I attended a Laval Rocket game recently. A match like any other, no doubt, since I go there occasionally.
Each time, however, I wonder if I am part of the exception that confirms the following rule: to enjoy a match of our national sport, we need noise, constantly.
It starts with honks worthy of an illegal occupation of our federal capital, as soon as the players enter the ice. Then it’s a jumble of high-paced music samples until the face-off, nay, until the puck hits the ice on the face-off. And the game starts slow, but the music, especially Anglo-Saxon, goes at full speed as if it wanted to stimulate the players. And if that’s not enough, we are posted everywhere in big flashing letters the famous: “Make some noise, make noise “, sure.
And if, by chance, the locals get busy and the game becomes more exciting, the crowd cheers, the noisemaker goes wild and my new watch gets angry sending me a notification of risk of partial hearing loss . However, I did not come to attend a rock concert, but a Rocket hockey game.
How do the players, referees and team staff endure this, game after game? The coach must have his throat on fire at the end of the evening.
When I was young, my friends and I went to see the Canadian Juniors at the Forum on Friday nights. We were entitled to a few organ tunes from time to time. But we had not yet succumbed to the American fashion for noise. It was noisy, yes, but it was the crowd that showed their joy at the exploits of Tardif, Houle, Perreault and company.
I’m not asking for a return to the Forum organ, but it would be an experiment worth trying: offering a few evenings with reduced noise for those who leave there with ringing in their ears. And if it’s an age problem, I assume: offer some outings from the golden age at Place Bell, at the Bell Centre, since it’s the same phenomenon during Montreal Canadiens games.