Some
folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighbourhood, hop a flight to
Miami Beach, or to Hollywood. But I'm taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River
Line. I'm in a New York state of mind.
- Billy Joel
My name is Andrew Kitchener, and I have a
confession to make: I like hockey, violent movies, football…and, you know, I
didn’t mind the ballet too much, either!
Yes! It’s true. We went to the matinee
performance Nutcracker at the Lincoln Centre for Performing Arts here in New
York City this afternoon and although I didn’t have a major idea about what was
going on down there on the stage, it was a fantastic performance of colour,
movement and Christmas cheer. Going in there, I wasn’t sure that I’d even be
able to remain awake during the two-hour performance, let alone enjoy it as
much as I did.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not sure that
I’d go to another ballet, but you can’t help but admire the conditioning and
skill of the performers on the stage. Their incredible agility and flexibility
– something I can only dream of – is really something to see. Plus, the
orchestra in the pit in front of the stage were incredible. The only thing I
wish had been there was some more room under the seats and at my feet. We were
jammed in like passengers on a New York City subway at peak hour. Oh, wait…
Stopped in at one of my favourite places in
the world, the NHL Shop on Avenue of Americas, and did some shopping before we
went up to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck. The visibility was very good,
especially over Central Park to the north. The only downside was that the sun,
at around midday, was in a position that made it a little difficult to get
clear shots downtown: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island.
 |
| Top of the Rock: Looking south towards Battery Park. Statue of Liberty visible in upper right corner |
Even so, there’s nothing like being 80-odd
stories above New York City. It’s not until you’re up there that you realise
just how enormous and far-reaching this great city is. All five boroughs and
most of the bridges linking Manhattan with New Jersey, Queens and Brooklyn are all
visible, as is the distant Jersey Shore, across the breadth of the Hudson
River.
They call New York City streets concrete
canyons, and from as high up as we were, it’s not hard to see why. Streets are
north-south or east-west, straight as an arrow, right down to the Battery Park
district. Even from this high, the sound of sirens and horns floats up on the
breeze, though everything else is eerily silent. If you come to New York, I
highly recommend going up to see this view. It’s incredible.
 |
| Top of the Rock: Looking north, with the Hudson River and George Washington Bridge left |
In the evening, we went down to visit my
brother, who is also travelling through America. Their itinerary seems to be a
few steps ahead of ours – pure coincidence – because this is the fourth city
that we’ve arrived in whilst they’ve been there, or just a few days after: Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and now New York City.
Then, my highlight/lowlight of the night:
I’m a Rangers fan. Since I first watched
hockey, I’ve bled red, white and blue. For me, and many thousands like me, heaven
looks a lot like Madison Square Garden, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and
Broadway at 23rd Street, right there in the bustling heart of Midtown
Manhattan. Heaven sounds like the blaring goal horn, and eighteen thousand
singing the Rangers goal song with lung-bursting enthusiasm.
Walking into the Garden is an absolute
privilege. There’s so much history there – Jordan dropped 55 on the Knicks in
1995 and Kobe Bryant bettered that with 61 against the Knicks fourteen years
later; the Rangers broke The Curse and won the Stanley Cup in the spring of
1994, Frazier and Ali contested the Fight of the Century in 1971 and a rematch
three years later, and anyone who’s anyone in the music world has played it’s
famous stage – and it envelopes you as soon as you come in off the street.
 |
| National Anthem at The Garden |
Tonight, the Blueshirts played Eastern
Conference heavyweights Pittsburgh, and their star, the best player in the
world, Sidney Crosby – who is roundly and thoroughly booed each time he touches
the puck. It was supposed to be a mismatch. The Rangers are horrible this year.
The Pens are very good. And the game seemed to be going to script midway
through the third period, when Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead. Then, an epic
comeback. The Rangers scored two goals to take the game to overtime, relied
upon some excellent goaltending from Henrik ‘The King’ Lundqvist to take it
into a shootout. Five rounds later, the Pens squeaked out with a 3-2 win.
Alas, it was not to be tonight. Hoping for
a win on Friday night against our blood rivals, the New York Islanders. What a
day!
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