Ice Hockey: Vancouver Giants

I quickly realised upon arriving in Canada I couldn’t spend a year here without going to watch an ice hockey game. After discovering that Canucks tickets cost close to a small fortune I settled for the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Vancouver Giants as a well-priced alternative. I’ve got to admit that I was a bit dubious at first as to whether I was going to enjoy the game but I quickly realised why ice hockey is so popular and such a huge part of Canadian culture.

I watched the Vancouver Giants play the Victoria Cougars and the game was fast paced and split into three twenty minute sections. I could barely keep up with the players as they flew around on the ice. There was a great atmosphere in the stadium and the crowd was a mixture of both families and groups of die-hard fans dressed from head-to-toe in Vancouver Giants apparel.

The opposing teams had at least three punch-ups during the game that we watched. But none were particularly violent and the crowd was always eagerly anticipating and encouraging them to fight.

Honestly it felt more like I had gone to the fair than I had gone watch a sports game. In typical North American fashion there was a hog dog stand in every corner of the stadium and vendors selling everything from nachos to candyfloss to caramel popcorn. They even played music every time a goal was scored and had cheerleaders and mascots dancing about every five minutes!

I really enjoyed watching ice hockey. The regular intervals and the entertainment provided for the crowd kept me really interested. I’m definitely going to save some money and go to see ice hockey again!

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