Photo: @Caleb_Adams3
The sweltering heat and bright shining sun didn’t deter Washington Capitals fans from standing in line for hours on end for a chance to take a picture with the coveted Stanley Cup today. The high in DC was a scorching 93 degrees (33 degrees celsius), and with little shade in nearby Arlington, Virginia, home of the Kettler Capitals Iceplex and today’s Fan Fest activities, fans refused to be discouraged by the summer weather.
With the cool ice of Kettler waiting just beyond the complex’s walls, fans lined up as early as 10:30 pm the night before to get their moment of glory with the Stanley Cup. The event spanned a total of 4 hours and had a number of goings on for fans to be a part of.
First and foremost, the main attraction of the Caps Fan Fest was the opportunity for fans to take a picture with the Stanley Cup. The attendants had to abide by certain rules for their photo opportunity, such as each person could appear in only one photo. This meant that the option of group or solo photos had to be decided upon by the each party prior to their arrival at the Cup’s photo shoot.
The photos were taken by a photographer; no cell phones or personal cameras were allowed to be used by the public. And finally, much to the chagrin of many fans, the line was cut off at 1:15 pm, meaning anyone who arrived later than that did not get their chance to take a picture with the Cup. If you had your picture taken with the Stanley Cup at the Caps Fan Fest, please share it with us via Facebook or Instagram (@Nova_Caps) to have it featured in a post later this week.
Photo: @TheHersheyBears
Even Slapshot and Coco made it out for a fun day with fans!
Meanwhile, on the Kettler mezzanine, the staple Capitals Equipment Auction was open to the public for the duration of the event. Here, fans could purchase game-used items ranging from pucks, to sticks, to jerseys, to gloves. All this, while still having brand new Capitals gear such as hats and t-shirts up for grabs as well.
Just a very small sample of the amazing items up for grabs at the annual equipment sale!
Meanwhile, just a few rooms away, fans could watch the Caps Developmental Camp Training Scrimmage from 10 – 11:30 AM. Here, fans could sit in and watch as Hershey stars and the latest draftees took drills and rushes for the Capitals’ coaching staff. After the players had their time on the ice, there was a free skate period for the remaining time in the event.
Washington goalie prospects seen here after having gone through their share of drills. Washington’s net appear to be in good hands for many seasons to come!
And at 2 o’clock PM, the ice was cleared of skaters and the Stanley Cup went on its way as well to conclude the event. A number of fans expressed displeasure with the fact they did not get their chance to be photo graphed with the Cup. The Washington Capitals did address the problem, and if you were among those turned away before you made it to the Cup, please follow the instructions in the tweet below.
We appreciate your patience as we moved through as many fans as possible to take a picture with the Stanley Cup. If you were in line and did not receive a photo, please fill out the form link below and we will communicate future photo opportunities to you.https://t.co/zvjE4fSSwE
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 30, 2018
By: Chris Laroche
I’m glad they’re giving fans another chance to get a picture with the Cup. I know it was not feasible for everyone to come camp out at some wee hour of the morning. Since I was a season ticket holder who already had gotten a picture with the Cup, I didn’t do it again and watched the prospects’ scrimmage instead.
My group arrived at 10:30am. The line was not cut off at 1:15. They cut the line off at 11:00am bc they knew they were never going to get through all those people. This was really poor planning. We stood in line in a hot garage with minimal air flow for 3 1/2 hours and did not get our photo. Hopefully we will get a chance another time this fall.
Booo
Hello, I arrived today at 10:30am and stood in line for 5 hours before an announcement was made that they would not get to the section of the line that I was in and had to leave. I completely understand the logistics of having a larger crowd than anticipated as I also work in events, but I just read in the instructions in the tweet to enter a ticket number? I stood there until after 3:30pm and was never given a ticket. I’m not sure what the ticket was for, but if it allows line priority at future events, I am very disappointed this wasn’t handed out earlier when it was obvious to event staff that the line was too long. I did not get to enjoy any other aspects of the event as I stood in line from when it started until after 3:30pm when you all extended the time the Cup would be there. Please reach out to me regarding the purpose of the tickets and if anything can be honored for the time I spent there today and being told to leave empty handed (without having my picture taken or a ticket given to me) I was with 2 friends and we were all looking for an individual picture. Thank you for your help and thank you to the staff for their hard work despite the unexpected circumstances.
I apologize NOVACAPS. I thought I was still on the Capitals “survey” page from Twitter when I commented. I don’t expect you’ll be able to help me, but if you do know who to contact, that would be great 🙂
H
The planning with photo copied canyon signs was a sh!t show. The cup should of been given it’s TRUE respects and the fans in the shade. Glad I did not see anyone in need of medical attention due to the heat and lines in the sun, before being told they couldn’t see the cup alone get a picture. The parking garage at Ballston became an outdoor BATHROOM, thus SH!t SHOW.
What was stated above isn’t exactly correct. At 2PM, when Fanfest was suppose to be done, they announced they were extending it by another 2 hours. By that point, everything was done except the picture with the Cup line. I left around 3PM, which was 6 hours after I got there. While I did get my picture with the Cup, I really hope they have many more opportunities for everyone to get a chance to see it. It sounds like they really under-estimated the number of people who would come out to see it which is surprising given the number of people that were at the watch parties.
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