A sad loss

It is with a depressing regularity that news stories break about a financial crisis surrounding a British ice hockey club. For almost every fan there lurks an awareness that their team is not immune to such a fate. Even so, when it happens there can be no preparation for the concern, panic, and then devastation that accompanies the grave news. 

This week saw the demise of the Hull Stingrays and there isn’t a hockey fan in the country who won’t be offering their deepest sympathies for all involved with the club. I feel especially sorry for players like Konstantin Kalmikov, who have made Hull their home. I’m sure he will have no problems finding a team, but it will be difficult to move on having settled with his family in the Humberside area. Condolences must also go to Sylvain Cloutier. He has shown great commitment to Hull, and although it’s unlikely he will find a coaching position this season, hopefully this proves to be no more than a blip in his coaching career.  

Each player is now in for a stressful few weeks as they look to secure employment and a place to live for the next year. The good news is that they do have time to do so. Sue and Mike Pack have sacrificed an incredible amount to run and support the Hull Stingrays, and their final sacrifice is the greatest. It must be tempting for them to dip into the money raised by season tickets and to plough on into the season, in the hope that a sponsorship deal will appear and save the club they have invested so much into. To give up the club now, so that fans can have their money back, and players have a better chance to find a team for the new season is a highly noble and selfless act. The regard with which the Pack’s are held by the Hull faithful speaks volumes for how much they have put into hockey in Hull. I have no doubt that they will do all that they can to help secure the future of Hull’s signed players.

 

Fans of the Stingrays have lost more than a way to spend their Saturday or Sunday evenings. The size of ice hockey in Britain is both its blessing and its curse. The small scale it operates on means that media coverage and revenue is limited, but does make the experience richer for fans. Premiership football fans couldn’t dream of meeting their heroes in the bar after the game, or going on organised social trips with the team. Nor could they look forward to such a warm welcome from old friends and rivals on away trips. 

For those who love it, sport is a wonderful distraction from just about anything. Being able to transfer your emotions onto a team you love allows you to experience a full range of human emotion: from heartbreak to elation, from outrage to relief, from disappointment to delirium, while not thinking about your own problems. You could be having a hard time in your personal life, but for an evening your emotions and mood are in the hands of your team. It’s a wonderfully liberating experience. 

The benefits of loving a sports team extend beyond the game night; a large part of the appeal is the anticipation. Many a tedious meeting or uncomfortable bus journey can be tolerated with the thought than in a day or two you will be sitting in your seat as the lights go down, or music comes up in preparation for your team to hit the ice.

Even in the seemingly never-ending offseason, the anticipation of the coming season is enough to while away wearisome afternoons. Speculating as to how your season will pan out and wondering which of your team’s new signings will become most dear to you helps to keep you going through those long midsummer working days.

These things are all on top of the simple pleasure of watching a game that you love with friends; the thought that Hull fans have lost of them is heartbreaking. The empathy felt from fans around the country is massive. Some have been there before and can remember all too well what it feels like, others will know all too well that this is a fate they may one day face. Although it will be scant consolation I hope that Hull fans will take some solace in the warmth with which they will be greeted in every rink in the country, should they wish to seek hockey further from home. 

I can only echo the sentiment of every British hockey fan and say that I hope hockey can survive in some form in Hull, and in the very near future.

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