House of Dows

by Stephen Dowson

Hello everyone,

I haven’t blogged at all this season. I feel quite bad about it. The good people at BIH gave me my first go at hockey journalism and i’ve ignored them all season.

For good reason though, honestly.

Basically I’ve lucked out massively and via virtue of me sending an email a couple of months ago I’ve been volunteering with the Steelers, mainly helping out in filling gaps on match nights, and having a ton of fun. Originally I started working on some new stabs for the breaks in play and I have just been very very lucky. Since then I’ve helped create a new intro (yes THAT one and yes it wasn’t great but yeah I’m proud), DJ’d at Ice Sheffield games, been a match night announcer (vs Braehead) and had the honour of helping to induct Ron Shudra into the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.

About 4 months ago I answered an email that Maraini Phillips had sent out to all Steelers fans. She was clarifying that the club was for sale and that she was doing everything she could do keep the club going. I read it with the usual interest a fan does but the bit at the bottom got me interested

‘if anybody has ideas to help the club then please come forward…’

Now, every hockey fan has ideas that could revolutionise their club. Like that time me and my mate suggested players should be allowed to wear speed skates or the idea I had (whilst drunk I might add) that mascots should have to take the first shot in a shootout.

I did genuinely, however, think that the match night experience at the Arena had dipped and I thought some of the music I had been working with could help change that.

I was amazed when the office got back in touch saying they would like me to come down and play around with some of the ideas they had. I remember doing quite an impressive jig.

My first experience meeting with the Sheffield staff was, and has continued to be, incredibly positive; they were immensely warm and welcoming. Listening to my harebrained ideas and being honest with what they liked and didn’t like. Bob Phillips has a lot of critics but I can honestly say that both he and his wife made me feel completely like part of the ‘family’ from day one. They liked the stabs and asked me to write a new intro for the players. The end product, although to everyone’s liking, is still something I’m proud of and can at least look back and say ‘I did that’.

After my intro debuted I thought that would be it in terms of helping out but I found myself helping out in all kinds of ways backstage which eventually culminated in filling in as announcer for one night.

Those 3 hours created some of the most stressful moments of my life. People have asked what’s it like being in the whitehouse calling the show. ‘Numbers’ I say ‘it’s just a ton of numbers.’ It’s still the best way of summing it up, all you get in your headset is just a wave of numbers ‘number 17 no sorry 19 coming in I think its 2 minutes for hooking, called at 22:36… oh yes its against the Steelers an’ all’ Frantically scribbling it all down desperately trying to remember what sponsor to call. Goals aren’t much more fun. Instead of leaping for joy you try and see the scorer and then numbers again come into your headset ‘goal 21 from 17 from 75 time at 26:32’ Was it a powerplay goal? How many has Ashley scored tonight? Who are the shirt sponsors?

The level of banter you get as a newbie gives an added edge to the night ‘ He sounds like Simmsy on helium, is he a bingo caller?’. As soon as the team realised I could give as good as I got they were simply brilliant at keeping me up to speed all night, something they do week after week for little credit.

Paul Ragan taking over the club changed a lot, not just for me but for the club as a whole. There is a new vibe and a lot of new faces helping out behind the scenes, volunteers who hadn’t helped in years began to come back and most noticeably Dave Simms was asked to return. Full credit to Dave, he rang me on the day he was offered the job to let me know what the score was, another man with his critics but it took a lot of class to ring me to say that he would be back as announcer.

So in a weird way I kind of found myself jobless, I was still being asked to come help out but without any real clear idea of what they wanted me to do. Some nights I was helping sponsors, others I was acting as a runner.

Neil Edwards spotted this, many of you know him as Nemesis on the Steelers forums and as a onetime goaltender of the Steelers, he offered me the chance to come and chat on Steelnight Live! during the game. I took him up on his offer and he and Dave Grant did a short interview with me. Dave took me to one side and asked if I fancied sticking around for the second period break. I gave some more ‘insight’ and that was that, so I thought. Dave asked me to come back and help call the game next week at Cardiff. Play-by-play commentator was then added to the list.

And that’s where you currently find me. Having a lot of fun with Steelnight Live! and thinking that I should at least earn some media points while I’m at it. So my blog is back and I’ll be looking at all sides of the sport, not just in Steelerland but around the country. You can read them here or get them with added bonuses at http://thedows.tumblr.com

Until Next Time,

Dows

P.S Massive thanks also have to go to Andy Turner, the Operations Manager at the Steelers, he had a lot of faith in some random Geordie and he deserves credit for how fantastically he has kept the club going during the end of the Phillips era and how he will keep them going forward.

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Cardiff	0-3	Basingstoke
12th March 2006 19:00
Coventry	5-3	Sheffield
12th March 2006 19:00
Edinburgh	4-5	Belfast
12th March 2006 19:00
Newcastle	1-4	Nottingham
12th March 2006 19:00
Basingstoke	4-4	Cardiff
11th March 2006 19:00
Newcastle	2-4	Coventry
11th March 2006 19:00

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

Chelmsford	5-8	Telford
19th March 2006 19:00
Hull	5-1	Wightlink
19th March 2006 19:00
Romford	4-1	Milton Keynes
19th March 2006 19:00
Slough	5-2	Swindon
19th March 2006 19:00
Solihull	3-7	Bracknell
19th March 2006 19:00
Sheffield	1-1	Guildford
19th March 2006 19:00

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

	Club	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts

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