I stalked the Condors until the last game was over…
I’ve been a quiet Bakersfield Condors stalker all season. More of a hockey fan than a stalker really, only missing two home games this year. But no matter how many games I attend or who I know, I always seem to be one degree of separation away from the players.

When the Condors won game 7 of the Long Beach playoff series I think I became a Condors stalker, but totally in a good way, not the psycho chick way. I don’t do psycho chick.

Seven games. The Condors only needed to win 4 to advance to the next level against the Alaska Aces. It wasn’t an impossible dream; they have beaten the Fresno Falcons before.

It was a dream that began two weeks ago…

“Your Condors won again so I’ll be out with the Blitz again this week.” ‘M’ my athletic trainer at Terrio Therapy Fitness said to me the Monday after the Long Beach game 7.

‘M’ had been covering the Bakersfield Blitz athletic training duties for Jason, another trainer at Terrio, who was the head athletic trainer for the Condors and the Blitz.

“I know isn’t it cool!” I beamed to ‘M’ excited that the Condors had advanced to the Pacific Division Finals.

It has been my poor luck that I’m always at Terrio Therapy Fitness when the Blitz guys are working out and not the Condors players. They must work out during the day while I’m at work. The Blitz guys are always giving me a hard time because I love the Condors and go to all the hockey games, but won’t go to any of the Blitz games. I’ve turned down free Blitz tickets before because I’m not into arena football and neither are my friends, we’re hockey fans. I’m always one degree of separation from the Condors players at Terrio…

The Condors lost the first game of the series against the Fresno Falcons that night in Fresno, 3-5.

“Do you want to go to the game in Fresno tonight?” NL asked me the next day.

NL worked with the Condors and Noveltown on the Growing Up Fighting Bakersfield Hockey: Volume 1 CD. He watches the games from the media zone and has gotten me into the media zone down on the ice a couple of times this year, he’s been in the press box, knows the president of the Condors and has been in the locker room with the Condors players. I’m one degree of separation from the Condors players with NL too.

“Yeah!” I answered preparing to ask to get off early from work.

That evening NL, myself and members of Dirty Spanglish drove to Fresno and watched the Condors lose again to the Falcons with Mike of Dorktown.net. The final score was 2-4.

Fresno’s Savemart Center is no Condorstown! It’s cold, empty, quiet, there’s no spirit, they have bad ice and their mascot is not Colonel Clawd. Even though there were quite a few Condors fans in the stands, its no wonder the Condors had a hard time that night. It just didn’t feel like the hockey I love.

Two days later my office went to lunch at Shogun for Secretary’s Day. In the middle of lunch 8 Condors players came in and sat at the table next to us. They were recognizable by their playoff signature Mohawks, although without their jerseys I couldn’t tell which players they were. They all looked so young! I sent Chingpea of Smalltown Girls a text message…

“I’m sitting a table away from 8 Condors players”

“Too bad they're not naked” She wrote back.

If my boss hadn’t been there I might have approached them, encouraged them to win the game on Friday night, but I couldn’t act like a Condors stalker in front of my boss.

If there is one thing I learned from going to the game in Fresno, it’s that there’s no place like Condorstown! At Friday night’s game the Condors played like they were ecstatic to be back home at Condorstown. The Rabobank was packed and the roar of the crowd was astounding. Colonel Clawd was full of energy and reminded the crowd why he was an all-star mascot. He’s the best mascot I’ve ever seen. The Condors won 4-2 and put us back into the series.

That game felt like the Condors hockey I love as I sat in the stands with NL, Chingpea and James of Norfolk. James had recorded Zambonie Zombie by Three Chord Whore for the Growing Up Fighting Bakersfield Hockey: Volume 1 CD at his studio in his home. Three Condors players sang back up vocals on the song and were in his house. Again I was one degree of separation from the Condors players...

Saturday, however, was another story altogether. Although the fans were there supporting the Condors, willing them to win, they lost in overtime bringing the series to 3-1 in the Falcons favor. The Condors had needed to win all three home games in the series to have a chance of advancing to the Kelly Cup finals, but now they would have to win in Fresno and I knew that would be hard after the game I saw in Fresno.

“Your Condors won again so I’ll be out with the Blitz again this week.” ‘M’, sounding like a broken record, said to me Monday afternoon when I walked into Terrio Therapy Fitness after the first week of the Condors Fresno series.

My Condors… I thought, boy does that sound nice.

“I know! It’ll be hard to win two games in Fresno, but we still have a chance!” I exclaimed.

‘J’ pulled on my neck making me feel like a Condors Bobblehead and talked about the Condors players who had been in earlier working out. Ugh! Sigh… one degree of separation from the Condors players again. I screamed in my head.

The next game was Wednesday in Condorstown at the Rabobank. It was the day the PG&E transformer blew up and 47,000 people in Bakersfield lost their power. The power at my office and my home went out. I called NL to ask him if he knew if the Rabobank had power and if the game was still on.

“I just talked to Patchboy and he said they have power and the game is still on!” NL replied.

Again, one degree of separation from the Condors…

Soon after the radio station was announcing that the Condors game was still on to everyone that was stuck in traffic due to traffic lights that were out with the power outage.

That night after sitting in traffic for 45 minutes or more trying to get to and from physical therapy at Terrio Therapy Fitness and a nearby house fire, I expected we would miss the first period of the game. But PG&E’s power blackout helped the Condors with their ‘rolling blackout’ against the Fresno Falcons. We arrived at the Rabobank only missing two minutes of the game as apparently some of the Condors players had been stuck in traffic from the blackouts as well. The Condors blacked out the Falcons Wednesday night playing one of their best and most exciting games all season winning 4-2 and bringing the series against the Falcons to 3-2. The Condors were headed back to Fresno…

Thursday I went with my co-workers to see our surveyor’s new baby boy that had been born on Tuesday. To my delight they had named him Connor James unknowingly after my favorite Condors hockey player from last season. Connor James had made me fall in love with Condors hockey. I loved watching him fly across the ice and score goals. He was the most exciting Condors hockey player I’ve ever watched.

Friday was Cinco de Mayo and the Condors were in Fresno. Mento Buru and Fatt Katt and the Vonzippers were playing at Fishlips, but NL, Dirty Spanglish and myself sat huddled around a computer listening to the Condors game. Unbelievably the Condors were ahead. I say unbelievably because after the game we had watched in Fresno, I wasn’t sure the Condors could win on Fresno ice. The game was tied at the end of the third period and going into overtime. NL and I both predicted a repeat of the previous overtime game with the Falcons winning and left to go downtown to hear Mento Buru, but NL’s son said: “Have a little hope!” On the way to Fishlips NL got a call from his son informing him that the Condors had won the game! They had done the unbelievable, they had won in Fresno!

We had decided if the Condors won in Fresno Friday night, we would go to game 7 on Saturday. So NL, Chingpea and I traveled to Fresno Saturday afternoon caravanning with a group of other Condors hockey fans. We quickly discovered we weren’t the only Condors fans with the same idea as almost half the Fresno stadium was filled with Bakersfield Condors fans.

Before the game we ate at a restaurant across the street from the Savemart Center. A Condors player was in line in front of us wearing a black suit. He and NL spoke briefly as I tried to figure out which player he was without his jersey. I swear those Condors player mug shots don’t do the players justice!

“Which player was that?” I asked NL.

“Joel Irving.” He replied.

“Oh!” I mouthed. Joel Irving had scored the winning goal in game 7 against Long Beach. Condors player sightings always feel like rock star sightings…

We ordered food and found a spot to sit out on the patio among other Condors fans.

“Isn’t that the president of the Condors?” I asked NL pointing at a guy in jeans and a metrosexual pullover shirt.

“Yeah that’s Matt Riley.” NL said looking where I was pointing.

“I wasn’t sure because I’m used to seeing him in a suit at the Condors games.” I explained.

Matt Riley came over and spoke with NL a few minutes later.

“See, I’m always one degree of separation from the Condors players.” I joked with NL after Matt Riley left. He just laughed.

Watching the game Saturday night was hard as the Fresno Falcons led the game and the Condors couldn’t seem to find their groove on Fresno ice amid many penalties.

And then the unthinkable happened. Scott Borders shattered his leg on Fresno’s bad ice. The entire stadium sat in silence as Jason from Terrio Therapy Fitness tried to help Borders. Soon the EMT’s with their stretcher came out onto the ice and so did the team doctor. We all knew Borders game, possibly next season, possibly his hockey career was over. I remembered the moment I dislocated my knee and knew that my life would never be the same again and wondered if Borders was having similar thoughts or if he was lost riding waves of shock from the injury instead of thoughts of what this injury meant for his future. The entire stadium of Condors and Fresno fans stood and applauded as they wheeled Borders off the ice in a surreal hockey moment that I will never forget.

The Condors never recovered, losing the game 2-4 and ending their fight for the Kelly Cup. Borders' injury affected all the players, especially goalie Munce who couldn’t seem to find his game and had me longing for last season’s beloved goalie Fukufuji.

“I wonder if I can find out what happened to Borders at Terrio on Monday.” I stated to no one in particular.

Borders (if he stays in town) would probably do rehab for his injury at Terrio Therapy Fitness with ‘T’ my physical therapist who specializes in sports medicine. Perhaps I would finally breach that one degree of separation and get to know a Condors player by comparing injury war stories at Terrio. I could tell him how ‘T’ tied my leg to a table trying to break my knee three times a week for 5 months, he might like that story…

I'm going to catch crap from the Blitz guys on Monday at Terrio about my Condors, I just know it!

*Updated: Read information on Scott Borders injury here...  posted by Matildakay at 11:05 PM