Watching Live Professional Sports for Free

Though my husband loves football and I do not, we both agree that we love going to hockey games. We used to go to several games each season. We’d sit in the nosebleed section and cheer and always had a great time. Then they raised ticket prices and our income was reduced, so we stopped going to games. We missed it.

Listening to Coach Boudreau explain a play.

Well, recently I figured out a way we could watch our beloved Capitols play for free. We could go to their practices!

Varlamov at the net.

We went for the first time yesterday morning (Chuk had yesterday off of work) and it was SO MUCH FUN. They ran drills and had scrimmages. We stood right at the glass and were delighted each time someone got “checked” right where we were standing. During the drills, about a quarter of the players were waiting for their turn to shoot just feet away from us. Seats that close at a game would cost us at least $345 each.

Backstrom and Semin. The glass between us is very scratched.

It was different than a game, for sure, but it was still awesome. There wasn’t the same frenetic energy, anticipation and suspense that there is at a game. Instead there was a thrill of being so close to world-class athletes and frivolity in seeing their personalities when they don’t have their “game faces” on.


Laich, he's so hot.

Alex Ovechkin’s (our star player and the NHL’s MVP) dad, sister-in-law, and nephew were in the stands watching the practice too. Every time Ovechkin scored a goal, he looked up to his dad in the bleachers as if to ask, “Did you see that?” It was so neat to see someone who is the very best in his field still seeking the approval of a parent. It’s a dynamic we’d never see in a game.

Ovechkin

If you live in the Washington-metro area, I would definitely recommend you check out a Caps practice. Even if you don’t like sports, I guarantee you’ll have fun. They practice in Ballston, which is metro accessible, but if you drive, it only costs $1 to park for three hours. Frugal outing indeed!

Green

We were behind Mike Green's Lamborghini as we were driving home. I wanted to follow him home for a split second, but I already felt like a stalker talking pictures of his car. He saw me in his rear view mirror. It was embarrassing.


Green's Lambo