Hockey in Hannover

Last night Brian and I went to our first professional sporting event in Germany. We saw the Hannover Scorpions take on the Iserlohn Roosters at Tui Arena. Even though I am no hockey expert, it was fun to watch. Here are a few observations:

• The "superfans" behind each goal proved to mean that Germans really can be loud if they want to. I wasn't sure before because it's rare to hear one yell. Even the dogs are quiet.
• There were no fuzzy mascots, no cheerleaders, no goofy games between periods or racing M&Ms on the scoreboard. Just hockey - go figure.
• When I tried to buy concessions with money, I got turned down. The nice man at the counter asked for a card, so I took out my bank card. Then he said, half in English, "no no you need a Tui Arena card." I walked away confused but not defeated. I found a kiosk where you buy a debit card and put money on it. 
• The concessions you can buy there include: cold fish sandwiches (which looked good until I realized they were made of cold fish), big soft pretzels and bread, french fries, mini egg rolls, jalapeno poppers (not spicy), and popcorn.

There is less fighting than in U.S. hockey, but it was still fun to watch. Here's the website if you want to check it out: http://www.hannoverscorpions.de/
There is a picture of a fuzzy scorpion mascot on the website, but I never saw one at the game!