It was a good experience...

... and by good experience I mean that I've learned I never want to do it again...
... The Italian all-star game was today, and sadly I didn't make the cut first time around... never being one to take a loss well, I went anyways... the official version was that one of the real all-star was hurt, and I was next on the list of votes, so I was asked to go... this is the reason I was so excited about today... it wasn't even a damper that I started to realize my coach was organizing the event so he might have just been scrambling for a guy... or when I had to wear my teammates' jersey with white tape over his name...
... the unofficial version is it was a 2 hour drive, an 8 hour wait, a signing of 3 autographs, a lot of wasting time drinking cappuccinos, around 40 fans, a drawn out skills competition (2nd in puck control), a 50 minute interlude fan competition with 2 ice-cleanings, a 20 minute all-star game, a 5 minute overtime, a shootout... and a loss... and then a 20 minute awards presentation... ... ... we got there at 11 (and in the rush had to skip lunch at Mcdonalds to make the most pointless important meeting of my life) but didn't need to be there until 5:30... the free lunch was one tray of lazagna split between 30+ hockey players and was all the food we got all day... but it's over and I have few regrets... because... it's something... different... as an... experience... that I have now...
... The second best part of the day was after the fastest skater competition this old guy on a bike with 2 inch spike tires raced around the track to try to beat the time... I've never seen anything quite as cool in quite a while... he leaned almost sideways around the turns and went a way too fast on the straightaways... and I've also never seen anything chop up the ice as quickly as 2 inch spike tires... which is the reason for the 50 minute break until our game... and almost the reason we missed Mcdonald's on the drive home...
... The best part of the day was after the game... our whole team rushing out of the rink trying to make it to the Mcdonald's in Bolzano before it closed for the night.... and showing up five minutes late only to realize that it didn't close at 10 on Sundays... but 11...