OttawaRoughRiderFan*
Guest
As a Canadian who went to the USA-Finland game (sorry guys), I can tell you that the crowd was well below 14,000 people. Boths ends of the arena were basically empty, with lots of open seats along the side aswell. As others have said, basically half of the crowd was wearing Canada jerseys with the majority cheering for Finland.
Announced attendance at most professional sporting events is usually tickets sold. While the majority of tickets would've gone to Canadians (because in order to guarantee tickets to all Canada games, you had to buy the entire tournament), people would've tried to sell their tickets to games that they didn't plan on attending.
The sentiment from the american fans around us were basically "This sucks, and I don't even want to go to the gold medal game if it's Canada-USA again". Some american fans were leaving after the 2nd period (in what was a pretty good game), because they just felt it wasn't worth it.... and I guarantee you it wasn't because these players were junior players that they haven't heard of. It was because you could look around and see a near half empty rink, you don't feel lucky to be there. You feel like you've just been ripped off.
Personally, I chalk it up to just not caring. After a gold medal last year, this should've been an all-time high for americans to buy tickets.... yet the bars 10 minutes from the rink didn't even know what channel the game was on. It turned out to be on NHL Network (which is actually produced by TSN, at least in Canada). I assume NHL Network is an obscure channel that nobody watches like it is in Canada. Meanwhile, TSN has basically manufactured this tournament into a staple of Canadian hockey tradition. There is definitely a loyal following in Buffalo, but it is not very large, and the majority of people just don't care.
My recommendation for the Best Post of The Day!!! Good Post jfried!
My 2 cents...
During the early game I was in a row that was 75% full. The period ended and we left to get a hot dog. There were 2 kids (early 20's) talking. I overheard one say "everyone in THAT (refering to our) row is Canadian" - we were all wearing Red.
I think these kids were disappointed that they came out to watch hockey, from the US, and they were alone. Nobody wants that. You go to these games to be a part of something bigger. A group experience.
Sounds like the American game was the same. People came to support the US. Saw a million red maple leafs chearing for Finland and thought "Screw this, I'm outa here".
I feel worst of all for the US players. They overcame so much, last year, to win. They probably thought "We have a great team and we can show our fans what USA Hockey is all about". Then they play and see nothing but Red Maple Leafs in the stands routing against them. It is a shame.