Earlier today, I was chatting with an old friend of mine I have known for a number of years now. We met through a mutual friend while living in Montreal -- the mutual friend is a hockey player I know from "back home" in Toronto ... but as we were chatting today, I was kind of curious.
"I'm sure you know we're friends from back home, but how do YOU know him?" I asked.
My guy pal then spun me the most interesting tale. He was at an establishment often frequented by our mutual friend. He said, "My friend who was out with me saw him at the bar and said she was interested, but when I told her to go talk to him, she said she was too shy. So, I went over and said hi, and we realized we had friends in common ... and then I ran into him again at the gym, and he invited me to a party he was having at his house ... and the rest is history."
I have heard of this going the other way, and I have even helped some male friends out by playing female wing-man, but the thought of being a female having a male wingman never really crossed my mind.
I think this could be a very interesting concept, if used correctly. I always describe it to my male friends (by having me be the wing-man) as this: you see a girl you like, and it's a lot easier for me to go over and say, "Oh, wow, I really like your purse/top/shoes/nails ... where did you get that?" and then your buddy comes over, and you say, "Oh, hey, Mike, this is my new friend ... um, sorry, I didn't catch your name!" and go from there.
I feel like this could go both ways. Not sure how a guy could strike up a random convo with some random dude, but I think I'm going to have to do a little field research on this scenario.
Though, if you're without a male wing-man, and you're playing wing-man for your gal pal, take heed.
The mutual friend scenario is easy to work with. One of hockey player's favourite games other than hockey is "omg -- do you know so-and-so!?" (I know this because I know nearly everybody under the sun, and this game has gotten me quite far.) Unfortunately, you're likely not always going to have mutual friends if you're in a strange city or you're not well-connected.
The second-best game to start picking their brain is "omg -- remember when ___" and insert something you think they may have been a part of (come-from-behind win, brawl, anything you can think of ... except for that night's game. NOT a good idea. Don't use it. You look like a tool.) They like to tell stories, so if you can get them started, they'll likely just keep talking. That's when you get your friend to come over and listen to the story, look interested and wait for a pause in the tale long enough to intro your friend aaaaaaaaand you're in.
Just remember - everyone in hockey knows everyone else by proxy. So be prudent. If you're going to creep him on Hockey DB from your phone before you strike up the convo, do it when he's not looking ... or better yet, do it in the bathroom. There is some info you can use to your advantage on there for sure, though. Another easy one is to find someone you know he's been ... (did he play at the 2004 World Jrs in Helsinki? Wait. Canada lost. He probably doesn't want to talk about that) then keep that in mind when you say, "I've been thinking of going to ___ on my holidays this summer ... ever been?"
Another hockeydb bad move is finding out he played with someone REALLY famous ... and then continually asking him about it. "Omg seriously!? You played with John Tavares!? I LOVE JT ... " he has probably heard that 900 times ... "omg - do you know ... " works a lot better if it doesn't involve a high-profile guy.
Problems:
1. Hockey players travel in packs. There will be many of them around, and likely, your friend will want on a hot one, whose roommate/best friend/linemate is probably some raggamuffin with missing teeth and bad hair, with whom you may get stuck. Try to avoid this at all costs.
2. There will be one drunk douchebag. Every team has one. He might be puking in the bathroom, hitting on every girl in the bar and/or high on percocets and wearing a coat he picked up off some guy's bar stool while buddy was in the bathroom. Avoid this guy.
3. Your friend doesn't want to go where you are going. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE ALONE WITH ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW! If you can't convince your girl(s) to tag along to the next party destination, don't go. (You'll be pissed off at the time, but you'll thank me later.)
4. Other girls ... When you're going to go have a few more beers at somebody's house and other girls tag along, bite your tongue. This can get ugly and hostile. If you or a friend do get involved in an altercation, leave. Just leave.
Happy hunting, ladies -- and if anyone has any successful field research regarding the male wing-man scenario, please let me know how it goes!
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