Wizards home opener last night...and the card-based ticketing system (to be extended to the Capitals and Mystics as well, along with of course the Nationals) still has some bugs in it. Going through the special STH queue (remember the Wizards' STH base is nowhere nearly as big as the Caps') the very first thing the ticket checker said to me was 'did you print your ticket?'...uh no, the card is supposed to be machine-readable in and of itself so there's no need for me to do that...and then she tried seven times to get my card to register, all unsuccessful, and she was about to get one of her mates to try my card in her reader until she finally hit it on the eighth try...and right afterward, in removing my ticket receipt from the printer, she tore it right across the seat number, so I had to show both fragments to the chap outside my section. (In fairness, one of my regular seatmates got his to register on the first try.)
Word to Caps STH: if they ever do manage to salvage part of the NHL season, be sure to arrive when the doors open...that could be a real mess.
...meanwhile back on the hardwood, the tried-and-true formula of last season still holds good...get a big lead on the Wizards early and let them spend the rest of the match trying to pull it out (which they almost did).
