Why Soccer Isn’t Hockey

By Thomas Dunmore • Jul 29th, 2007 • Category: Video, World Football Culture • 7 responses

Actually, I’ve never been to an ice hockey game, so I’m not making the comparison myself. But in a feature for Canada’s CBC, a soccer-neophyte reporter is blown away on a visit to BMO Field to watch Toronto FC in the supporters’ section.

Whilst fans of rival MLS teams who have been supporting their team avidly for over a decade might quibble with the reporter’s opening statement about TFC’s fans reputation as the best in the league, there’s no doubt they’ve made a big impact in their first year, as we’ve reported here before.

This is the kind of publicity that will do MLS more good in the long-term than a million shots of David Beckham and Tom Cruise on ESPN.

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7 Responses »

  1. Josh Crockett on July 30th, 2007 at 6:55 am:

    Using the Toronto Maple Leafs doesn’t really make for a fair comparison on a global scale. Leafs tickets have been nearly-impossible for casual fans to buy for decades (both in scarcity and pricing), and to this day, the lower level of the Air Canada Centre on a weeknight is usually full of suits straight out of the financial district.

    TFC games would certainly feel like a breath of fresh air by comparison, but I’ve been to enough NHL rinks to know that huge contrast isn’t normal. Most hockey crowds are more fun than that. It’s not the festival atmosphere of soccer, but nor is it the library Leafs fans are used to.

  2. Thomas Dunmore on July 30th, 2007 at 9:14 am:

    Josh, I’m sure you’re right (and, wow, great photo by the way). I’m planning to go to a couple of Blackhawks games next season, so that might provide a fairer contrast.

  3. Michael Coroneos on July 31st, 2007 at 12:34 pm:

    Not sure if a Blawkhawk game will prove any different than the Leafs in Toronto. The thing with Toronto hockey is they have out priced the real fans. If you attend a Leaf away game in Buffalo or Montreal, the atmosphere is amazing. Sorta of what some EPL stadiums are turning into.

  4. Thomas Dunmore on July 31st, 2007 at 1:38 pm:

    Is Buffalo the closest place to Chicago where I could experience a “true” hockey atmosphere? I’m very keen on doing so.

  5. ursus arctos on July 31st, 2007 at 7:00 pm:

    Detroit, TD.
    They throw octopi on the ice.

    And you haven’t lived until you have been to a Swiss ice hockey derby. Rinks partially exposed to the elements and ultras with full tifos including flares. It’s mad.

  6. Curiosidades del dia « La Cascarita on August 1st, 2007 at 11:22 am:

    […] leer nota y ver capitulo. 4)Conoce a la afición de Toronto F.C. al parecer la mejor de la MLS, leer nota y ver video. Almenos este fin de semana ya dierón de que hablar al darle la bienvenida a Cuahtemoc Blanco en la […]

  7. Jay on May 7th, 2008 at 1:50 pm:

    Swiss ice hockey games get very heated!

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