Tonight’s game, the hurricanes dominated from the start. They had all the chances early and it led to a 3-0 lead. It was 4-0 when Ovechkin scored late in the second period. I guess you could say the Caps could build off of that and come back, but the Canes were firmly in control of the game. So it was odd being there and hearing the fans boo. They even booed over the goal announcement, which to the announcers credit mentioned his 892nd career goal. But the fans were booing, so most couldn’t hear it. You would think this is the best case scenario for them. They dominate the game and get to see some history that has very little meaning on the game. But they still weren’t happy to see it.
This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed this with their fans. When Brind’amour took over, the team developed this chip on their shoulder. They have this us against the world mentality. You even had Don Cherry doing his shtick calling them a bunch of jerks. As a team, playing with that chip is great and if it gives you more of an edge against your opponent, you take it and run with it. But the fans seem to have adopted that attitude and then have directed it at the opposing fans as much as the players. And yes, I’ve seen Redskins fans acting this same way at Fed Ex field, so I’m not going to pretend this is unique or doesn’t happen with teams I root for. But it’s a different dynamic than any I’ve seen.
A few examples. My dad and brother came down and we went to a playoff game back in 2019. People behind us would randomly yell during the game “I hate Caps fans”. There were plenty around and I don’t think it was directed at one person. But it was odd to hear them direct it at visiting fans instead of the players on the ice. And this happened probably 10 different random times throughout the game. Then at the outdoor game a couple of years ago, two guys in front of us wanted to fight some Caps fans a few rows behind us. That stuff happens and I always have a whatever attitude. But our row was in between them and my 11 yr old niece was in the middle of these. Then the two canes fans are yelling about how big their dick is and yelling it at the woman that were with the guys they were acting like they wanted to fight. My sister tells them to knock it off as there is a kid sitting right there. One of the guys says, she has legs, she can walk right out of here. The cops eventually came and Tony eh guys out, but they came back later anyway. Thankfully tonight was more tame, but there were a lot of dumb comments not worth repeating about the Caps players and fans. You can yell at the players all you want even if it is dumb, but their vitriol was directed as much at the fans as well.
One of these incidents, you can write it off as dumb fans filled with alcohol. They are everywhere at every stadium. But now it’s a pattern I see every time I’m there. I guess they want to be more like NY or Philly and make things hostile for everyone.
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