Matt McGrath invited my wife Terry to watch him play hockey at the RDV Sportsplex Athletic Club (8701 Maitland Summit Blvd. Orlando). His team is called “The Fire Ants” and he instructed us to go to the second ice rink away from the entrance. The RDV Sportsplex is immense. Entering the building which is right across the street from EA Sports, I passed an indoor Olympic sized pool and then walked a boardwalk looking down on a sea of work out equipment. The Orlando Magic corporate headquarters are in the building as well. Basketballs with player’s hand prints were on display as well as monster sized sneakers. I wonder if they will be removing Dwight Howard‘s sneakers when he follows Shaq to Los Angeles. Once again, Orlando seems unable to hold onto talent.
There were indeed two ice rinks and I went to the one furthest away from the main entrance. There were a few people in the bleachers, all of them women. I had never seen an ice hockey game in person before. When Terry arrived, I was half finished with my sketch. She discovered that The Fire Ants were playing in the other rink. Terry went to watch the Fire Ants while I finished my sketch. I walked down to the two women seated below me. I asked them the names of the teams. The EA Hammerheads in blue were playing Orange Crush in orange. The fans told me I should root for the EA team since they were. Orange Crush had a female goalie which had me thinking that I might have stumbled onto an all women’s team. After much study however, I decided all the other players were men.
Orange Crush was leading the whole game. In the 4th quarter the EA goalie skated to the sidelines allowing an easy goal for the Orange Crush. The final score was Orange Crush 5, EA Hammerheads 3. Terry told me Matt played a pretty good defensive game. I think that the Fire Ants is a great name for a team. I get itchy just thinking about it. The RDV Sportsplex offers endless sketch opportunities. I wish it was a little closer to home.