The ride to the stadium was definitely different. Even the guys said that on the bus. It's a crazy little area, didn't even look like the stadium would be in this spot. I've been to Hamilton a couple of times, but I've never seen the stadium. It's pretty cool. It's in a little neighborhood and a good little spot.
Walking into the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats locker room, we were all in shock. It's set up so nice in there. It's huge and there's a lot of room in there. It's unbelievable. Then you walk on the ice. It's a little bit of a long walk but it's enjoyable. You can look up to the crowd, and it's just breathtaking. It's cool. It's an experience that everyone wants to experience.
It was a fun, good skate. It was definitely cold with the wind, which added a lot to it. The adrenaline kind of takes over and you kind of get used to it after a little bit but the wind was killer. Skating out there, going down one way is a lot easier than going the other way. You either glide like there's no tomorrow or it's right in your face and you can't go anywhere.
No one really complained about the cold, but there were a couple of guys wearing balaclavas around their necks, so maybe those guys but it's not too bad. It's manageable. The only thing really was the ears in the wind but once you get your gear on and get moving, you don't even notice it.
I thought going into this I was just going to wear my normal stuff, but I think tomorrow I'll probably throw on another layer or two and especially something around my neck. I didn't think it was going to be that cold. A lot of the guys had Vaseline in their ears, which is probably a smart play, especially for how long we're going to be out there, so I'll probably do that as well.
I've got my closest family here today - my parents, my brother, my girlfriend, and a couple of aunts and uncles. A couple of close friends are coming tomorrow. Six people total here today and then I'll have 14 here tomorrow. I can't wait.
Getting to skate on the ice with my family was cool. My parents came out and my brother and girlfriend, so I was able to take them around and get a few pictures. They kept saying it's an unbelievable experience for them too. They had a lot of fun and so did I.
We do have something planned for how we'll dress tomorrow but I can't say what yet. It might not be the warmest clothes but it's nothing like what St. Louis did with the beach stuff. That's the only thing I can say.
