Make Mine Mike

We got to leave work early yesterday to catch the election returns. I got into work late because of the election, too, but putting in a full day wasn't the reason I stuck around.

I had to kill time before going downtown. I had agreed to go to a hockey game that night. It was a freeway series -- LA vs. Anaheim -- which wouldn't have mattered had we remembered that the fourth was a Tuesday -- the Tuesday. But I didn't want to flake on my friend.

So we spent the first period not at the rink, but sitting in the sports bar next to the Staples Center eating good ol' American junk food, discussing politics and watching the states come in blue or red.

Only one TV was set to one of the countless networks covering the election; the rest were all showing ESPN or Fox Sports Net or closed circuit of the game itself. The score updates got the crowd's attention, which I suppose is appropriate for the location, but still, it made me worry about voter apathy. Then I saw numbers reflecting a record number of voter turnouts and I felt a little better. And when I saw the results, (aside from the state propositions) I was ecstatic.

By the way, the Kings lost 1-0 to the Ducks in overtime. But we still had something much more awesome to celebrate.