But the fans were too busy sucking the air out of the building on their own to notice how little air the Flyers left them to do just that. Scan the crowd at any time, and someone was closing their eyes or covering their mouth, or both.
Someone even fell asleep in the press box during the dreadful second period.
And he was getting paid to watch.
Fans paid as much as $135 a ticket to snooze upright. The Sixers hand out hamburger gift certificates every time they eclipse 100 points. The Flyers might want to consider gift cards to Sleepy's after clunkers like this one.
They announced the attendance as another sellout, of course, but the only indication of that was in the packed bars that inhabit the corridors. By the middle of the second period, the arena itself was half-empty and half asleep, the annoyed and booming voice of Flyers coach Peter Laviolette reverberating into the rafters as he screamed at his team to "Skate! Skate!"
Laviolette repeated those instructions after the second period ended, using just a few more words.
"He was disappointed in our effort," Hartnell said. "I think collectively, looking around the room . . . It's not like you're not trying out there. The way we were playing, it's definitely not the way we can play against the Rangers or the Penguins or things like that. I don't know what it is about the Jets, whether we take them lightly or not. But it's got to be a lot different the next time we play them."
Said Jaromir Jagr, "He was upset even after the first period. I don't blame him. That's what happens when you have 5 days off. The other team didn't play well, either."
