Who still believes that Montreal is the city of one club?
More than 50,000 people went to the region’s stadiums and arenas on Saturday to cheer on a team other than the Canadian. Place Bell was full. Saputo stadium was full. And at the Bell Centre, where I was, 21,105 spectators attended the Toronto-Montreal game of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF), a new world record for a women’s hockey game.
I was in Toronto last February when the old brand was established. It was also during a clash between the same two teams. A beautiful evening. The atmosphere was friendly. Good child. But on Saturday, in downtown Montreal, we moved into another stratosphere. The crowd at the Bell Center was wild.
“When I heard the applause during the presentation of the Toronto players, I said to myself: “Holy Molly. I can’t imagine what it will be like for us,” said Marie-Philip Poulin. Two minutes later, she received the best ovation of the day. Taylor Swift would have come to sing the national anthem, it wouldn’t have been any louder.
“It got into me. It gives you chills. I took a moment to look at all the white towels in the stands. People were standing [tout au long de la partie]. As soon as the puck crossed the red line, it was loud. It was incredible. A moment that I will never forget. »
A shot, a climb, a stop, the spectators reacted to everything, everything, everything. Even the most innocuous blows with the stick, in the hope of influencing the referees. If you’ve ever been to a National League playoff game at the Bell Centre, it was comparable.
“One of the best experiences of my life,” commented Sarah Nurse, from Toronto. Same speech from her teammate Lauriane Rougeau, who grew up in Montreal. “The first show I attended was here. » The Backstreet Boys, to tell you the truth. “I know what the atmosphere at the Bell Center can be like. Today was incredible. I felt the vibrations. At the end of the game, looking at the section my parents were in, I had tears in my eyes. »
The growth of the LPHF is frankly impressive. In just four months, the Montreal team went from hoping to fill the Verdun Auditorium to a first full house, then to playing in front of 10,000 spectators at Place Bell, then 21,000 at the Bell Centre. The bond between the club and its audience is more than a flirtation or a love affair. It’s an intense, passionate, close-knit love at first sight that has a real chance of leading to a stable, long-term relationship.
The enthusiasm for the LPHF in Montreal is part of a broader context. That of the beginning of a golden age of women’s sport. Of course, several women have already left their mark on sport over the last 100 years: Sonja Henie, Nadia Comaneci, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams… The list is long. But women’s teams, with the possible exception of the American soccer team, have always had difficulty reaching a large audience.
This is changing. Very, very quickly.
Last week, the women’s final of the NCAA basketball tournament was seen by 18 million viewers. This is more than the men’s final (14.8 million). That’s more, too, than any NHL, NBA or major league baseball game in the last year. Last summer’s Women’s Soccer World Cup generated half a billion dollars in revenue. In the United States, the popularity of women’s volleyball matches is exploding on all campuses. Same thing here, by the way. The volleyball players from Laval University and the University of Montreal played in front of full houses last season.
The LPHF is part of this great movement. This league has everything to succeed. To take root. To create a strong bond with his supporters. She is banking on a very good product. It has the best players in the world. Its representatives are dedicated and accessible ambassadors, who take the time to convert fans one by one. Here, signing a jersey. There, giving a puck or a stick.
There aren’t too many matches either. The schedule of 24 games (32 next year) creates a scarcity of offer, and ensures that each meeting is an event. Ticket prices are reasonable. It allows parents to introduce their children to women’s hockey.
Moreover, the LPHF audience is different from that of the Canadiens, CF Montréal or the Alouettes. What struck me, both in Verdun, Laval, Toronto and at the Bell Centre, was the high number of teenage girls and young women in the crowd.
“We have the opportunity to play very important games,” explained Sarah Nurse. Not everyone is so lucky. We can truly change the landscape of women’s sports. Today we broke an attendance record. But it won’t stop here. We want to continue to push back [les limites], and be able to reproduce this on a constant basis. »
So, series at the Bell Center, rather than Verdun or Laval?
I believe it.
Montreal is more than the city of just one club.