Do you smell what The Chops are cooking?
For those of you who may be looking for something to do this weekend that does not involve putting on a costume and doing a bar crawl, you are in luck! The Iowa Chops are hosting the Chicago Wolves on Friday night, which will close out their first month in Des Moines. If you are not familiar with the Iowa Chops, you might have lived under a….I have to refrain using my “you might want to crawl out from under the rock you have been living under” saying because I have been told I am a little too sarcastic when I start out using that phrase.…
So, where were we? Oh yes, the Iowa Chops are the new American Hockey League team in Des Moines, they replaced the Iowa Stars who, you may recall, left town last year be closer to their NHL team The Dallas Stars. The Chops are the minor league team that supports the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. So far The Chops are sporting a 6 - 5 record heading into tomorrow nights bout with the Wolves from Chi Town, and they seem to be really jelling as a team. Friday nights game will be a great way to support your local team and avoid some of the Halloween mayhem throughout the city. Not that you can expect Halloween to be completely lacking from the game, they will be featuring a costume contest and free candy for the kids during the game. So, put on your best CHOPS costume and head on down to Wells Fargo Arena to support the Chops. It may just be the one time you will feel at home in your pig outfit.
Now, I need to get some of my sarcastic personality out here and I can’t let a post on The Chops go by without expressing my opinion on the choice of name. I don’t know what the other options were, and I understand it is important to pick a name that is indicative of the area. I also understand something related to farming or livestock lends to the typical perception of Iowans. But, I can’t believe they named the team The Chops. I mean, come on, there had to have been a better name than that. Does it have a deeper Hockey meaning? I don’t know I never played the sport. Maybe it does and I am just missing the point of the name. But, it seems there could have been other names that would be better suited for marketing the team other than the one chosen. Regardless of my opinion, it is still important to support the local team, even if it means you need to dress up in a Pig Costume on Halloween.
Nice post on the Chops Pete
You know you like the name though.
Happy Halloween!
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I have to admit Jennifer, it is starting to grow on me.
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Pete, whether the name is cool or not Chops hockey is the best you are going to find in Iowa. These are NHL players, and guys who like to fight. It's fast and its a lot of fun. I hope Des Moines will get behind this team AHL hockey is a luxury usually afforded to much larger cities and markets. I have some fear that people may understand what a great asset a AHL team is to DM only after it is too late. Thanks for the great blog entry.
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Big EZ, I am all for The Chops and I hope they are very successful here. I only questioned the name, not the product.
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Hey, no guff on your opinion on the name. I thought the Chops name was dumb at first. Risky, brash, different. That is rare and you have to admit it has a very local angle. It has grown on me. Thank you for covering the Chops in your blog.
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hmmm, pork CHOPS, karate CHOPS, kick in the CHOPS...the name does grow on you. Also, if you are just our average Joe, are you Joe the Plumber???
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Sallie, I should change that now so I am not mistakenly recognized as someone associated with the latest election. I have to admit the more I let the name grow on me it is in fact growing on me.
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So do they actually sell pork chops on a stick at the concession stands?
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Larry, I don't know...I have yet to make it to a game to find out. Hopefully after my Semester is over I wll be able to get out and enjoy some free time and take in a game. I will be sure to let you know.
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