Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2024 Mayor’s Cup hockey game between the Union College Garnet Chargers and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers. If you don’t know, the Mayor’s Cup, in the simplest terms, is an annual non-conference hockey match-up between the rival institutions. This year marks the eleventh Mayor’s Cup. Taking place this year at MVP Arena in Albany, the Mayor’s Cup was quite the nai-lbiter and resulted in a huge win for Union’s Men’s Hockey team. 

If you didn’t attend the Mayor’s Cup yourself, allow me to break it down for you. The matchup resulted in a 5-3 win over RPI, with five individual players credited with each winning goal. This win would mark three consecutive victories for Union, so, needless to say, both players and fans were on the edge of their seats. With one goal scored for Union within the first two minutes of gameplay, the excitement was uncontainable. As the two teams headed into the second period, Union widened the gap by scoring another impressive three goals in a mere twenty minutes. Union’s fifth and final goal was scored during the third period of the game, securing the victory for the Garnet Chargers.

Off the ice, the crowd was dialed in and the atmosphere was intense, to say the least. Just under 6,000 fans showed up to support both teams at MVP Arena. While I love the support (what can I say, I went there, too), what I didn’t love so much was the crowding! As a claustrophobic anxiety-ridden little first-year, nonnative to Schenectady, Albany, or anywhere else in New York, I was scared. Not to say that there was anything technically wrong with the stadium and the organization of the event, I guess I’m just more dramatic than I thought.

While the close-quarters seating arrangement was…let’s just say not the most enjoyable for me, the event’s saving grace was undoubtedly the concessions. With my graciously-donated meal voucher, provided by Union’s Association of Campus Events (ACE) Student Club and Student Forum, I got what any respectable adult would get: chicken tenders and fries. You may think these foods are the simpleton’s choice, but, let me tell you, chicken tenders and fries have proven difficult for some (how, I do not know). Luckily, the dedicated staff of MVP Arena concessions did their finest and provided me with an absolutely delectable meal to go with such a riveting game.

You may think that combination would have satiated me far enough, but I still craved more. I mean, what’s dinner and a show without a little sweet treat to round it out? As I sat in my tiny little stadium seat, trying to devote my attention to the historic game in front of me, I couldn’t help myself in pondering what sugary confection I was going to spend a ridiculous amount of money on. And then it hit me. Well, it didn’t hit me, it kind of just walked by me. But nonetheless, I saw it: fried dough bites, smelling concerningly of hot oil and covered in a generous dusting of powdered sugar. Immediately, I directed my friends’ attention to the dessert, and we sent our aisle-sitting friend to go secure them. 

Moments later, I get a call from said friend—they also have bites coated in cinnamon sugar. At that moment, deep within me, carnival memories from my youth were resurfaced, detailing my favorite fried dough dessert with equal toppings of both cinnamon and powdered sugar. Well, I guess it wasn’t that poetic, but something within me did lead me to the conclusion that we just had to have both. I soon realized that was a mistake. Yes, I loved the taste of these little sugar coated confections. Yes, I was able to come to terms with the fact that combined, they cost me around 20 dollars. But, we just could not finish them all, despite our best efforts. Trust me, we did try (probably too hard) to enjoy every last bite of the dessert, but we eventually ate ourselves sick. It was a sad day for my personal work on impulse control, but a fantastic day for my sweet tooth.

While I just spent copious amounts of words and my personal time retelling this specific fried dough fiasco, I genuinely did have a good time at the Mayor’s Cup this year. Hockey is one of my favorite sports to watch, especially at the collegiate level for some reason, and this matchup did not leave me unsatisfied in any way. That Saturday, I was looking for a good game, and I most definitely got one.