Misunderstanding Makes Me a Sharks Fan

As of today, I have been in California for one year! I’m enjoying the life in California. I’ve gone to San Jose Sharks hockey games 5 times this regular season. I’m a big fan of the Sharks. Here is the story of how I became a Sharks fan.

One winter afternoon, one of my colleagues whispered to me, “I have hockey game tickets for tonight. Call your wife and see whether you can go. Okay? ”

I called my wife and told her, “One of my colleagues invited us to the Sharks hockey game tonight. We should go.” She totally agreed, and I told him that my wife was really excited because it would be our first time to go to a hockey game.

Then, he said, “Oh My God! That’s your misunderstanding. I would go with you. I have only 2 tickets for the game tonight.”

Everybody except me knew that he was a big fan of the Sharks. He has season tickets for 2 seats. Everybody longs to get the extra one ticket from him. Since I didn’t know that, I thought that he had 4 tickets, and we would go to the game with his wife. When I discovered my mistake, I declined his invitation, but he gave us both tickets! This is how I became a Sharks fan.

I have another story about a misunderstanding which is related to hockey. My favorite Sharks player is Devin Setoguchi because he is fourth-generation Japanese Canadian. When his name is announced on the ice rink, many people say “Boo.” When I first heard this, I felt bad and couldn’t understand the booing from the spectators. I asked one fan why people booed him. He said, “No, No, No. Everybody is saying Gooch. It’s his nickname.” To me, it sounds like “boo.” Now I know his nickname, and I wear a jersey with his name on it when I go to the game, but I cheer him using his full first name “Setoguchi (瀬戸口in Japanese character).”

Hockey games are awesome. One reason that I became a fan is the music during the game. I love music. In hockey games, music is used to warm up the spectators. I especially like the opening of the game. Once the Jaws theme has played, the players are displayed on a big monitor and they come toward the ice rink. The tension of spectators runs high at this time. Then Metallica's “Seek and Destroy” is played, and the players skate out a statue of a shark’s mouth. The Sharks fans’ cheering reaches a peak!

I bought many sharks clothes, such as jerseys, T-shirts and hoodies for my wife and myself. I also made a deposit on playoffs game tickets and next season’s tickets. Thanks to my colleague’s kindness and my poor English skills, I have spent a lot of money on the San Jose Sharks. I guess I might spend more next season.

Tomorrow, I’ll go the playoff quarter final 5th game!