Sports Crowds: “Have I Ever Missed This!”

It has been too long since we have been able to enjoy a sporting event…LIVE. Stepping foot into your favourite sports team’s stadium has never felt better. Who would have thought 2 years ago, we would not be able to cheer on our favourite team, let alone, go to a friend’s house, and watch sports and have a few drinks!

It’s been a tough 2 years for everyone, and I am glad we are starting to get back to some sort of “norm” because things were getting ugly here in Ontario, especially with the 4 lockdowns that were in place by the Government. Cases were climbing each day and it was getting to a point where it was near impossible to control. You had people filling the streets with protests and had others not obeying the rules and going where they pleased. I thought we were never going to beat this.

There is no one else to thank more than the doctors, scientists, and all the front-line workers who sacrificed their lives to make sure the world is a better place for everyone. If it wasn’t for them, we would never get out of this pandemic. I am happy to say, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The government is looking to release a plan to loosen more restrictions which will help a lot of businesses especially ones in the city.

Maple Leaf’s Home Opener

Being able to attend a Leaf’s game, the first regular season game at home with a full crowd in over 500 days will be one I will never forget. The chills walking towards the stadium, the fans going crazy, chanting “Go Leafs Go”, and even the scalpers that I never liked but these are the things that bring life back to normal.

Buying three drinks from concessions came to approximately $59 but damn, they just tasted better just because I was at a live hockey event for the first time in two years!

Walking through the corridor to your seats, you can hear the music blasting, seeing the boys in blue skating and shooting on net, you can’t beat that!

Then you get to the introduction, the arena has new animations for the ice, the kid skating around with the Maple Leaf’s flag as the music is just blasting! Going through the whole line up and announcing each player as the crowd is getting louder and louder.

Martina Ortiz Luis would then step out to sing the National Anthem. Halfway through, she got the crowd to sing the rest and it just gives you chills all down your body. Just thinking how awesome this experience is and how our country fought extremely hard to be in this situation today!

The puck drops, and its GAME ON! The one thing I really didn’t miss was all the Canadiens fans that were in the building. Especially when they scored first, you can really pinpoint all the fans.

It came down right to the end, but the Maple Leafs ended up winning 2-1 to win their home opener.

To summarize, the focus pertains to us battling through this pandemic and being able to get to a point where we can enjoy the events that we used to go to. Being able to get together with friends & family is a blessing, please don’t take this for granted because who knows what is going to happen next in this world!