by Bailey, AllHabs.net

TORONTO, ON. — Last weekend, I was given the opportunity to go out to the Mastercard Centre to watch CBC’s hit reality show: Battle of the Blades.

I will admit something to the AllHabs.net family right now: I have never watched this show.

Ever.

I love figure skating. I love hockey. The two of them together had made me incredibly skeptical. To me, it was like mixing oil and water. I didn’t want to see hockey players attempt to figure skate! What absolute silliness. Another reality show that was going to grace the airwaves and fall to the wayside. Right? Right?

Wrong.

I started to research the whole idea behind Battle of the Blades, and was very curious about what I found. I started watching old video from previous seasons, and was very impressed by the talent that I saw. But what I was even more excited about, was the fact that all these hockey players really did take it seriously, and that the prize money, all went to charity. Good charities.

So, phase one of getting Bailey to like Battle of the Blades was complete. Good causes, good hearts.

When I got to the MasterCard Centre on Sunday, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Halloween is big for everyone here, and seeing so many kids with costumes on and the signs – and not just kids, but adults. Grown adults. Wearing costumes and holding signs. I sat next to a young couple, right in the front row, and they told me that they’d been watching the show since it first started, and it was the first time they were seeing it live.

And what a show it was.

I will have to admit, that even though I was live-blogging through the whole thing, I don’t think the words can do it justice. These are hockey players. HOCKEY PLAYERS! There is a huge difference between hockey skates, and figure skates. There is a huge difference, skating with a stick, and lifting a woman over your head, while on skates. And it was amazing to watch. Each performance was different, each performance was professional and amazing and all kinds of fun. And Tessa Bonhomme – the first female hockey player on Battle of the Blades – was amazing with David Pelletier. She let him flip her upside down and SKATE ACROSS THE ICE.

I got to be in the presence of Katarina Witt. One of the most decorated female figure skaters out there. (And one of Stevo’s crushes!!) She was fair and spoke highly of each contestant, making sure that she gave constructive criticism, and not just fluffy stuff.

Jeremy Roenick, JR (dressed as the devil. Or a character from Kiss, I couldn’t tell) – was more focused on Katarina at some points, but I found him to be critical as well. Sometimes with ‘guest judges’, they don’t give enough feedback, but he was really good, too.

I got to see Kurt Browning perform. How can you not be excited about Kurt Browning?

Okay, I am getting excited just writing it all down.

On Monday (the results show), the mood was distinctly different. I suppose it makes people nervous to find out their fate as decided by voters. I was shocked by the result, though. Violetta Afanasieva and Cale Hulse were voted off, and I remember sitting in my seat (and practically rolling onto the ice), and being all OH NO! They’d had one of the more memorable performances of the night, and it was so cute and fun (along with the fact that Cale swung her around by one hand while she did the splits, no big deal) – that I was very surprised that they let them go.

But I suppose that is the method in the madness that is Battle of the Blades. The voters had spoken. There were lots of hugs that went around, and it was a very sombre mood indeed. However, Cale and Violetta recieved money for their respective charities, which is pretty awesome, too.

So, I am officially a converted girl. From Ron McLean’s awful puns, to the fun and magic that could only come from a very creative (and genious) idea run by the CBC, Battle of the Blades is something that should not be missed. I got to meet and talk with the players after the first taping, and you could see it in them, that they really enjoyed this, and that they still hold that high-level of competition in them that they had in the NHL. Everyone has their families there, they all enjoy and love the experience, and it’s very easy to see, that they do it, because they want to do it, and not because they’re being pushed. It’s a very well organized, fun, exciting experience, that everyone should at least experience once.

I want to thank Stephanie from the Battle of the Blades, and the CBC, and of course AllHabs.net for letting me experience this first hand. And for all you BotB fanatics – tune into CBC on Sunday when they start their solo performances! I know I’ll be tuning in.