What’s your best and worst road game attendance experience?

[ViD]

For those who attend road games, what’s some good and bad experiences you’ve had ?

As a Jackets fan, I didn’t really have any bad experience as there’s not much rivalry between Columbus and anyone else. Had some friendly chirps from Lightning fans after we swept them, but that’s about it.

As for the arenas, Tampa has got to be #1 - great organ, giant Jumbotron, great presentation. Loved Panthers Arena for low attendance, pretty much no wait lines for food and drinks

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[Filthy Dangles]

Philly is always funny and prob the most hostile as a Ranger fan. Have had plenty of expeltivies hurled and birds flipped for doing nothing other than being in Ranger gear. Had a guy stick his hand in my bucket of fries and take some as he dropped a couple F bombs at me which I laughed at. Prob get arrested for that today

Predator fans were pretty nice at Bridgestone, but Ranger fans did invade that place when I was there

 

[ReggiesLemons]

I had some Habs fans breathing down my neck while trying to piss during a playoff game in 2014 against the Bruins (I had my jersey on). It was really weird. A number of them attempted to talk smack before, throughout and after the game but they all spoke French so I had no idea what they were saying. It was quite amusing for me. I just laughed at them all and continued on my way.

Matt Fraser scored the OT winner for the B's so I may have done a couple spins with the birds flying. The Bruins did lose that series in the end but I at least got to see a winner.

 

[Pongs21]

Went to see the Jets play the Islanders a few years back at the Barclays Centre. Got awesome seats for pennies compared to the tickets at MSG the day before. Sat in front of a group of young Wall Street douche bags. One was complaining that he hated the Jets because his front row tickets in ATL cost him under $20 a game. Wanted so bad to turn around and tell him that's exactly why they lost their team and to shut the f*** up about banging strippers and doing coke in front of my 7 year old.
MSG was awesome, except for getting food poising from Katz Delicatessen, thus ruining smoked meat for me forever. Was also my only chance to see Big Buff play, but he was injured.

 

[HisIceness]

I'll just say this, American Airlines Center in Dallas is incredible. Even if your team isn't playing it's a great venue to see an event. Awesome sightlines, great location, Texas-sized food, symphony hall-esque concourses. The Stars have a great fanbase too

 

[severian]

Philly is always funny and prob the most hostile as a Ranger fan. Have had plenty of expeltivies hurled and birds flipped for doing nothing other than being in Ranger gear. Had a guy stick his hand in my bucket of fries and take some as he dropped a couple F bombs at me which I laughed at. Prob get arrested for that today

Predator fans were pretty nice at Bridgestone, but Ranger fans did invade that place when I was there

I'm considering a trip to Philly this Saturday with my 9 year old. Everyone is trying to talk me out of it. They have quite the reputation.

 

[Dr Pepper]

I'll just say this, American Airlines Center in Dallas is incredible. Even if your team isn't playing it's a great venue to see an event. Awesome sightlines, great location, Texas-sized food, symphony hall-esque concourses. The Stars have a great fanbase too

One of the few arenas I've been to outside of Toronto, but it was about 15 years ago. I do remember Dallas beat Minny though, so it was a good time!

Also been to Buffalo, Ottawa/Kanata, and Montreal without issue.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

As a Bruins fan in Toronto, no problems at the ACC or in Buffalo. I'm also a pretty chill guy and not going to games to look to get into a fight ha. Friendly chirps here and there, but that's about it.

Went to a Bruins/Wings playoff game a bunch of years ago in Detroit and someone put a ciggy out on the back of my Bergeron jersey (Jersey from china, so who cares). Didn't realize till I got home, guess that's what you get for smoking with the enemy.

 

[cneely]

I've only seen the Bruins play in Anaheim and Toronto.

No one even seemed to notice I was there in Anaheim. In Toronto, there was some good natured ribbing, but that's it.

 

[dr robbie]

I can definitely share my worst.

I planned out for a year that I was going to attend the Penguins home opener in 2012. I had to schedule my time off with work as did my wife and 2 friends we were going with, got my travel planned out to where we were going to spend an entire week in NE united states and ensured that we were there for the game. And then, you know, the lockout happened and the game never occurred. We ended up still going to Pittsburgh and I got my picture with the newly added Lemieux statue... but still ultimately sucked as that was going to be my once in a lifetime trek to Pittsburgh. Now, there's no way I could coordinate time off like that, especially that time of year. And with kids and pets now, there's just zero chance. Ultimately, just absolutely sucked and I'm still sour about the timing.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

My best experience was in Edmonton it was when Brodeur's career was coming to it's conclusion and I had an Oiler fan come over shake my hand and say it's been an absolute pleasure watching Marty play all these years.

Worst was when I was younger I was surrounded by Leaf fans and forced to remove my Devils jersey "or else"

Vegas was cool too, went the first time NJ played Vegas, their fans were awesome and even though the Devils were blowing the Knights out, nobody left

 

[Stive Morgan]

Best experience was in Victoria when my Silvertips eliminated the Royals in 5OT and I kept expecting to get my ass kicked but surprisingly people kept coming up to me and shaking my hand like "good series man, good luck for the rest of the playoffs"

 

[sabremike]

My best experience was in Edmonton it was when Brodeur's career was coming to it's conclusion and I had an Oiler fan come over shake my hand and say it's been an absolute pleasure watching Marty play all these years.

Worst was when I was younger I was surrounded by Leaf fans and forced to remove my Devils jersey "or else"

Should've kept it on because you know they would only be capable of 6 harmless shots in total.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

I'm considering a trip to Philly this Saturday with my 9 year old. Everyone is trying to talk me out of it. They have quite the reputation.

Sounds like you're a devils fan, as they play them Saturday. Given how good your team is and how irrelevant the Flyers are I would think the building would be close to 50/50 split devil flyer fans.

Anyone who messes with a parent with a kid is a scumbag, idk if they'd stoop to that level.

Best of luck either way

 

[Taluss]

Never really had any bad experiences. More so just a couple moments

First time the Knights played in Jersey i wore my VGK jersey to the game. Got a good amount of chirps, threats of beer being tossed at me (though I didnt help the situation by chirping back resulting in that point) & a few people randomly telling my gf to break up with me (she was in her Devils jersey). Was quite funny, nothing bad.

& the draft in Monteal I was surprisingly fine wearing a Rangers jersey but my Brother wearing a Sens one not so much. That was a fun night hearing people yell at him. Ironically a Lot of “Sens suck” chirps despite Habs being the 1st pick with a horrible season

 

[HugeInTheShire]

Should've kept it on because you know they would only be capable of 6 harmless shots in total.

The saddest part was they waited until my friend went to the bathroom and then swarmed me.
I was like 18 years old, 100lb and a total nerd, these were 5 or 6 full grown adults... I didn't like my chances

But I do appreciate the 6 harmless shots reference

 

[TheFinalWord]

Had a lot of fun watching Leaf games in Montreal. Great atmosphere for those. Not really a worst experience, but the Rangers scalpers are complete loons. It's fun to watch someone try to negotiate....I'm just waiting for someone to get stabbed.

 

[PocketNines]

The first time I left the US was December 14, 1991 when I drove up from college in New Hampshire to Quebec City to see the Blues beat the Nordiques 4-2. The Blues actually scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty in the third period to take the lead 3-2. I arrived 90 minutes before game time with a Blues jersey so I ran into Blues employees on the upper concourse. I talked to Ron Caron in the elevator about defensive prospect Dan Laperriere who was playing for St. Lawrence, since I was calling games for Division 1 in the ECAC. I met Ken Wilson who was happy to show me the broadcast booth and there I met a very awkward John Kelly. After the game I decided to drive back to the US but there was a serious blizzard and my car kept stalling on the unplowed entirely dark road down to the border and I nearly died. So that was the best and worst in the same trip.

 

[severian]

Sounds like you're a devils fan, as they play them Saturday. Given how good your team is and how irrelevant the Flyers are I would think the building would be close to 50/50 split devil flyer fans.

Anyone who messes with a parent with a kid is a scumbag, idk if they'd stoop to that level.

Best of luck either way

It won’t be a 50/50 split. I’d be shocked if there are 1000 devils fans there.

 

[I Hate Philadelphia]

Bruins fan.

Best:

Tampa - home fans + arena staff are super welcoming, nothing more than lighthearted ribbing & calling me a "Masshole"

Worst:

EASILY Philadelphia - Saw a severely disabled man in a wheelchair wearing bruins gear have food thrown at him in the concourse. Had 3 people behind me whipping rally towels at the back of my head all game. A group of ~10 men in the parking lot told me they were going to r*pe my girlfriend while we were walking to our car.

 

[Voight]

Road - Habs/Flyers.

Philly sports fans are awful to begin with.

 

[Brodeur]

I haven't had too many bad experiences. For the most part, if I'm minding my own business nobody is really out to bug me. And typically I'd be at the game with a buddy cheering for the home team so that usually will be a bit of shield.

Just for the trip down memory lane:

Anaheim: Usually pretty relaxed although I've seen some fights break out during Kings/Ducks games. Amusing memory was being at the rink very early for a Devils/Ducks game and former Ducks GM Bob Murray was walking within in an earshot. He was on the phone, so I thought I'd be listening to some juicy trade talk. Nope, he was imploring his mother to go to the DMV.

Boston: Main memory is the tight seating in the upper deck. Also went to Frozen Four last year but that was a weird environment. Probably more a function of the Frozen Four than anything with Boston. Vendors also seem to interact more than other arenas.

Detroit: Squeezed in a Tigers and Red Wings game on the same day. It was a preseason game at Joe Louis, so probably not totally representative of the typical experience.

Los Angeles: Had one drunk guy follow me in the parking garage to yell some lame insults after a Kings/Devils game but that was pretty mild (pre-2012). Post-2012, I was eating in the arena restaurant and some guy tried to talk trash but I laughed it off. I recall seeing a couple fights in the stands/parking lot after the Kings were eliminated by the Red Wings in 2000.

New Jersey: I remember going to a Devils/Flyers game. Afterwards was having a friendly conversation with random Devils fan as we were exiting the arena. Then he excused himself so he could go fight a Flyers fan. It was a 'you had to be there' moment since he was so nonchalant about it.

NY Islanders: I went to the first preseason game at Barclays, so definitely more of a curiosity vibe than a normal game.

NY Rangers: Fun memory was taking the subway to the Yankee Stadium outdoor game. At MSG, average fan is a bit louder than on the west coast but didn't run into any issues. I've had cordial conversations with Rangers fans at Prudential Center.

San Jose: Only been 3x but don't have any bad memories. One bartender got on my case for not being a bigger Jeff Friesen fan. Good sightlines for upper deck. Went last year and the area around the arena seemed a little more barren than before. Seemed like some of the bars didn't survive the pandemic.

Vancouver: Went for preseason game with my friend (Sharks fan) and he got some friendly heckling. Definitely a different vibe before/after the game that is difficult to replicate in the south.

Vegas: Only been once but the overall experience was tremendous if only because it's Vegas. I went during inaugural year and Vegas fans were very hospitable.

Washington: Only been once (oddly have seen two WWE events there). Had good seats on the Caps side. It was quite a show watching Ovechkin launch one timers during warmups.

Also have been to Chicago, Florida, and Minnesota for the draft. Always a friendly atmosphere aside from a handful of aggressive adult autograph seekers. Aiming to go to Dallas in January. I was supposed to go last April but JetBlue ruined that weekend. [/coolstorybro]

 

[BLNY]

I've not had the chance to take in a Habs away game.

I have seen games in four cities as a neutral fan.

Best in-game experience was LA. Had seats in the VIP area with seated service. A number of player wives were seated in that area. Seats were great, and it was nice to have someone take my order and bring it back.

Best post-game experience was in Calgary. My group ran into Jody Shelley's father. He was there to watch Jody's Blue Jackets. We got invited down to the area of the Saddledome where the visiting team enters and leaves the building. Got pictures with Jody, Rick Nash, Ray Whitney, and Aaron Johnson.

Worst experience would be a tie between Vancouver and Toronto. The game in Vancouver was a week after the Bertuzzi-Moore incident. The mood was very down. Despite seats at ice level, it wasn't a memorable experience. The game in Toronto was seats way up in the nose bleeds. An airplane seat is more spacious.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Worst:

Greenville SC for an ECHL game, as a teenager with my mom. Was followed to the parking lot and challenged to a fight by a full grown man because I chirped his (Messier Canucks) jersey after he chirped mine.

Best:

Actually Raleigh back before I was a Canes fan, but for the sake of a non-homer answer I’ll say Dallas. It was a lot of fun with zero hassles.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

My dad and I took in a Ducks game when they were battling the Oilers for playoff positioning in 2017. The fans were... actually very friendly despite the animosity between the two franchises. I spilled my drink and a Ducks fan helpfully informed me that they'd replace it no problem.

On the other end of the spectrum, while not technically a "road" game, I went to a Flames/Oilers game here in Calgary. I wasn't dressed in any paraphernalia except a Winter Classic hat. The Oilers won the game and as I boarded the C-train to go home I was confronted by two Flames fans who basically told me if I was an Oilers fan they'd beat me up. Of course I denied it but still, f*** you assholes.