Dueling visions from hockey fans…
First, I’ll be upfront and state I have not attended a hockey game since the time the Goaldiggers were in Toledo so I can’t relate any personal experiences as to what Toledo hockey was like since those days. There is a letter to the editor today titled, Hockey fans boisterous, not rowdy that takes issue with a letter to the editor written on December 28th, titled, Hopefully, new arena will be fan-friendly.
There’s a clear difference in how both feel the hockey experience should be from today:
Fans at the Sports Arena took their hats off and stood reverently throughout the National Anthem. At the very end, in unison they yelled, “hit somebody” to show their desire for the physical style of hockey Toledo has always played to get the team fired up. Yes, sometimes fans were boisterous, but there was a family section for those who chose it. I love kids as much as the next guy but does everything have to be for the kids? Can’t the adults have any fun?
From December 28th:
I would suspect that most of the people doing the complaining are the same Goaldigger windbreaker-wearing buffoons whose activities at Storm games included the lacing of our National Anthem with a robust “hit somebody.”
That is not even mentioning the profanity-laden tirades from the men and women in attendance with their young children in tow. When did attending a hockey game become an opportunity to curse at the top of your lungs?
I hope a new arena gives families a nice, clean, fanfriendly environment to enjoy the sport that I have grown up loving so much.
The yelling of a word or a phrase during or after the National Anthem isn’t something that is just done here in Toledo at hockey games. In Atlanta some yell “knights” during the national anthem. There is actually even a song Hit Somebody!, and the debate of fans yelling during the National Anthem has been a topic of media coverage in many places, California, D.C., Kansas City, and I could go on…
This would be a great opportunity to discuss what the realistic expectations are for a new arena…
Ahhhhh those good ol’ Goaldigger days! Rowdiness at it’s finest!
January 13th, 2008 at 9:35 amYes. Fans, lighten up. Hey, I like a little rowdiness at the games. What’s wrong with a few people yelling “Hit somebody!” at the end of the Anthem. It’s not being disrespectful to our country. It’s just plain fun and it gets the crowd fired up. If you don’t like it, go to the opera. In the old days of the Chicago Stadium, the Blackhawks fans would be cheering throughout the entire playing of the National Anthem, and I didn’t hear or read about that being disrespectful.
January 13th, 2008 at 3:34 pmTell the east siders to lighten up due to the fact the arena is being built in downtown!
January 13th, 2008 at 3:43 pmWhat do people expect when they go to hockey game?
January 13th, 2008 at 11:30 pmI have been the abnoxious drunk college fan, the loud boisterous colleg and semi-pro fan, and also a parent with kids in the stands, little of these games here in Toledo.
So I am torn, yes I like a roudy crowd, but I do not want my 10 year old to get too much of an education at the games. BUT, most of the arena’s I have been in, drunk college kids included, have kept it reasonable around kids.
Yes there needs to be a family section with affordable tickets, and likewise people should be able to have a beer or two and feel free to yell some things at the oppossing team, within reason. A large arena allows for both because of the space.
Is hockey The Ice Capades or Lion King? NO — will your child here some profanity, most likely. But, that does not give fans license to scream extremely vulgar or obscene things at the players or coaches. The fans who attend will set the tone, even the most obnoxious drung A-Hole will tone it down if he is surrouned by families and kids.
Set a drinking section, set a dry section, encourage a family section with good seats as well. The future of hockey in Toledo will be set by the fan base. I wish it was as simple as Field of Dreams, “If you build it they will come” but its not. Price and quality of the games will determine attendance. My fear is a big shiny new arena will be a novelty for a bit, and people will pay 3 times the cost of a sports arena ticket, once or twice, but evenutally the cost will be prohibitive.
The A-Hole
January 14th, 2008 at 10:54 pm