Hockey is isolated from all other sports in one capacity: the playoffs. This beast that comes out of hibernation every April is some of the most exciting, nerve wrecking, and intense competition in the world. Many people will argue that football or basketball has better playoffs, but only true hockey fans understand the intensity and overall joy of NHL postseason. What defines playoffs as being “better” isn’t just the elements of the game, but the atmosphere that each game creates. Hockey fans create some of the most exciting and captivating environment in all of sports, which is why I rank hockey playoffs as superior to all others.
It can be hard to rank one sports fanbase over another, but, speaking from experience, I can say that after having been to several MLB, NFL, and NHL games, I believe that hockey fans create the best environment, especially during a postseason setting. First of all, hockey isn’t a one and done sport, for each series is a best of seven. I prefer this playoff setting over that of football, because one game isn’t enough to establish ones self as a team. In football, teams can get lucky and win as underdogs, while other teams might have bad games after exceptional seasons, causing them to lose in an undeserving way. I think that the best of seven series setting is extremely more impactful, because it gives teams more than one chance. Teams that people wouldn’t expect to win a series are all the more deserving in their victory since they’ve won four games instead of just one.
Another feature of hockey that I believe makes it much more exciting is the anxious silence that fans endure while waiting for their team to score. If you’re a hockey fan, and you’ve watched your favorite team participate in the postseason, then you’re well aware of the three hour long increase in heart rate that hockey administers to its fans. Throughout the course of the sixty minute game, each shot, each hit and each save is supported by a united response of, “OHHH!” from all 18,000 fans at the game, and millions watching on television. Whether on your couch or the uncomfortable plastic seats in the frigid arena, there’s nothing that can describe the miniature heart attacks that proceed every shot. That split second feeling of not knowing whether or not the puck would find the back of the net is like no other. The resulting reaction is what makes hockey so unique; once the puck meets the back of the net, the sound that was once silence becomes deafening jubilation in one shout of, “YEAHHHHH!” As the players throw their arms in the air and skate over to celebrate with the goal scorer, the arena full of fans jumps to the air in one simultaneous celebration. There is no sport celebration that can compare to that of a hockey goal in the playoffs.
Though I am bias as a die-hard hockey fan, hockey still provides one of the most exciting environments to watch hockey.
