Fanfare for the common hockey fan

Admittedly, by any measuring tool, I am a new fan to the sport of hockey.  Unlike some of the people I’ve met, I cannot quote stats on my favorite players.  I cannot, as a Canadian friend of mine can do, recite a detailed history of his team or Stanley Cup champions through the ages.  My entry to the world of fandom was rather abrupt and unconventional.  My very first hockey friend patiently tutored me in the basics of hockey and shepherded my through Hockey Fest 2 years ago, laughing at me as I said things like “wow, he’s so nice” or took 63 pictures of Kris Russell playing a video game.   I will enlighten you on my path to fandom at another time.  This post is about the common hockey fan, a being who is very uncommon, indeed.

I’ve found you cannot place a hockey fan in a stereotypical box.  From the very nice gentleman who commiserated with me when Rusty Klesla was traded (‘he has the most beautiful eyes!” “‘oh yes, he does…I could stare at them forever”) to the people who drive from Lima, Cleveland, or Cincinnati to watch their team, to the parents who smile and buy their children mini sticks even though “I know he’s going to hit the dog with it” and Chloe’s parents, who told me she ran around the house with a fairy princess magic wand in one hand and a hockey stick in another, hockey fans are the best ever.   Even the *gulp* RedWings fans and Pens fans even though annoying have great senses of humor.

I’m not sure what it is; maybe it is the coming together to watch a sport that is the least “mainstream” of the major sports or maybe it is the difference between the hockey players themselves and the majority of athletes of other professional sports, but I’ve found hockey fans to be easy to approach and talk with as well as genuinely nice people.  In today’s world, where people are shot for being at a rival’s facility wearing the “wrong” gear,  being with hockey fans is refreshing, if not downright amazing.

I’ve met so many kind, funny, and amazing people through following hockey.  These are people who are so passionate about their team, whether it is the Jackets or another team; people who love the sport; people who have embraced the players; people who support their children playing the sport; and people who wander in and get hooked.  Hockey fans, even St. Louis fans, are a special breed of people who embrace all who are willing to learn and watch the sport, even a newer fan like me with no background in the sport.

So, bring on the new season!  Not only is it a new start for the team, with all the excitement a new season brings, but it is a new opportunity to meet more people who may not share my enthusiasm for All Things Marc Methot, but who will accept me as a fellow enthusiast and who will help me understand more about the game, introduce me to the finer points of strategy, and willingly put up with my fangirl-dom.  So, all you fans, when you come to Nationwide, let me know.  I’ll be the one grinning from ear to ear and trying to meet everyone all at once.