from Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated,
Soundcheck time atop the band stage at Bridgestone Arena, three hours until the puck drops on the first conference finals this city has hosted—in any pro sport—and the Small-Time Rock Stars are tuning up. By now, after 200-some gigs spanning roughly 15 seasons, the name probably warrants an upgrade. From their perch above the Zamboni tunnel between Sections 110 and 111, they have jammed live alongside the likes of Charlie Daniels, Alice Cooper and Carrie Underwood. Of course the last celebrity act wasn't exactly difficult to book, being the exponentially more famous half of team captain Mike Fisher and all. But everyone else was equally eager. Music...hockey…“it’s all part of the DNA here,” says lead guitarist Steve Mandile, slipping into a Predators jersey. “The lines are pretty blurred.” ...
How far have the Predators come?
Gone are the “Hockey 101” classes meant to educate new fans on rules and tactics. Forgotten are the concerns about relocation, persistent until local business owners assembled to buy the team in Nov. ‘07. At one time, Nashville modeled itself on the Red Wings. “We were just nervous of them all the time,” Poile says. “We wanted to be like Detroit and beat Detroit.” When they finally did at the right time—in five games in the first round of ‘11-12—the Red Wings promptly changed conferences. “We’ve been chasing you for 10 years and you leave,” Poile would joke with counterpart Ken Holland. So the target then switched to Chicago; this spring’s series ended in a sweep. “As we go forward,” Poile says over a recent lunch, “that’s probably the confidence, the shot that we needed to have that belief.”
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