Schlitz Arena

My boss Dean is about my age and is a hockey fanatic. For several winters running, he and some friends gather together for a pick up hockey game every Saturday on Dean's backyard pond in Orono. Part of their pregame and postgame ritual is to indulge in a steady diet of Schlitz beer and powdered donuts (ewwww. The ensuing flatulence must look like a dust storm). As a joke, Dean sent an e-mail to Schlitz brewery informing them of their tradition and thus offered up naming rights to his hockey "arena". In exchange, the guys merely asked for a 12-pack of their favorite brew.

In his wildest dreams, Dean never thought the folks at Schlitz would take him up on his offer. Ah, but Schlitz Brewery actually exceeded expectations. Not only did they agree to purchase the naming rights, they held a ceremony to christen Schlitz Arena and upped the ante to three cases of beer per week!

As a result, a local media frenzy has ensued.

First it was a thirty second mention on KSTP channel 5, where they pronounced Dean's name incorrectly.

Then Pioneer Press guy Tom Powers dedicated an entire Sunday column to Schlitz Arena.

But the coup de grace was a three minute story on Fox 9 this past Saturday.

I'm thinking Dean and his pals may yet parlay this in to shouting "LET'S. PLAY. HOCKEYYYY!!!" at Xcel Energy Center prior to a Minnesota Wild game.

Either way, all this attention is exceeding the customary fifteen minutes.

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