First impressions of the BREC from a BSU alum

I was attending BSU when the vote came through to go ahead with the construction of the BREC. Back then, however, it didn’t matter much to me, because I figured I’d be long gone by the time it was actually open.

I was wrong.

My husband, Mike, is also a Beaver hockey fan and still a student at BSU, so our connection to the team and community is strong even though we’re 100 miles away.

With the new center finally opening with a game against the University of North Dakota, getting a seat became quite a hot commodity. I had my friend Erika, who is lives in Bemidji, try to snag me tickets from all directions. Finally, thanks to Mike’s dad, we were able to score a pair to the weekend’s sell-out games.

But it gets even better. Thursday afternoon, a fellow co-worker of mine was able to get a hold of a few connections and swindle me a press pass to take photos of the game, particularly of two International Falls natives — Ryan Cramer and Drew Fisher.

This co-worker, who I will not name, is the sports editor for The Journal. Being the consummate sports news guy, he threatened to come after me with a boat paddle Monday morning if he found out I — or the rookie reporter as he referred to me — was representing our newspaper poorly by cheering or wearing BSU green. He said, “I just don’t want you to be the one getting laser-mean looks from other reporters in the press box.”

As we drove into the BREC parking lot Friday night, the streams of headlights and masses of people wearing BSU green and white was overwhelming. It really was what some were describing as “a field of dreams.” The outside of the facility was mesmerizing in itself. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what the inside might look like.

Getting to the inside was quite a challenge, though. Because I like reassurance, I was a little nervous being the “press” with a special door and not just a “fan,” who could use the main door. I didn’t know where to go and nobody seemed to have any answers for me. So, I paraded around with The Journal’s what-seemed-like 50-pound camera and finally found my way.

After deaking in and out of the BREC’s behind-the-scenes clutter, I stepped down the stairs into the press box and got my first glimpse of the beautiful arena. I literally stood in awe for a minute before remembering the threats from my co-worker and that I was supposed to be professional. Among the National Hockey League scouts and television crews, I found “Emily Gedde” scrawled onto a name tag near one of the seats. I’m pretty sure my shoulders went back and I puffed out my chest a little over how important I felt.

I was a little bummed that I wasn’t getting to share the experience with Mike and feared he’d be sitting all the way across the Robert H. Peters rink, but against the odds, there he came up the stairs to sit in a row of seats just below the press box. Who would have thought? He was so excited that he whipped out his camera to start taking pictures of me — real professional. He also felt the need to wave uncontrollably as if he wasn’t making enough of a scene already. I snarled at him to sit down, but secretly had to hide my smile that I was excited to have him so close.

As the BREC came to life and the seats started to fill up, the Beavers entered the ice. As the crowd erupted into cheers, I sat back with my camera and treated it like I did this kind of work all the time. The guy on the other side of me got a little too into the warm-up music and was singing “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees. I’m guessing he took attention away from me.

As the game started, I began snapping pictures of Drew and Ryan. It was neat to watch these guys who were once Broncos now suit up in Beaver gear. International Falls should be proud of its excellence, having two players on the BSU roster.

I was doing such a good job keeping myself reserved until it happened — the Beavers scored the first goal. Don’t worry unnamed co-worker, I was able to catch myself before I rose to my feet to celebrate. Cramer got the assist on the first ever goal scored in the BREC, and Drew was on the ice when it happened. Way to represent, fellas.

Saturday night, I didn’t go as the press, so I threw on my Beaver T-shirt and attended the game as a committed fan. Even though the Beavers were swept by the Sioux — 5-2 both nights — it was a winning experience. I cannot believe a facility like that exists in Bemidji. Looking back, I enjoyed every minute of my sports writer debut and am thrilled I got to be a part of BREC history.