PowerPlayGoal.com – Hockey From A Different Angle

Welcome to the definitive fan. The PowerPlayGoal.com guide to the types of fans your likely to encounter at a Hockey game, whether you like it, or not.
Some of these fans have a true passion for the sport, others are just there because they like have nothing better to do.

Fan Type #12 – Uninterested Children

Often, they really shouldn’t be there

Bio:
Forced to go along to a game because their parents cannot be bothered to hire a babysitter, or because they feel that their child needs to be immersed in everything they do – else its not right, Uninterested Children distract other fans around them because they would much rather be outside with friends, or playing Lego.
They have little understanding of the game, and will often just shout what they know from other sports; for example at a recent game, one child a few rows back spent much of the game shouting that players should be “sent off” and that they should get a “yellow card”. For those of you not in the know, they are both popular terms for Soccer Fans.
They then, still bored and confused resort to kick the seat in front to them for a period of time – a quick glare back normally stops this, for a few minutes and the kicking will then resume.
They then spend time wandering around and in particular seem to go out of their way to make sure that they invade as much of your personal space as possible.
By the time that the 2nd period has ended they are climbing on the seats around shouting to their mum that they are bored, and spilling a jumbo sized Pepsi down your back.

Characteristics:
Over dressed in fan gear, as the parents keep buying it for them.

Favourite Team:
Whatever team their parents support.

Other:
Most of this type of fan will gradually disapear as they become a disillusioned teenager.

Favourite Phrases:
Send them off ref!
I wanna see a fight.
When’s the period end?
He’s not allowed to catch the puck. Handball!

I’m KevKev, and this is the Definitive Fan.

Welcome to The Definitive Fan – The online guide from PowerPlayGoal.com to the types of fans who you’re likely to meet (or not meet) at a hockey game.
Everyone likes to have authentic hockey memorabilia, and that’s fine. Some people just have too much though…

Fan type #11 – The Collector

Sure there is nothing wrong with collecting merchandise, but you don’t have to open a museum

Bio:
Scene. Ebay. A hockey stick signed by Ray Whitney is about to go for a reasonable price, and best yet, your winning it! Suddenly,  your outbid. You try in vein to overtake the new bid, but no matter what price you enter, you just cannot win. The auction closes.
The collector has won.
The collector hides under a cover of darkness only revealing themselves in PayPal transactions or on the name section of cheques.
Ebay, NHL auctions, even CraigsList – all popular haunts, if its authenticated, they want it. Hockey sticks, jerseys, pucks, the lace from a skate – if it was used by a pro, they want it. And they will pay almost anything.
Their house, a sea of display cases, bubble wrap and wall hangings of framed jerseys, photographs and mounted sticks.
They follow the game, often from their living room, for fear of leaving their possessions has left them paranoid about that 0.3% burgulary increase in your area.
An OCD like power has control on them, and god help you if you accidentally touch that Cleveland Barons puck.

Characteristics:
Quite well off, internet savvy and with a compulsive attitude.
Expect at least a Platinum American Express card to be in their wallet.

Favourite team:
This type of fan has no allegience, their only requirement – a certificate of authenticity.

Other:
Don’t fight the collector, you cannot win – surrender before its too late and the price becomes too high. Also, be warned if visiting their home – you may be forced to endure lectures on how they came to own a certain item, or you may accidentally touch their precious precious authentic memorabilia.

I’m KevKev, and this has been another Definitive Fan.

Welcome to The Definitive Fan – The online guide from PowerPlayGoal.com to the types of fans who you’re likely to meet (or not meet) at a hockey game.
Most of these fans enjoy everything about the game, while a small few only seem to be interested in a particular person on the ice…

Fan Type #10 – The Player Fan

We all have our favourite player(s), but this fan type takes it to a slightly different extreme

Bio:
Not necessarily a ‘bad’ fan by any means, unlike most of the fan types we have previously covered. As the name suggests, the Player Fan generally seems to be more interested in a particular player than anything else when it comes to their chosen team – whether they have been actively following the player since his junior league days or said player caught the fan’s attention at their first hockey game are among various reasons why the fan develops their liking of said player.

This fan type is, again unlike many we have covered before, usually quite knowledgeable about the game of Hockey, and generally even more so about their favourite player’s career and position, so they will provide good conversation should you happen to come across them.

It’s not as easy to identify a Player Fan in real life as it is on the internet: you will know instantly whether a member of a team’s forum is of this fan type if they have the player’s photo in their avatar and/or signature, or they will have a username which will usually be something like, for example, “Selanne8” or “ModanoFan”. As previously mentioned, they will still provide good conversation even when online, but whether the fan is generally biased towards their favourite player or is capable of being critical will depend on their personality.

Sometimes, the Player Fan will take part in the sport themselves, usually taking up the same position and modelling their play style after the player they idolise – some of these kinds of players are likely in the NHL today.

Characteristics:
No distinguishable characteristics – they seem to blend in. However, they may be seen around or at games in a custom jersey with their favourite player’s name and number on. As for internet forums, the dead giveaways have already been mentioned above.

Favourite Team:
Generally depends on which team their favourite player is on. Player Fans have had this writer asking himself the question of what they do once the player retires for whatever reason, or where their loyalty lies when he is traded to another team. Chances are they may still like the team he previously played for, while still following the player on his new team.

Other:
Due in part to the NHL overhyping certain players, an extremely annoying variant of the Player Fan also exists, which we will cover another time. In keeping with the current times, we shall refer to this other fan type as the dreaded Crosby Fanboy.

I’m Wildwing64, and this is the Definitive Fan.