I’m excited to share another true love story from a KT Literary client for our month of Peace, Love, & Books! Please help me welcome YA author Carrie Allen, whose debut is currently on submission. Carrie is a local Colorado author, semi-retired from sports medicine, and fully-tired from chasing two little girls around the house. She has held every role on a hockey rink: player, coach, referee, even Zamboni driver.
Peace. Love. Books.
Or, in my case, a Sports Illustrated short story. “This One’s From the Gutter,” by sportswriter Rick Reilly, details the bloody hockey rivalry between the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, when I read about these two teams punching the snot out of each other, I think epic romance.
During the 2004 NHL lockout, this Colorado girl met a guy from Detroit. Since the league was on hiatus and we had nothing to talk trash about, we started dating. Fast forward to our wedding vows, when we promised to love each other; for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and during Avs/Wings games.
Four years later, we attended our first rivalry game. I was five months pregnant so we bet middle-naming rights for our firstborn (I still argue that “Foote” is gender-neutral.) My husband evened the score on the second kid/second game. Both kids know they get M&Ms from Mommy if they shout “Go Avs!” when Daddy’s in the room.
It seems fitting that the upcoming NHL Stadium Series game between the Avs and Wings will take place in February, the month of love. This year, instead of celebrating Valentines’ Day with chocolate and candlelight, we’ll do it our way. At an outdoor rink with cold beers and even colder toes, betting diaper changes on each play.
So while it may look like a long-fought war between toothless, bearded, nose-bloodied monoliths-on-skates, it’s actually my favorite love story… my own.
Maybe not so much with the peace.
