Sports in Vancouver have always been very popular and very well followed by the people of this city. Whether it’s the Canucks, Whitecaps, or Lions, Vancouver has always had great support from their fans. When our teams are winning and doing well, there is absolutely no question about the fans commitment to supporting their teams. When the teams start to go on a losing run, many fans are quick to pick apart everything about the team.
It is fair to say the Vancouver Canucks are the most popular and most followed sports team in Vancouver. Just five years ago the entire city got behind the team as the Canucks came so close to winning their first ever Stanley Cup. Fans have come very accustomed to making the playoffs as in the last decade, their team have qualified for the post season more often than not. Although, two of the past three seasons the Canucks have failed to make the playoffs. Now with a struggling start to this year’s campaign, attendance has dropped immensely, and the hype around the city about the team isn’t there anymore. You could say some fans who are the first to jump on the bandwagon when doing well, are the quickest to jump right off it when the team starts to go on a losing run.
The Canucks organization are not helping their own cause by having ridiculous ticket prices. It makes sense for the attendance to drop after a few losses because of the outrageous prices. It will cost hundreds of dollars for a family night out at a Canucks game. When the team starts to win and the attendance starts to creep back up, the team will increase prices on food and merchandise. It’s is easy to understand why people are not making the effort to go support the team as much as in previous years.
Elsewhere in the city we have the Vancouver Whitecaps. Joining Major League Soccer in 2011 makes them a relatively new team to the top flight of Soccer in the USA and Canada. For the majority of their stay in the MLS, the Caps have called BC Place home. The upper bowl is closed off but the 22000 seats in the lower bowl that are available have made for a great atmosphere for fans to enjoy. The attendance has increased slowly but surely in the past five years, as more games are being sold out, and more consistent higher numbers are recorded week in and week out. Even when the Caps struggle, fans will come out to support the team whenever they can. A big reason for this is the ticket prices to go to a Whitecaps game. Tickets can start at just 20 dollars for Caps games and a season ticket is just under 500 dollars. If you compare these prices to the Canucks, there is a large distance between the two.
Vancouver sports fans are very passionate and have been for many years. It can be very hard to spend all this money for a game now a days but there are still many ways to come support the city’s sports teams.
