Tealing Blue – Katy Parles’ Blaze or Belfast choice
On a recent trip to the Midlands to watch the Elite League double header between the Belfast Giants and the Coventry Blaze, UKAmericanSportsFans.com writer Katy Parles found herself in something of a quandary. Just who would she be supporting? Tired of life without a team to love and with self-professed Belfast leanings, but a real excitement about this year’s Blaze team, would she be enticed to take the teal and white to her heart, or would she feel more inclined to bleed blue? Could she – or should she – be ready to take a new team’s colours as her own? Or would she remain a nomadic neutral?
Fellow writer, and Blaze fan, Stuart Coles challenged Katy over her dilemma – would he be able to persuade her that being a Blaze fan was the right way to go? See how the discussion went, as the two debated the nature of being a fan and the importance of hockey in our lives.
Stuart: You have been a neutral for over a season now and you had hoped to be able to cheer for a side at the recent Blaze-Giants double header as mentioned in your previous article. Was that side Belfast and are you now a Giants fan?
Katy: The answer to this isn’t straightforward and I would probably say ‘yes and no’. In the bits where ‘yes’ applies, then yes, the team I cheered for was Belfast. But am I now a Giants fan? I’m not sure. I left my seat for the first goal on Sunday. There may have been a small air punch here and there – it still wasn’t all out hysteria though. When do I cross the line and officially ‘become’ a fan? Do you have any words of wisdom to pull me back from descending into teal and white oblivion?
Stuart: Oblivion is the right word! I can’t deny that Belfast are a good team; the hockey that they played over the course of the weekend was of the highest EIHL quality and they are certainly the best team to come to the Skydome this season. However, consider the sublime skill of the Leebs and Schutte. Consider the grit and consistent forechecking. Consider the passion of the entire team, with their never-going-to-give-up attitude. Consider how they rallied round a 17 year old goalie who made 35 stops whilst being shelled for two and a bit periods, keeping a side reduced to seven imports competitive and in the game. When you think of all of those things, I ask you – how can you not be excited by that team and want them to succeed?
And also, whilst you were in the Skydome on Sunday night – Matt Beleskey rings one off the post with about 2 minutes left that would’ve made it a 7-6 game – surely you were a little disappointed that it didn’t go in?
Katy: You make an excellent and impassioned case. I’m almost convinced. I said all along I was excited to see this Blaze side and they didn’t disappoint.
But liking one group of players and their undoubtedly excellent skill and indomitable team spirit is one thing; becoming a fan of a hockey club is something far more.
Being a fan is about more than just the team you support. It’s about friends and shared experiences, and whilst of course many of mine come from my days with the Vipers, the good times I’ve had in Belfast and more recently in Germany have certainly enticed me to the teal side.
Add to this the fact that I’ve been a neutral for longer than I’ve been a fan of an Elite League team, and perhaps I’m ready to accept another team into my heart. From a neutral perspective, yes, it would have been quite something if Matt Beleskey had scored that goal on Sunday. But I don’t want to be a neutral anymore.
Hockey is a sport in which a team of players is never the same from one season to the next and I think Blaze fans themselves would admit that this is the first time they’ve got it right in some years. What is there to keep me in Coventry after the slick hands of Shea Guthrie and the grit and determination of Schutte and Egener are gone? Is it really worth the risk? In short, I AM excited by this Blaze team and yes, I DO want them to succeed. But at the expense of all others? Hmm… all but one.
Stuart: Is it worth the risk? Absolutely. The previous two years of Blaze hockey were a blip on the landscape. Previously, we have always had sides that play a fast-flowing, physical brand of hockey based on good transition. It took a while to replace some of the likes of Neal Martin and Dan Carlson with Mike Schutte and Shea Guthrie, so it’s perfectly feasible that we will be able to do it again and again; there is a blueprint for the style of hockey in Coventry that is successful and we have turned back to it in a big way this year. And we’ve done all of this whilst being a tiny rink side competing with the arena big-boys. Also, we were the side that brought Danny Stewart to the UK. Surely you have to appreciate that?
Katy: You’ve undoubtedly had some great seasons at the Blaze. And this season you’re back to playing the kind of hockey that is synonymous with Coventry – and if this is a format which you feel will be repeated in seasons to come then for sure, I’m tempted. It’s an enticing prospect, a team that is not only a tightly bonded group of individuals willing to give their all for one another, but that displays great physical presence and incredible skill. Who wouldn’t be tempted by that?
You’ve also unwittingly touched upon another plus point for the Blaze – a rink. My last few EIHL trips have been to likes of Belfast, Sheffield and Nottingham where the soulless arena ambience does nothing to improve the experience, so if you’re seeing a poor game the atmosphere is flat as a pancake. I loved the pre-game build-up at the Skydome and the intimate, almost claustrophobic feel of a proper hockey barn.
And Danny Stewart… what a guy. Coach of the Vipers in our swansong season, I’ll always have a place in my heart for him, little terrier that he is.
You’ve made some real headway here, Stu. You talk a good game. I feel like I’m being dragged back from the brink. The thing is, I need to feel some sort of affinity with the home of the team I choose to support, don’t I? I love Belfast as a city. Coventry didn’t quite win me over. When I’m weighing up the pros and cons, how do I get around the fact that Coventry’s not really a prime location?
Stuart: I can see your point. You need to feel a connection with the city in order to really become a part of the club. I am not a Coventrian, I moved there in 2002 and picked up a love for the club from there after watching games in the Skydome.
The rink is a huge plus point. It can be a flat atmosphere like anywhere else, but that happens less often. Particularly when the Giants or the Panthers or the Devils come to town. However, when it’s rocking it is the best place in the UK to watch hockey in my opinion (since the demise of the WNIR in Cardiff which was my previous favourite). I will admit that my number 2 current venue is the Odyssey…
Considering Coventry as a city, that is difficult. But I would wager that you didn’t see everything the city has to offer – there are good places to eat and drink dotted around the city if you know where to look or have someone to point you in the right direction. It has a bad reputation but to be honest, every big city has bad areas and parts that are less desirable.
(With my final point though, I suspect I may lose my argument but it is an important one.) Hockey is a sport that you enjoy with your friends, it’s a friendly social activity which may divide people for 60 minutes but ultimately you can share a drink and a chat after the game. How was your experience of the atmosphere and perhaps more importantly, the people in the rink? If you feel that you would happily come back time and time again, maybe there is hope for you yet…
Katy: I suppose that’s the problem I face. Without a rink there is no hope of a return for my beloved Vipers and so any hockey I watch I have to travel to – it’s hard to shake that feeling of them all being ‘away days’. However Belfast is fast becoming a home from home with great places and even better friends. Could I ever feel the same way about Coventry? It’s possible. All the people I met were open, friendly and welcoming. And perhaps I’d find enough about the city to keep me entertained pre-hockey.
If I was going to choose a team purely based on the rink I might also consider Braehead or Dundee; the former with the friendliest fans I’ve met and the latter with a fantastic building for ice hockey. I don’t think that choosing a hockey team to support can ever be about just one of these factors though, or even a combination of them; a pro’s and con’s list may give me a definitive answer but my heart would still miss that ‘home team’ feeling I had and the blush of first hockey love that came along with the Vipers, warts and all. The closest thing I can feel to being a fan at the moment is for my country, as they battle to get through Olympic pre-qualification over in Japan.
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To conclude: the Giants and the Blaze are both teams I have a stronger than average fondness for this season. Which one will ultimately win me over? Perhaps I’ll decide at the Odyssey in January, when I’ll see them face off once again. If it’s anything like last weekend, it can only make me fall even more in love with both teams. At the end of the day, you can always share me, right?
