Notes from Abroad by Tabatha Pilon – Hockey & Football fans – differences between Canada and Denmark! October 21, 2011

CFN   –  One of the things that I had never thought possible to see would be a sport fanatic more crazy than our hockey fans, but here in Denmark, “football” (or soccer in Canada) is a huge sport. I had the opportunity to sit down with my family and watch a game this week: Denmark versus Brazil and it was crazy.

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The living room was buzzing with noise as everyone was screaming at the tv. I never thought it would be possible for people to be as crazy as us Canadians at our hockey games but, once again, I was proven wrong. As the camera panned out and we saw the stands, you knew just who was cheering for Denmark due to their clothes and face painted faces/bodies. It was something that I have vowed that I will soon experience first hand as I plan to attend one of these games in the future, decked out in red and white, the colours of the Danish flag.

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Although this is prominent in Canadians at hockey games, it appeared in a much more elegant way than it would have at a hockey game.  What I found was even more weird was the reaction the game had brought out of me, as I watched my adopted country’s best players battle it out on the field with Brazil’s best players. I admit that I too had fallen victim to the screaming match that we had with the tv.   I’ve never been the biggest hockey fan back in Canada, and the only sport I ever liked was Rugby, so to have me sitting on the edge of my seat screaming at the players made me feel like I had integrated into this country far better than I had thought….or that I am becoming more like my stepmom, which isn’t bad either!

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When, before the game, my sister had started to talk about a certain player, and I had told her that I had no idea as to whom she was speaking of, she just stared at me with wide eyes as if I was the crazy one.   And now I wonder, perhaps I am the crazy one if I had never taken in the great appreciation of sports games before.  Although I must say, I don’t know what team I would be cheering for if it were a match between Canada and Denmark. I think I would just proudly sport my red and white gear and scream at everyone and everything.I think the difference I have found between hockey and soccer would have to be the amount of violence present. In hockey, even as a spectator you still receive that rush of adrenaline as you do in soccer, but from my experience, watching hockey is a dangerous activity. You never know when that puck will be slapped into the audience, or when one of the players will be slammed against the boards, or when there will be a bad hit. With soccer it is a little less exciting this way, but still thrilling all the same.

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The passion that is in Soccer games is evident in a way that isn’t found in a hockey game, and I think that is what has hooked me on the soccer games, or as we call it here: football.

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