 2-2. The Canadiens won in a shoot out making the final score 3-2. Let’s just say it was not a good night to be wearing a red jersey in Boston!


The TD Garden is the ultimate media experience. It is home to both the Celtics and the Bruins and features the first HD scoreboard used in an arena. Not only was it amazing to watch the game, but it was great to see all the different media aspects that I found. Throughout this blog post I will show pictures and videos that I took while I was at this epic game.

From the game I learned two things. 1) Bruin fans are nuts. 2) The four tool sets learned in class can be applied throughout my experience at the hockey game.

Triune Brain:
Limbic- The lights, images of signs, noise levels, video, and the game itself were all processed through my Limbic brain.

Reptilian- Moments at the game of the Bruin’s Ice girls, and referee girls applied to the reptilian’s natural instinct of sex. Also food was offered everywhere at the arena, this triggered my natural instinct of hunger.

Neocortex- Trivia questions were asked on the large screen during breaks in between periods. These questions made myself and the audience think.

Eight Shifts:

Epistemological: The announcers would say something, like a statistic and an image would appear on the HD scoreboard.

Aesthetic: From discrete to convergence. My mom couldn’t watch the game, so I took a video on my smart phone and saved it. She later watched it from my phone using my mobile phone as a multimedia platform.

Seven Principles:
Production Techniques- There were various production techniques during the hockey game. The lighting was bright, and spotlights were flashing when hockey players came out. Many different cameras we used throughout the game for ESPN and for the screens on the score board. There were a few mechanical cameras being operated to get shots angled above the goal. (See pictures)

Ownership- TD Garden is owned by Delaware North Company, but the venue’s naming rights partnet is TD Banknorth. The commercial motives behind this media are to promote the services and products of companies who pay for advertising in the arena. They are also used to promote ticket sales for the teams that play at the arena. The companies who paid for the advertisements shown on the scoreboard, and throughout the arena do so to promote their products. A majority of the companies also sell their products inside the arena as well. Some of them include Bud Light, Dunkin Donuts, Coca-cola, and of course TD Banknorth.

Persuasive Techniques:

Symbols
-The phrase Dunkin Donuts uses all over the arena “Boston Brewin”.
-The Boston Bruin’s B is a symbol for the team.

Bribery
- Advertisement to buy season passes for next season played on the scoreboard’s screen. It stated “Buy season passes now for next year and receive a new Bruins jersey!”

Nostalgia
- During a break in between a period, the screen showed images of past hockey games throughout the last 30 years. At the end it said “Tradition”.

Scientific Evidence
-Statistics of players were shown on the screen numerous times.

Repetition
- The signs “Lets Go Bruins” kept popping up on the screen numerous times. It was done to get the home crowd cheering.

Humor
-“Boston Brewin” the sign for Dunkin Donuts.
- Images of fans like little kids cheering, and older men dancing to make the crowd laugh.

Warm Fuzzies
-In between periods the “Mini Bruin League” would play. This was a team of kids all 5-7 years old playing hockey against one another.

Beautiful People

-The Bruin’s Ice Girls would go on the ice to shovel away extras, get the crowd cheering, and promote buying tshirts/jerseys.




Overall, this was a very memorable media experience. I had an amazing time and noticed things that I normally would have overlooked prior to my Electronic Media Writing course. Unfortunately, the files of my videos from the game that I took on my digital camera somehow got corrupted. Instead here is a video of the entire game that I got to see! See if you can spot me behind the Canadien's goal!