Has anyone here ever sat directly behind the player benches?

[wolfgaze]

I understand the appeal of being seated in close proximity to the players - but how are you supposed to enjoy the gameplay when you have several individuals (coaches, trainer, equipment guy) standing in front of you and moving about while obstructing your field of vision?

 

[Jumptheshark]

Some people like it. I didn't. Glenn Hanlon once asked me to stop swearing at his players

 

[not quite yoda]

I hate it. you pay top dollar for an obstructed view. i like it 15-16 rows up....

 

[wolfgaze]

Glenn Hanlon once asked me to stop swearing at his players

Did he ask you nicely or not-so-nicely?

 

[Lame Lambert]

I hate it. you pay top dollar for an obstructed view. i like it 15-16 rows up....

Sounds like the entire Barclays Center.

 

[Disengage]

I sat behind the Amerks bench for a road game in Syracuse. I looked over Ron Rolston's shoulder to see who he was putting in the shootout. I said "Jesus, he's putting in Gongalsky again" to the guy next to me. He quick scribbled his number out and put someone else in.

 

[Seanaconda]

Sounds like the entire Barclays Center.

Are islanders tickets expensive?

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I sat in the first row behind the bench at an AHL game. View was absolutely awful but it was pretty cool to hear coaches and players speaking and the way coaches adapt to a game. It's pretty cool as a student of the game but awful as a fan.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Did it once in Worcester for an Ice Cats/Hartford Wolf Pack game. Got to watch the security guy make quacking noises at John Paddock the whole game. Otherwise not my favorite seats ever.

 

[Lame Lambert]

Are islanders tickets expensive?

No, just a joke

 

[Mike Hasselhoffman]

Never at an NHL game but I've sat right behind the players bench at a Sarnia Sting/Mississauga Steelheads game a few years back. It was pretty interesting to be able to hear a little of what the players and coaches were saying throughout the game, but there were many instances where the players would stand up or the coaches would obstruct the view. Although Nikolai Goldobin waved at me so that was pretty cool.

 

[IamNotADancer]

I'm going to go against the grain and say that you are paying top dollar for those seats because it's as close as you can get to the actual team without being a player or staff.

Personally I would prefer to sit up higher because it makes it easier to read the ice and view the play, but I can definitely see the appeal here.

 

[Thorton02]

I sat behind the Amerks bench for a road game in Syracuse. I looked over Ron Rolston's shoulder to see who he was putting in the shootout. I said "Jesus, he's putting in Gongalsky again" to the guy next to me. He quick scribbled his number out and put someone else in.

Did he take a quick sip of water after that? Was he wearing gardening gloves?

 

[garnetpalmetto]

I've sat a couple rows back (like 2-3 rows) behind the Carolina bench at Canes games and when I followed the ECHL more closely I'd often sit directly behind the bench when visiting other arenas. It does provide an interesting view on how much players talk to each other during the game, especially coming in off of a shift, how coaches talk to their players, etc.

 

[Sheppy]

Central lower bowl is perfect. 15-20 rows up...

Either that or second bowl, right on the balcony.

 

[Fugazy]

It was cool for the first period but I started to dislike it as the game went on because the view wasn't exactly the greatest. I prefer sitting in the Blue Seats at MSG any day of the week.

 

[gifted88]

I'm gonna say it was '97 at Maple Leaf Gardens. My dad got tickets from a vendor right behind the leafs bench for a game against the Blackhawks. I yelled at Jamie Macoun the whole game and don't recall being bothered that Murphy and his staff were occasionally blocking my view.

 

[542365]

The Blues have a reward program for their season ticket holders. You get points for going to games and other stuff. One of the things you can use the points on is upgraded seats. We did that probably 10 times this year and upgraded to club seats with unlimited food/beer. It's awesome.

The April 4th game against the Jets this year was the first time we had the option to select "glass seats" as our upgrade. It included free food and beer and obviously allowed you to set along the glass so we went for it. It was awful. We sat directly behind Winnipeg's bench(like directly behind Maurice). It was really cool during warmups, but during the game it was terrible. It wasn't the guys on the bench blocking my view really, just any time the puck came along the near boards it was impossible to see. Also, if the play was in the end to our right(the end the visitor attacks twice) we couldn't see anything through like 3 different panes of glass with Blues players/coaches in the way and the radio crew right there.

I definitely would not recommend it. The only cool thing was seeing the speed of the game. Ehlers was really cool to watch him skate up close. It's much faster at ice level than even 15 rows up. Honestly it was almost too fast. I've played or watched hockey my entire life and I was struggling to track the play.

I'm thankful I didn't have to pay for the seats or I would've been pissed. Clubs seats are MUCH better at Scottrade Center. Not sure about the rest of the league, but I doubt it's much different.

 

[Luc Labelle]

I have sat in my company seats a number of times, positioned basically directly behind Paul Maurice. The experience is even significantly different than being at ice level seats. At least there you get to feel the thundering hits. I had ice level seats for one of the WHA seasons and definitely enjoyed the game experience. For the Jets arrival into the NHL I had first row seats in the extremely sloped balcony, these were a fantastic view for following the action.

Overall behind behind the bench ends up feeling like a behind the scenes event. As a hockey fan it is very difficult to follow the flow of the game on the ice. Certain areas of the ice the action can only be followed by looking at the scoreboard video feed. Being so close to the ice this means craning one's neck upwards.

The pluses from the seat is the ability to observe the bench interactions. You can also get great picture close-ups. You also end up getting lots of texts and comments during and after the game from people watching on television, such as: "Why are you picking your nose?", "How come you always have a licorice in your hand?" etc.

If i were to buy my own season tickets the seats would definitely be no lower than 10 rows up.

 

[djpatm]

Sat beside the benches in row 2 once.

Worst seats I've ever sat in. If you want a really great view of what ever is happening directly in front of you but don't mind missing pretty much anything that happens on the other end of the ice then those seats are for you. For the low price of like $300 a ticket.

You can hear what the coaches are saying though if you pay attention.

 

[Kamiccolo]

I sit behind the moose heads every time I see them.

My favorite was seeing Ehlers in person for the first time. He made a play and took a shot and it just vibrated your chest. I was amazed, you good CLEARLY see the difference between his linemates and his shot, and I understood what a NHL caliber skill set means.

Then he got back to the bench, and was directed his line mates to make a play. I heard the entire thing, and they went out and did it, and Ehlers scored. He got back to the bench and I heard him say "What did I ****ing tell ya".

So I enjoy it because it lets me experience a different side, but I disliked how I couldn't see certain things.

 

[NyQuil]

I have a couple of amusing anecdotes about my time sitting behind the benches:

1. Game vs. Boston

Shawn Thornton gave Wade Redden a bit of a shot when the lines were changing, leading to a little scuffle. The Sens fans in our section let him have it, for picking on tough guy Wade Redden.

Some kid yells out, "HEY THORNTON! You gonna come after ME next?" through the glass, and Thornton turns around and gives the kid a wink. That was pretty cool of Thornton.

So at this point, we know the players can hear us, so my brother and I decide to heckle a guy that's probably never been heckled before - Dennis Wideman. Just giving it to Wideman for no particular reason. He takes a penalty, and goes to the box. After Ottawa scores, the whole section decides to get on it, chanting Wideman's name.

As he gets over the bench, he looks at a stool placed at the end of the bench that provides a seat while allowing the door to swing clear, and just starts hammering away at it with his stick.

"Don't take it out on the STOOL OF SHAME Wideman...what did the stool ever do to you?"

2. Game vs. Buffalo

It became really apparent that Lindy Ruff was not impressed with the game, but he held an immobile, arms crossed posture for the entire game. He didn't speak to anyone. Not a coach, not a player. Just stood there, like a statue.

After awhile, a guy in our section starts yelling out, "Lindy! Calm down. No need to get so worked up." No reaction at all. The guy was unflappable.

Meanwhile, Andrew Peters breaks a stick and the trainer hands one out over the bench for him to grab. Next time the players skate by, he hands out another stick as Andrew flies by - clearly the first one was the wrong stick.

"Trainer! YOU HAVE ONE JOB TO DO! AND YOU FAILED! Lindy! Time to make some personnel changes..."

Had a great time - even if I didn't see all of the game.

Definitely worth doing once or twice for the experience. You can hear what the players are saying and they can hear you - even if they pretend they can't.

 

[ACC1224]

I understand the appeal of being seated in close proximity to the players - but how are you supposed to enjoy the gameplay when you have several individuals (coaches, trainer, equipment guy) standing in front of you and moving about while obstructing your field of vision?

Sat 1st row behind the Caps bench at The ACC a few years ago. The tickets were 600+ apiece and after the "neatness" of having Ovechkin 4 feet away wore off I watched the game on the scoreboard.

Terrible seats.

 

[Kamiccolo]

I have a couple of amusing anecdotes about my time sitting behind the benches:

1. Game vs. Boston

Shawn Thornton gave Wade Redden a bit of a shot when the lines were changing, leading to a little scuffle. The Sens fans in our section let him have it, for picking on tough guy Wade Redden.

Some kid yells out, "HEY THORNTON! You gonna come after ME next?" through the glass, and Thornton turns around and gives the kid a wink. That was pretty cool of Thornton.

So at this point, we know the players can hear us, so my brother and I decide to heckle a guy that's probably never been heckled before - Dennis Wideman. Just giving it to Wideman for no particular reason. He takes a penalty, and goes to the box. After Ottawa scores, the whole section decides to get on it, chanting Wideman's name.

As he gets over the bench, he looks at a stool placed at the end of the bench that provides a seat while allowing the door to swing clear, and just starts hammering away at it with his stick.

"Don't take it out on the STOOL OF SHAME Wideman...what did the stool ever do to you?"

2. Game vs. Buffalo

It became really apparent that Lindy Ruff was not impressed with the game, but he held an immobile, arms crossed posture for the entire game. He didn't speak to anyone. Not a coach, not a player. Just stood there, like a statue.

After awhile, a guy in our section starts yelling out, "Lindy! Calm down. No need to get so worked up." No reaction at all. The guy was unflappable.

Meanwhile, Andrew Peters breaks a stick and the trainer hands one out over the bench for him to grab. Next time the players skate by, he hands out another stick as Andrew flies by - clearly the first one was the wrong stick.

"Trainer! YOU HAVE ONE JOB TO DO! AND YOU FAILED! Lindy! Time to make some personnel changes..."

Had a great time - even if I didn't see all of the game.

Definitely worth doing once or twice for the experience. You can hear what the players are saying and they can hear you - even if they pretend they can't.

Can I start going to games with you? I'll buy the beer...

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Yea, and as many have said, it sucked view wise.