Victoria doesn’t always distinguish itself when hosting international sporting events.
When soccer’s under-20 World Cup came to Royal Athletic Park in 2007, the Nigerian fans’ thunderous drumming, energetic dancing and innovative approach to reserved seating so alarmed Victorians — who are used to fans quietly sitting on their hands to keep them warm — that organizers asked the visitors to keep it down. That, in turn, prompted a backlash in the Nigerian media and a complaint from the Nigerian Football Association, so the drumming ban was lifted.
Even our most successful international event, the 1994 Commonwealth Games, was disappointing to some: Sex-trade workers complained that instead of hard-bodied athletes, all they saw were fat Australian journalists.
But the world junior hockey championship? As the Victoria portion of the tournament concludes with a pair of quarter-final games today (the rest of the matches will be in Vancouver), volunteers and fans in the capital can pat themselves on the back.
As Times Colonist sports reporter Cleve Dheensaw pointed out, 97 per cent of seats sold before the tournament, thanks in part to organizers keeping ticket prices relatively low — as little as $29 for single games. Not only that, but the ticket-holders actually showed up. That might seem weird to say, but in some years you see acres of empty seats thanks to people who buy ticket packages for the whole tournament but skip the less-popular games. It’s a buzzkill.
> More world juniors coverage at timescolonist.com/sports/hockey
Not Victoria. Despite the saturated schedule (even Don Cherry might overdose on a dozen games in eight days, or 14 in two weeks if you count the two exhibition matches), the rink has been full, or almost full, every time.
“They nailed it as far as the price point goes,” said Brian Hotovy, sporting a Slovakia sweater in the arena concourse. Families could afford to split packages with other families. (And those who wanted to unload extra tickets found willing buyers in front of the arena, where scalpers were generally getting $20 to $50, though tickets for U.S. games fetched up to $150.) It filled the rink.
That matters, because a full rink leaves a good impression on television, and this tournament is watched by millions. The son of a Slovakia-born immigrant, Hotovy was playing semi-pro hockey in England when he met his Slovak wife at a European tournament. He has plenty of friends and family in that country, many of whom have been watching these games in the middle of the night — 7:30 p.m. in Victoria is 4:30 a.m. in Bratislava.
The same goes for fans in other European countries. The tournament used to be a big deal only in Canada, but that has changed. (Note that the lead sports story on the website of Sweden’s Expressen newspaper Monday was about a mystery illness that confined four players to their Victoria hotel rooms.) So, yes, viewers have been left with a good impression of the capital.
The best thing about Victoria’s fans (other than the deafening howls of outrage whenever the scoreboard screen showed anyone wearing a Maple Leafs sweater) was the way they embraced the plucky but overmatched team from Kazakhstan.
Remember that commercial with the guy who accidentally drives his family car onto a Formula One track in mid-race? That’s what the Kazakhstanis looked like at times, but they busted their guts and the crowd loved them for it. The worse the score became, the lustier the chants of “Kazakhstan! Kazakhstan!” got. Kazakhstani sweaters sold out.
In the midst of a game in which he let in five shots but kicked out 51, embattled goalie Demid Yeremeyev lifted his mask to wipe away the sweat with his jersey. As he did so, the crowd roared. Yeremeyev allowed himself a small smile. He might have blushed. Media in Kazakhstan later quoted him (OK, I had to run this through Google Translate) as saying: “Previously, nobody except my family supported me. Words can’t describe how inspiring it is.” Nicely done, Victoria. He’ll never forget that.
“We really appreciate it,” Mira Nurgaliyeva said of the support. A Kazakhstani studying for her master’s degree at Royal Roads University, she was at the rink with her country’s flag draped over her shoulders. “It’s so good that local people are not just watching quietly, indifferently.”
On the flip side was the smattering of boos that occasionally greeted the teenage American players, as though Donald Trump himself was wobbling around the ice, vowing to build a wall across the net and make Sweden pay for it. (Note that one American fan in the stands was wearing a U.S. sweater with the name ANTITRUMP on the back.) It’s fine to cheer the underdog, but jeering the overdog is classless. If nothing else, it’s simply bad manners to invite people into your house as guests, then abuse them once their shoes are off and they’re perched on the chesterfield.
Also, the contumely that rained down on Mayor Lisa Helps when she handed out a player-of-the-game award was unkind, given her role in bringing the tournament to Victoria. Were it not for the city’s support, fans of international sport would have had to make do with Beacon Hill Park cricket.
Overall, though, Victoria knocked it out of the park (or shot it out of the rink).
