New Jersey Devils New NHL Arena: The Prudential Center aka The Rock

This is the first example in the history of corporate sponsored arenas that I can remember, in which the rights holder (the insurance giant Prudential) has attached their famous tag-line (in this case, "The Rock") to the official name. Quite possibly it has been done before, but none could have been so appropriate and memorable as the one for the new home of the New Jersey Devils.

Some good reviews of The Rock around the hockey blogosphere. Over at AOL Fan House, there's a photo of a Devils' logo that appears atop the flushing mechanism in the arena bogs. Not sure if it's on top of a urinal or inside a stall. I would guess it's inside a stall, as my memories of using the facilities at the old Winnipeg Arena are of long troughs with po-faced, drunken schlepps emptying their beer-filled bladders between periods.

I've heard that the trough set-up is standard equipment in most other NHL barns. The logistics just wouldn't be feasible for any other type of arrangement. Thousands of mouth-breathing lunatics jacked up on alcohol and the excitement of the game they've been watching wouldn't work quite as well with individual urinals. The added waiting would be the main problem. And no doubt the porcelain would seem like an appropriate receptacle not just for rancid punter discharge but also for a good kicking on occasion.

The troughs always turned my guts mainly for the wretched miasma hanging over the whole spectacle and also because of the sickening potential for bacteria. I always made the effort to wait the extra few minutes for a private stall.

Years later while traveling through some of the nastiest back-waters on the planet, I wondered why anyone would ever use any kind of urinal in a public toilet. Standing vulnerable staring at a wall, just begging someone to bash your face into the concrete and steal your wallet. Add in the fact that leering and brazen deviants seem far more prevalent in some parts of the world and it's not worth the hassle.

I've slipped up a few times while in Thailand and opted for the urinal in what appeared to be a deserted restaurant toilet. There is a particular type of eating establishment in Thailand. Not in tourist areas, it's the kind that appeals to middle class Thais. It usually has outdoor tables with an attached bar and offers barbecue, seafood and a constant flow of pitchers of draught beer served up by sullen, underpaid staff. These kinds of restaurants often have a bathroom attendant.

The first time one of those loose-limbed, whistling little freaks ambled up behind me as I was standing at the pisser and started massaging the back of my neck in hopes of scoring a tip, I nearly flattened him with an elbow.

Just one more reason to avoid the urinals and head straight for a stall.