World hockey championship atmosphere 2nd to none
Apr 29, 2005 6:03:12 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Apr 29, 2005 6:03:12 GMT -5
Apr. 28, 2005. 01:42 PM
Europe embraces world hockey
By PIERRE LEBRUN
(CP)
Europeans revere the IIHF world hockey championship the way Canadians cherish the NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup. But unlike North America, fans at the world championship don't simply watch the event. They're part of it.
Much like soccer games on the continent, European fans chant throughout the game and bang drums. They rarely sit down.
And they don't boo in Europe. They jeer — ear-piercing whistling that more than annoys the Canadian players, who aren't used to it.
Latvian hockey fans are particularly devoted, saving up all year long and using what little vacation time they have to travel to the world championship to cheer on their beloved team.
They're not hard to spot around town, clad in the burgundy colours of Latvia. They have very little money — some sleep in cars — but not many other fans seem to have more fun, especially when their team scores.
They'll be at it again Saturday in Innsbruck, Austria, when Latvia meets Canada in the opener of the 2005 world championship.
One moment frozen in time for Latvians was at the 2000 tournament in St. Petersburg. With Russians basking in the glow of their brand-new 18,000-seat arena and a star-studded roster featuring Pavel Bure, Alexei Yashin and Alexei Kovalev, Latvian goaltender Arturs Irbe and his teammates defied the odds to pull off a 3-2 upset.
The scene was magical, the Latvian skaters celebrating around Irbe at the buzzer as if they had actually won the tournament. And then the kicker — the Latvian national anthem blaring throughout St. Petersburg arena, stunned Russian fans standing stone-faced while Irbe and his teammates cried as they sang the words.
This was more than a hockey victory. It was just a decade earlier that Russian tanks had rolled into Riga as Latvia fought for its independence.
Amazingly, Irbe did it again in 2003 in Turku, Finland, backstopping Latvia to a 2-1 win over Russia. And again, the Russians had to listen to the Latvian anthem.
"You know, I had to play with the old Soviet team and stand with all the boys when the Soviet anthem played," Irbe said after the 2003 victory. "I wasn't excited about it, I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't even look at the flag. But I respected it.
"We were very happy that this time Russian people had to listen to the Latvian anthem."
Another loaded rivalry is Finland-Sweden.
The Swedes are the big Scandinavian brother the Finns love to hate. A win over Sweden is about as sweet as it gets, next to winning the tournament itself.
Finnish fans won't soon forget the 2003 tournament in Helsinki, when a 5-0 lead by the home team in the quarter-finals was erased by six Swedish goals in a devastating and humiliating defeat. The sight of Finnish fans, all wearing the white-and-blue national sweater, sitting glumly in their seats and wondering what just hit them is another classic moment in tournament history.
Newspaper headlines the next day called it a national embarrassment.
A few nights later Canada was the beneficiary of the fiery emotion from Finnish hockey fans, as the soldout crowd lustily cheered on the Canadians in their gold medal victory over the hated Swedes.
Another game that always warrants special attention is the Czech Republic versus Slovakia, for obvious reasons. The fallout from the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993 saw the Czechs remain in the `A' pool of international hockey while Slovakia had to work its way back up from the dregs.
The Slovaks were back in the `A' pool in 1996 and rapidly improved, capturing a silver medal at the 2000 tournament in St. Petersburg after an emotional 5-3 loss in the final to the Czechs. Scenes of Slovak and Czech fans embracing in the stands after the game is an unforgettable tournament image.
Two years later Slovak fans proudly sang their anthem at the end of a 4-3 win over Russia in the final at Goteborg, Sweden, the long road back complete.
Outside the dressing room, Slovakia GM and former NHL star Peter Stastny could not control his emotions following the overwhelming accomplishment of his young country, tears rolling down his cheeks as he tried to explain to a Canadian reporter how important this victory was.
Europe embraces world hockey
By PIERRE LEBRUN
(CP)
Europeans revere the IIHF world hockey championship the way Canadians cherish the NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup. But unlike North America, fans at the world championship don't simply watch the event. They're part of it.
Much like soccer games on the continent, European fans chant throughout the game and bang drums. They rarely sit down.
And they don't boo in Europe. They jeer — ear-piercing whistling that more than annoys the Canadian players, who aren't used to it.
Latvian hockey fans are particularly devoted, saving up all year long and using what little vacation time they have to travel to the world championship to cheer on their beloved team.
They're not hard to spot around town, clad in the burgundy colours of Latvia. They have very little money — some sleep in cars — but not many other fans seem to have more fun, especially when their team scores.
They'll be at it again Saturday in Innsbruck, Austria, when Latvia meets Canada in the opener of the 2005 world championship.
One moment frozen in time for Latvians was at the 2000 tournament in St. Petersburg. With Russians basking in the glow of their brand-new 18,000-seat arena and a star-studded roster featuring Pavel Bure, Alexei Yashin and Alexei Kovalev, Latvian goaltender Arturs Irbe and his teammates defied the odds to pull off a 3-2 upset.
The scene was magical, the Latvian skaters celebrating around Irbe at the buzzer as if they had actually won the tournament. And then the kicker — the Latvian national anthem blaring throughout St. Petersburg arena, stunned Russian fans standing stone-faced while Irbe and his teammates cried as they sang the words.
This was more than a hockey victory. It was just a decade earlier that Russian tanks had rolled into Riga as Latvia fought for its independence.
Amazingly, Irbe did it again in 2003 in Turku, Finland, backstopping Latvia to a 2-1 win over Russia. And again, the Russians had to listen to the Latvian anthem.
"You know, I had to play with the old Soviet team and stand with all the boys when the Soviet anthem played," Irbe said after the 2003 victory. "I wasn't excited about it, I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't even look at the flag. But I respected it.
"We were very happy that this time Russian people had to listen to the Latvian anthem."
Another loaded rivalry is Finland-Sweden.
The Swedes are the big Scandinavian brother the Finns love to hate. A win over Sweden is about as sweet as it gets, next to winning the tournament itself.
Finnish fans won't soon forget the 2003 tournament in Helsinki, when a 5-0 lead by the home team in the quarter-finals was erased by six Swedish goals in a devastating and humiliating defeat. The sight of Finnish fans, all wearing the white-and-blue national sweater, sitting glumly in their seats and wondering what just hit them is another classic moment in tournament history.
Newspaper headlines the next day called it a national embarrassment.
A few nights later Canada was the beneficiary of the fiery emotion from Finnish hockey fans, as the soldout crowd lustily cheered on the Canadians in their gold medal victory over the hated Swedes.
Another game that always warrants special attention is the Czech Republic versus Slovakia, for obvious reasons. The fallout from the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993 saw the Czechs remain in the `A' pool of international hockey while Slovakia had to work its way back up from the dregs.
The Slovaks were back in the `A' pool in 1996 and rapidly improved, capturing a silver medal at the 2000 tournament in St. Petersburg after an emotional 5-3 loss in the final to the Czechs. Scenes of Slovak and Czech fans embracing in the stands after the game is an unforgettable tournament image.
Two years later Slovak fans proudly sang their anthem at the end of a 4-3 win over Russia in the final at Goteborg, Sweden, the long road back complete.
Outside the dressing room, Slovakia GM and former NHL star Peter Stastny could not control his emotions following the overwhelming accomplishment of his young country, tears rolling down his cheeks as he tried to explain to a Canadian reporter how important this victory was.
. at least a few thousands of their fans made a trip to Austria even though it's not that close to Latvia. and I have seen many of them bringing their small children and/or (grand)parents with them. it was cool to see 3 generations of one family on a hockey game, thousands of kilometers away from their homes, all dressed in the colours of their national team.