Whenever I see Toronto at Ottawa in the NHL, I notice that there are practically as many Toronto fans as their are Ottawa fans. When they play in Toronto, they are almost all Toronto fans. Okay, makes sense, you expect the team from a bigger city to have more fans, especially an original six team against a 1993 expansion team. But I was looking at stats recently, and the Sens and Leafs have almost identical attendance. I was not expecting to see that! What gives?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2007
2007-03-30 09:46:38 · 12 answers · asked by JK Nation 4 in Sports ➔ Hockey
It's a Canadian city. All Canadian City's attendance is 100%! Attendance = seating capacity, each and every game, no matter who the opposition is. The attendance difference is 1 arena fits about 150 more people. How they get 104% home attendance is what I am wondering. (Ouch! Edmonton attendance has fallen to 98.5%. How embarrassing.)
Unless you are talking away game attendance? Where I think when you play in California or Florida, Ottawa and Toronto would have the same draw. But I now see your link was sorted by home attendance.
As for Toronto. It is the original 6 thing. With national broadcasts, that is who all of English Canada followed. They get lots of fans in all of the Canadian rinks. I am a Canucks fan, sold out show every game since 2002. If I had 2 season tickets (let me dream here a moment - Impossible to get, there is a waiting list) I would have to consider, do I want to go to this game, even though I hate Toronto or do I skip this game and sell them to a Toronto fan for triple the ticket price? I say sell. But forget that when Montreal is in town! I am going no matter how much you offer me.
2007-03-30 10:17:48 · answer #1 · answered by JuanB 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
There are many Sens fans who are also Habs and Leaf fans ... believe it or not. It is also much easier and cheaper to drive down and buy a Sens ticket than it is in Toronto at least. Looking at Montreal, its only a two hour drive.
The numbers are slowly going down. I'm just going to use Toronto as an example ... it use to be 50/50 - Toronto/Ottawa (sometimes it seemed like 60/50) ... but now its starting to be 40/60 the other way and even a couple games where it seemed like 30/70.
With the new generation growing up in a city with an established NHL team. You don't see many young Habs/Leafs fans anymore. Most of the Habs/Leaf fans in Ottawa are baby boomers who have grown up watching either one of the teams because its really the closest to them. Leafs/Habs always got TV coverage in Ottawa as well.
2007-03-30 18:54:12 · answer #2 · answered by msconduct 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Leafs fans travel everywhere since tickets are too rare and expensive in Toronto, which is why all their away games have tons of Leafs fans show up. Toronto probably has the strongest fan base... with the possible exception of Montreal.
You see the same thing whenever the Penguins play Washington... for some reason Pens fans have a tendancy to take over the Capitals arena when they play each other.
2007-03-30 13:10:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's the same when Toronto or Montreal plays here. We seat over 20,000 fans for those games, almost half of which are Habs or Leafs fans. We're two hours away from Montreal, five from Toronto, it's nearly impossible to get Leafs tickets at home, and so they come here.
Most of them also grew up as Toronto or Montreal fans, then we got our team & they did not switch full allegiances.
2007-04-01 08:55:18 · answer #4 · answered by nightbreak.geo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they are there to see the visiting teams... most often Leafs and Habs...!
alot of Ottawa hockey fans that grew up "pre-sens" remain loyal Leafs and Habs fans - with being a Sens fan second... also alot of people in Ottawa are from Montreal and Toronto...
They get over 100% because people are crazy enough to pay to stand to watch games... (the arena's maximum seating capacity is 100%) which makes attendances figures go beyond seating capacity...
2007-03-30 10:18:58 · answer #5 · answered by Virus Type V 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are tons of Leaf fans in attendance in Buffalo, too. I think tickets are hard to come by in T.O. so their fans get tickets in Buffalo and Ottawa as soon as they are available.
I have heard of some Leaf fans that have purchased season tickets in Buffalo just to get the Leafs games. They sell the rest off and hope to break even. Tickets in Buffalo have been sold out for a long time, so Leaf fans are doing quite well with this strategy this year.
The other thing we get in Buffalo are lots of fans that root for both teams. They cheer for the sabres at 37 home games, and cheer for Toronto at the other 4.
2007-03-30 09:54:00 · answer #6 · answered by SabreFreek 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ITS cause the sens rule! im a sens fan but i was born in toronto but lived in ottawa for three years but im like a die hard sens fan! And in ottawa the sens are a relly big thing if you live in ottawa its hard not to be a sens fan unless u liked another team before u moved there
2007-03-30 14:21:26 · answer #7 · answered by thinkpink 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
After stinking out the league for a few years, they got good, they got a nice arena, they have devoted hockey fans. They could probably fill the arena in Kanata, ON for curling, my guess. They win the cup, the Sens will be a perennial sellout.
2007-03-30 09:51:41 · answer #8 · answered by Alf W 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
becuase canada is big and canadian teams are spred out and canadian people like hockey
2007-03-30 13:39:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well ottowa is better than the maple loafs and they're a canadian team. canadians love hockey....
2007-03-30 10:34:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋