World Championships

We had a great time in Stockholm but the funny thing is, if the World Championships hadn't been there, we probably wouldn't have picked it as a destination for one of our weekend getaways. Even though Canada didn't play as well as I hoped, it was still nice to see some hockey. There weren't a ton of Canadian fans there, but we met a few. These guys were at the Denmark game and they were getting a lot of attention from the camera.

 I had my Canada sweater with me and I made sure I wore it to both games.

When I would watch this tournament every year at home, I was always amazed at how empty the stands were, but after being there, I realized it's an illusion. The seats closest to the ice are empty because they are so expensive. We had seats in the corner, about 12 rows up and they were half the price of the seats behind the bench and I thought they were great.

Individually Canadians are great hockey fans. We're passionate and knowledgeable but as a group we pale in comparison to the European fans, especially the Swiss. I would estimate that 90% of the fans were from Switzerland during that game. They sang songs, had call and response cheers and coordinated clapping routines. It was incredible. Not to mention there were at least three groups of guys dressed as cows, plus dozens of cow bells in the stands. Some of the bells were hand-sized while others were the size of a microwave oven. Chanting 'Go Canada Go' just didn't match up.

After Canada lost to Switzerland, everyone became an analyst or coach and espoused their theories on why it happened. They were tired from the travel, not used to the large ice or not used to playing together. One thing I noticed being there that may not have been obvious on TV, was how small Team Canada is this year. Claude Giroux, Jeff Skinner and Stephane Robidas are all great players but they were tiny compared to the Swiss team. I also think that we have to accept the fact that Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Norway are all improving as hockey nations and we can't take them lightly anymore. Personally, I think it's great and I will be secretly cheering for the Swiss during this tournament (unless they meet Canada again).

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