For longtime St. Louis Blues fan Gary Brewer Jr., Thursday marked the first time in years he could skip work and partake in home opener festivities. This year, the main party took place at Union Station in Midtown.
He and his wife Heather Brewer went all out.
“[Heather’s] like, you're off. We're getting a [Sky Suite], we're hanging out. We're gonna actually enjoy ourselves,” Brewer Jr. said. It’s only fitting: the couple had their first date at a Blues hockey game exactly 10 years ago.
“I didn’t know hockey. I was always a baseball girl, and so I'm sitting there, and I'm realizing, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm with this crazy person.’ Because he's jumping up, he's screaming, he's yelling things like ‘zebra’, ‘moose’ — because Brian Elliot was the goalie back then — and I'm like, ‘I am never doing this again,’” she said.
But by the end of the game, Brewer realized her whole world was about to change. She fell in love with hockey — and the man.
Not only did she go on to marry Brewer, who took her to her first Blues hockey game, she became the president of the St. Louis area's first-and-largest all-female Jeep club, the Midwest Off-RoadHers. And her jeep? St. Louis Blues themed.
The St. Peters couple are optimistic about the season to come, despite the Blues losing 5-0 to the Minnesota Wild Thursday night.
“This team looks like the [2019] team,” Brewer Jr. said. “We got new guys that are coming in that I think are really going to add to the team, make the team even better. And I'm ecstatic.”
Chris Zimmerman, CEO of the St. Louis Blues, said this year is about “new starts and a new look,” referencing the new Blues home uniforms.
“I think the exciting thing for us is the impact that the St. Louis fans have on this team,” Zimmerman said during the pregame celebration. “I know our players feel it in the building when St. Louis is behind them. It makes a really big difference, and we start this year wanting to really respect that and to feed off of all that energy that our fans bring to our team.”
‘Unofficial St. Louis holiday’
Hundreds of hockey fans from across the region gathered with their friends and family to enjoy the live music and games in their best blue and gold, including Chris and Kieth Wigger of Wentzville.
The brothers were decked out in team jerseys, blue and gold facepaint — and wigs.
“It's the best holiday that's unofficial for St. Louis, the home opener for the Blues. There's nothing better than Blues hockey,” Chris Wigger said.
The season opener celebrations have become a tradition for friends Cecilia Griffin of south St. Louis and Morgan Brandt of Midtown..
They said they’re feeling hopeful for the season.
“We make mistakes, but we come back bigger and better,” Griffin said. “You live and you learn. We can do it this year guys, we know they can,” Brandt added.
See more photos of opening day celebration by STLPR Engagement Producer Paola Rodriguez:
