Soakin’ in the Tubb: What fans mean to the WHL and its players

By JAMES TUBB on October 23, 2021.

It’s no secret, hockey players love playing in front of fans.

Even that one fan in every building that yells “shoot” on the power play or the one that boos – Every. Single. Call.

They provide the energy within buildings that players thrive off in close games, and are often a big part of teams mounting late comebacks.

Fans make the game of hockey what it is, and when the WHL got underway last season without spectators, it dampened the product.

I’ve had the chance to talk with a lot of the Tigers players and some coaches around the WHL and they’ve all said basically the same, surprisingly non-clichÃ©, answer about fans in the stands: it’s beyond great to have them back and they don’t want them to go anywhere again.

One Tiger lit up like a kid in a candy shop when asked what it was like having fans back in the building and getting to hear the cheers, even on the road. He said it is night and day from last season’s developmental year in the WHL, when only players, coaches, referees, broadcasters and reporters were allowed in the arena. Which makes sense at first right? The building with thousands of people in it is different than that with max 200.

But what stood out the most for the Tigers player was how hard it was to feel connected to the game they were playing, as it was almost silence. He compared last year’s WHL regular season to playing a scrimmage in practice, with how dead the atmosphere was.

The same belief has been shared by everyone asked, last year wasn’t the easiest one for playing hockey. Not to take away from the fact that the past 19 months have been the most stressful, scariest, uneasiest time for everyone worldwide. But for these kids, because at the end of the day they are still kids, whose lives have been all hockey since they were young, losing a big part of what makes the game what it is would have been unimaginably tough.

As someone new to the Dub, the passion from WHL fans for their teams, especially in Medicine Hat, is unprecedented in a lot of other sports leagues. To go from having some of the most die-hard fans cheering you on to absolute silence or worse, fake fan noise, would be an extreme culture shock. Which has only made fans being back in the building that much better, especially because it’s being done in as safe as a way as possible – proof of vaccination, staff circling the arena ensuring people remain masked, all the stops to keep WHL fans safe.

The Tigers have reflected in their play this season how impactful it is to have fans behind them in-game. With multiple come-from-behind wins at home and physical play mixed with cheering fans sparking momentum changes, the Tabbies are thriving with more and more fans in the stands.

The same can be said for are a lot of other WHL and NHL teams who are once again getting to see the faces (masked of course) of the people they are being tasked to entertain.

It is a small return to normal, having fans cheering them on, that has made a big difference for hockey players. We are on a long path to getting the world back to whatever sense of normal will result from COVID-19, but this is a small step.

James Tubb is a sports reporter with the Medicine Hat News. Feedback can be sent to jtubb@medicinehatnews.com