Photo courtesy Scott Audette
Last night was EPIC and one of the best nights of my life! I was honored at the Tampa Bay Lighting game on the largest jumbotron (or as I like to call it, the humungotron) in all of North America for winning 1st place in their inaugural Celebration of the Arts competition. Back in October a reception was held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum for the artists whose work was accepted into the show. The jurors were from the Tampa Museum of Art, the St Pete Fine Arts Museum, the Dali Museum and Mrs. Penny Vinik. Over 300 artists submitted work and 41 artists work are now displayed (and available for purchase) around the suite level at the Forum. Check out the stories and videos from that memorable evening:
http://lightning.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=80964
http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=643321
http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=643321
Not only was I on the humungotron last night, but I also got to cross something off of my bucket list – riding on a Zamboni at a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game! Man, was that a blast! While Thunderbug and I couldn’t convince the driver to let us take the Zam for a spin, he drove us around the ice for a night I will never forget. Check out my view:
Having attended the very first Lightning game in October 1992 at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds as a kid as well as all of the joy and excitement the team has brought me in the past 20 years, made winning this award that much more of an honor. I was there when Manon Rheaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, when the team outgrew the Expo Hall and moved to play at the Florida Suncoast Dome, for goaltenders such as Daren Puppa, Nikolai Khabibulin and Johan Holmquist, I’ve watched left-winger Dave Andreychuck, current captain Vinny Lecavalier, veteran Marty St. Louis, and many, many more all make history. I witnessed John Tortorella lead the Bolts to the Stanley Cup (which has now been bumped down to be my second favorite game) and I was even one of many kids to help name Thunderbug. Merging hockey and art couldn’t have been a more organic experience for me and am privileged to have been recognized.
Here are some of the photos I captured on my iPhone at last night’s 5-2 win over the Panthers, as well as a link to my interview shown last night on the HUMUNGOTRON! I must also mention that the Panthers racked up 37 minutes of penalties. Pretty sure that’s the most I’ve ever seen.
My iPhone photos from the game:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicoleabbett/sets/72157632653279858/
Video I took of of myself on the Humungotron last night:
Video of the interview:
http://video.lightning.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=194597
Many thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for providing me with this opportunity. Scott Audette, thanks for the photos and your support. Kelley Cureton, you’re fantastic at what you do. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done and all of the hospitality at the games. To everyone else, thank you for your continued support. I wouldn’t be here without all of you. GO BOLTS!!
Nicole Abbett 