AMA Travel Diaries: Shaking off Game 1, and the Tournament of Kings

Checking in from Vegas after a day off to recap the day and break down everything we learned about Game 1 after plenty of hindsight and moments of deep reflection.

Listen, I don’t need to tell anyone reading this about how disappointing Game 1 was from an Edmonton perspective. The boys struggled to gain traction for most of the game until they finally cranked up the urgency in the back half of the third period. It was one of those situations where the boys needed a minute or 45 to get their games in order with the obvious problem being that it was too late by the time they got there. We all know the story, I don’t need to rehash it now.

Down by one in the series after a game they’d likely want to forget, the real question for the Oilers heading into Game 2 is how they’ll respond after being a rung or two below where they’d like to be for performance in the opener. I think we would all agree that what we saw was nowhere close to the boys’ A-game, and that made us all feel as though the best is yet to come. Sure, one might suggest that we’re biased and hopeful, but the three of us still firmly believe that we can bounce back.

After the rage subsided and we recalibrated our senses, the three of us knocked out the work we had to do in the morning as quickly as we possibly could because the weather was great and we wanted to enjoy the scene. As I was writing yesterday’s AMA Travel Diaries, I was watching Tyler work behind the scenes on Daily Faceoff Live while Jay wandered around the parking lot taking an array of phone calls. As much as this trip down to Vegas was meant to be a blast — and it most certainly is — we’re also getting a lot of work done as well. And with the live show out of the way, radio hits in the bank, and a fresh Real Life podcast recorded, it was time to hit the streets and get our steps in.

By the time we finished knocking off our to-do list, the first and only thing Jay and I wanted to do was hit up the Taco Bell Cantina, a staple of any Nation Vacation. If you’ve never been, you may be thinking how dumb it is that we always talk about this place but the reality is that the vibes are always immaculate. The tunes are blasting, the drinks are flowing, and when you mix in a few tacos then you’ve got the makings of a damned fine little snack. Refueled and rehydrated, it was back out on the Strip to take some touristy photos, get our steps in, and soak up the sun.

If you’ve ever been down here before and love people watching as much as I do, you already know how cruising the strip for hours can be an activity in itself. So when we stopped to do an AMA For AMA Travel at the Bellagio fountains, I would have been happy just standing there and watching the world go by. Outvoted by a rambunctious young Tyler Yaremchuk, we continued on our way, popping in and out of the casinos to grab drinks and snacks as needed. After a few of these trips together at this point, I cracked up laughing to myself as we were walking after noticing my camera roll is chock full of pictures of Tyler and Jay, and that I’m starting to get really good at taking pictures of them. Note my fine work above.

After wandering the strip and posting up at varying patios, it was finally time to make our way back to the Excalibur for the Tournament of Kings. As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve always wanted to go to a medieval times show, and to do it in Vegas was the cherry on top. And once we got into the “arena” or whatever you call it, I knew I was in for a great time because it stunk like horses and I could see people with flashing swords and axes. What’s not to like?

As for the show itself, I could probably go on forever about how cool it was but I don’t want this post to go on forever so I’ll just wrap up the Tournament of Kings talk by saying that it was a great time. It was silly, it was loud, it was well-choreographed, and it was a lot of fun to scream and cheer like a kid for a few hours. To be honest, it was the perfect way to wrap up a day off and shake off any negative vibes that may have been lingering after the night one loss.

So what’s on deck for today? Good question. Obviously, we were expecting to watch Edmonton vs. Vegas in Game 2, but the league decided that we were getting an extra day off, and we’d love some ideas on what we should do with the extra time. If there’s something you think we should do while we wait for the next game, hit me up in the comments section.

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