The Ottawa Fan Experience

 Welcome back! This one will be a little different, less about analyzing the game that I saw and more about the fan experience in Ottawa for a Senators game. This post is selfishly for me to look back on in a few years to remember my trip to the Canadian Tire Center. It was an awesome experience to sit so close to the ice and the game itself was electric. I have seen my fair share of Leafs games in Toronto, and I have to say although there are some cons to watching a game in Ottawa, at least for this game it was more exciting in Ottawa than it ever would've been in Toronto. Unfortunate that the Leafs lost, but at least I got a post out of it: 

The Day Leading Up 

The day leading up to the game was lovely! I won't go into detail about what we did, it was a wholesome day of exploring the nations capital. I will say though that the city was buzzing with hockey fans and that was cool to see. When there's a Leafs game in Toronto, you do see jerseys out and about, but it felt like in Ottawa there was just a higher percentage of the population that was excited and ready for the game. We had a waitress at a cafe wearing a Habs shirt that went into a whole speech about how the Canadiens are the best and she wore that shirt knowing there'd be a lot of Leafs fans to chirp on Saturday, hilarious. A lot of Leafs fans were in Ottawa indeed and we saw a lot of jerseys and hats throughout the day, really adding to our excitement as well. Our morning and afternoon were not hockey themed, but we still got a hockey vibe all day and I think that's pretty cool.  

Getting to the Arena

This stage was what I was expecting to be the hardest part of the experience. Everyone you talk to says the biggest problem with going to a game in Ottawa is the arena is in the middle of nowhere, and it definitely is. That being said, it was actually a fun experience getting to the game. Multiple bars had a shuttle bus service, which was just as many school busses as they could get for the night. We started off at a Senators themed bar where it was mostly Sens fans in their 20s getting rowdy before the big game. Getting on the bus, every Leafs fan that entered was met with a chorus of boos. Us Leafs fans had to stick together and we made sure to give props to every one we saw on the way there. The ride took only about 30 minutes and the vibe on the bus was amazing, everyone in a good mood and drinks flowing liberally. We pulled up to the stadium and behind one of the busses that was already parked was a 20 something Sens fan puking his guts out in the parking lot. Our bus pounded on the windows in support, that's a man who was ready to go. We got into the arena and found our seats hassle free! The bus ride seemed like we'd be in an arena of 90% Sens fans, but upon getting to our seats we found the ratio was closer to 60% Sens 40% Leafs fans, which made for a really fun experience. 

Throughout the Game

I will say, I've been to a few Raptors games when they were at their peak excitement and Scotiabank Arena got pretty rowdy for those, but for a Leafs game, I've never seen Scotiabank Arena even half as loud as Canadian Tire Center was on Saturday. I was worried going into it that Sens fans would be put off by the 3-0 hole their team was, and to a certain extent that was true. The fans who were dejected though seemed to have sold their tickets to Leafs fans which only drove the Sens fans who were there into cheering louder to drown us out. Just about every 2 minutes someone would start a GO LEAFS GO chant which would be met with even louder GO SENS GO chants as the 2 sides fought to be heard you could practically feel the arena shaking. Hilarious and mean "Matthews' Balding!" Chants rained down throughout the game to which Leafs fans responded: "So is Brady!" When the game got going, the fans really got involved especially after the Sens took a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. It was funny, no matter which team you were cheering on you could find people around you cheering with you. When Max Domi took a dumb penalty to set up the second Sens goal, the Leafs fans in our section booed the decision while we were surrounded by people going crazy celebrating it. I had never sat so close to the ice before, we were about 7 rows up from the glass, and it was insane to see how fast the game moves. You underestimate the speed and power these guys have when you watch on TV, sitting up close you really get to take it in and it's breathtaking. Some of the hits we saw looked big enough to break my bones, can't believe these guys play every other day. 

The Third Period got everyone going. We had a kid sitting beside us for the game who seemed bored and disinterested for the first 40 minutes, but to his credit when the game was tight down the stretch he was on his feet yelling like everyone else in the stadium. The Sens scored first which of course really got the people going, but the Leafs evened it up with about 5 to play and that got the other half of the arena going. In the last 5 minutes, it felt like the Leafs fans were growing louder and louder with the Go Leafs Go chants, which drove Sens fans to chant louder themselves, it was really something to behold. Overtime saw 100% of the fans in the building on their feet the entire time. The Leafs got a golden opportunity after Chris Tanev (I think) came up bleeding after a high stick, an automatic 4 minute penalty for the Sens. The Leafs had a ton of good chances on the long powerplay, but still the Sens managed to kill the penalty. You could feel the energy shift in the building after that, if the Leafs weren't going to score on that golden opportunity, the win probably wasn't in the cards. Ultimately, the Sens scored the game winner sending the arena into jubilation and setting up a fun ride home. 

The Ride Back

As you can imagine, the energy was pretty high on the ride back. I was worried before hand that it'd be a hostile environment in our Leafs jerseys, but it was anything but that. Fans were excitedly chanting GO SENS GO throughout the ride home. We got our usual boos upon entering the bus, but everyone knew it was all in good fun. By that point the drinks had been flowing all night and the Sens fans were just happy they got to see a win. We got dropped off outside that same bar within 30 min and the streets were buzzing. Leafs fans and Sens fans alike were all finding places to go for a post game drink, and both sides were having a great time. I have to say, even as a visiting fan, there was not a single bad vibe for the entire experience. The people of Ottawa are friendly and love their hockey team in a wholesome, non-toxic way. I came away very impressed by the experience, and sad that those poor fans have to watch my Leafs take it in 5 tomorrow!

That's that! Shout out Ottawa man, underrated city for a weekend trip. Go Leafs!