TreyDoja | 07-28-2008 03:38 PM | Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundy
(Post 5962858)
It's fun if you do it rarely to occasionally... it's a chore if you have to do it on a regular basis. Don't forget that even a measly one-hour flight from Vancouver to Calgary can easily eat up four to five hours of your day: fight traffic to the airport (making sure to arrive the recommended hour before your boarding time for domestic flights, two+ hours for international), find parking, haul all your shit to check-in, stand in line at check-in, fill out the little baggage tags (carpal tunnels!), stand in line again at security, pull your pants back up as the security dweeb is taking off his gloves, make your way to the farthest possible gate, try to get comfortable in the crappy plastic seats, attempt to relax for a half-hour or more before your boarding call, stand in line again to flash your boarding pass, fight your way through the plane to your seat, try to cram your shit in the overhead bins, sit still for another half-hour while the plane is loading and then taxiing, try to get a brief nap in for the hour you're in the air while someone's kid is kicking the back of your seat, try to stay relaxed as your plane seems to be descending toward the runway awfully fast, fight your way again through the crowds inching their way off the plane, make your way FROM the farthest possible gate to the baggage claim, wait around for another half hour for your shit to appear on the carousel, make your way to the car rental desk or the taxi stand...
Now imagine you have to do all this, then go skate around with other 240-pound guys crashing into you for three solid hours, then do it all over again... okay, sure, they have it a LITTLE easier, because they don't have to deal with the traffic and parking and crowds so much... but it can still get REALLY F'N TIRING when you're doing it on a regular basis.
Oh, and a three-hour time difference can really mess with your body, especially if you're going east-to-west, because a 7-10pm game suddenly feels like 10pm-1am. | As Vancouver is a Western team, our games are the latest that there is. Should Vancouver be playing in the East and say a game starts at 7pm(which it normally does), that means it's still on 4pm here. So, in reality, it would feel as though it's a 4pm game when they are out East. When they get back, their bodies should be fully acquainted with the time.
And Jetlag isn't a constant thing for everyone, not everyone feels this effect. I, for one, have flown to Europe before, and Southeast Asia on many occasions. Not once have I ever felt the effects of Jetlag. Getting acquainted with time is quite easy.
And if someone's job entails having to travel quite a bit, I'm quite positive that they will be quite mentally prepared for this type of 'exhaustion'. I've had to travel to Ottawa, and Edmonton on different occasions and it's really not that exhausting at all.
Do you really think that they don't know how much time is needed in order to board a flight? After travelling enough times, I know that you don't have to actually check in until 45 mins before flight happens as doors to the plane don't open until 30mins before take-off. I'm positive that everything is streamlined so that players don't have to carry a suitcases upon suitcases of clothing, and they don't have to wait around the merry-go-round of suitcases for their belongings.
Honestly, it's a part of their job description to be travelling for games and after doing it for years, i'm pretty sure most will take it in as nothing. Really, the only problems that may come up is the stress level of travelling to 3 different cities in 4 days, having to catch planes after games, etc., but even then they should be quite used to it. |