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The joys of playing away

The joys of playing away by Stephen Dowson

Hey everybody, welcome to the House of Dows. Answering the call of BIH I’ve put myself forward to bring some thoughts, opinions and coverage of some of the goings on in the Elite League. I’m a Sheffield Steeler (cue boo’s) and I also try to see Newcastle play (family in the North) and I’ll be the first one at the door when they build a rink in Durham.  I’m also relatively new to the sport.

 

You’re in a small group if you go to a Hockey game in this country, that group gets smaller if you enjoy going to away games. Most see the distance and choose not to go, others don’t like the odds of success. I love going to away games. I love being the minority, the endless chanting and the brilliant banter you always get in the away end. For as many games I’ve seen Sheffield play at home I’ve probably seen just as many away. It also gives me a chance to see how other fans react and play the age old game of comparing other rinks.

 

This is why I convinced myself I needed to go to Steelers @ Vipers last December. I had never been to Whitley Bay and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The Vipers have been struggling to convince fans to accept the move, which at the time I didn’t understand, so I was eager to see it for myself. Plus it’s a cheap excuse for a road trip.

 

Despite severe weather warnings advising us not to bother we set off Newcastle bound. Away trips are always marked by the good conversation you have with the people your with on the way there. Some people I know have music rituals, others make bets on the outcome or how badly the defeat will be tonight, we just seem to have a ridiculous amount of fun for a couple of lads in a Ford Ka. This journey started out the same, until the heavens opened.

 

Snowflakes as big as your face. I’m not kidding. The laughter soon stopped when we realised that the only reason we knew we were moving was because the snowflakes changed direction. Then came the usual ‘are we gonna make face-off’ panic, which developed into the ‘are we gonna make it’ panic, until it finally settled into ‘are we gonna die on the A1’ panic. It suddenly got very quiet in the car and I found myself encouraging  the driver, praising every simple manoeuvre as if it were the work of Jenson Button. ‘Nice mate well done, you got round that corner really well.’  It would of been funny if I wasn’t changing the colour of my trousers.

 

Arrival at the Bay was treated in much the same way I imagine Noah treated the rain stopping for a bit. 10 minutes to face-off and we found ourselves hurriedly parking and getting a jog on to the arena. For those who have never been to Whitley Bay the rink itself is pretty easy to miss, nestled within rows of houses a rink suddenly appears from seemingly nowhere.

 

The arena itself looks like it hasn’t even seen a paint brush in over 30 years. It reminds of an old football ground that was built when the club where in their heyday, and now are at the bottom of League Two. Sheet metal sides that make a cracking noise when you hit them cover the arena and officially the worst PA system in the league welcomes you to the game.

 

Seating was plentiful and we tried to find the other Steelers. Sheffield has been known to take a couple of hundred fans to the Metro Arena, so I was looking for the sea of orange shirts. The sea turned out to be a bit of a puddle. There was only 16 of them.

 

The game was a bit of a cracker. Plenty of goals, lots of chances and a couple of shorthanded markers that make any fan want to dance a bit – that and it was too cold to not be moving at all times. We even got a conga going towards the end the singing was non-stop throughout.

 

Even though we had beaten their team I was genuinely touched by how many Viper fans wished us well and a safe journey on the way home. It was also good to see how good spirits were against some of the more loyal fans, who were always up for some banter and looking on the brighter side of life.

 

Ageing venue, and poor results aside this an area that does love its hockey and its only a shame that more fans can’t make it to the Bay more often. But the atmosphere and the hope that followed the Vipers early season seems to have all but disappeared. The Vipers were one of my picks to have a good season this year and the early stages seemed to prove me right. A speedy offense, a touch of experience and a quality goaltender saw them beating most teams that entered the Metro Arena. Michelle Robinson has a lot of critics but I for one rate him highly as a goaltender and Newcastle’s huge slump in form has been coupled with his injury and their change in venue. The wind has defiantly been knocked out of them. I only hope they survive long enough to recover and be the quality team they have the potential to be.

 

I got the opportunity to speak to Anthony Payne, who was a part of the Wasps team of ’91 who won everything and he spoke fondly of his times playing there. I mentioned the current state of the venue and he said he played in the ’08 game against the Warriors. ‘Yes its old,’ he said, ‘but that’s not the point. It’s the history. Every lad from this part of the world who claims he can play has laced up in there. When its full and the fans are behind the team the arena can be one of the best in the country.’ The Vipers desperately some of that magic right now.

 

The journey back was slow – at one point our speed was 2mph – and treacherous, yet the atmosphere was different than before. Who cares, we saw a win tonight.

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