TSB Bank Arena.....

The TSB Bank Arena is a venue, here in the city, that plays host to a wide variety of events. To give you an idea of it's size it can seat up to 5000 people (max capacity). A couple weeks ago, Phillip, a guy that works in the same lab as Tim, invited us to attend a basket ball game there. While we are avid hockey fans and, really, pay no attention whatsoever to basketball, we decided to accept the invitation and see what basketball in NZ is like. We had a good time watching and the game was a close one all the way until the end.

It was a few weeks later that we arrived at the TSB to watch an entirely different kind of 'sport'. I put that in quotes because I really don't know where roller derby fits into the vast realm of athletics. :) To be fair the only thing I knew about roller derby, prior to the match, was what I learned watching Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It. It's a story about a girl, Ellen Page, who secretly joins a roller derby team, much to the chagrin of her parents. So going to the match I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought, "Would it be anything like the movie?". Upon arriving we found our seats and took in the "rink" that was marked off with tape on the gymnasium floor. We also noticed that the other fans were an interesting mix, NOTHING like the fans with whom we had attended the basketball game in the same building. I love how different activities bring out vastly different subgroups of people. :) The only bad thing? I went to take a picture with the camera only to find that the memory card was missing! So I'll have to post pics of these roller derby ladies when we attend the next match. I did get a sweet button for my bag to support the team that dubbed themselves Smash Malice. :)

Just this weekend we attended a non-sporting event at the TSB: Armageddon Expo 2012. Imagine Comic-Con in a miniaturized form. Tim is the comic connoisseur of the two of us but I have to admit that I've become a fan as well. I'm really getting into stories like Green Lantern, V for Vendetta and Hellboy. Who knew? Anyway, we waited in line with the masses, many of whom were dressed up for such an occasion. We saw costumes from the DC and Marvel universes as well as Lord of the Rings and a myriad of others that either I didn't recognize or they weren't really character costumes. :) Once we got inside we sat in on a screening of the animated feature: Justice League: Doom. Afterwards we walked through the expo to check out the booths. You could find clothing, buttons, samurai swords, action figures, comic books, video games, and Alien ware gaming computers. There was even a booth devoted to the art of facial prostheses. Basically, if you wanted to look like a non-human character from a movie or game they could change your face with makeup and other materials. It was pretty cool to watch. After awhile meandering through the masses was getting tiring so we went upstairs to look down over the whole expo.

Overall, I think it's interesting that here in NZ basketball, roller derby and comic conventions draw about the same number of people to their respective events. :) With that said we're looking forward to other fun and interesting events that TSB will host in the future.