A Hockey Game in Tampere, Finland
It was the end of January 2022 about half way through hockey season, when Jeremy burst into my office excitedly to tell me the Colorado Avalanche would be playing in Finland for the NHL Global series in the fall. He didn’t have to ask if we could go, my mind was already dreaming up our itinerary.
I had wanted to visit Finland ever since we traveled to Norway and Sweden back in 2017, so it felt like a perfect chance to scratch it off the bucket list..
“Let’s see if they even have any tickets,” he said, hopeful. He tapped on his phone and pinched and zoomed the map of the stadium, eyes raising anxiously.
“There’s literally only one spot with two seats together,” he said looking up at me. It felt like fate, so we booked them on the spot and then we got to planning our trip to Finland.
Can you really call yourself a die hard fan unless you follow your favorite team all the way to Finland?
Fast forward to November…
We arrived in Tampere on the second day of our trip. The town was divided by a river that played a part in Tampere’s rich history in textile and manufacturing industries. We stayed in a spacious one bedroom apartment, hosted by a friendly man with thin blond hair and a beard named Jani. He met us outside with a quick handshake and a nod and welcomed us inside his home.
As we walked about the apartment, admiring the stylish decor, the colorful accents, and his large music collection, he shared that he was recently married and now lives with is wife minutes away. I walked through the kitchen, admiring the modern style cabinets and as I made my way to the back of the apartment, Jani told us a story of when he first moved into the apartment, and one day went out on his back patio naked only to find that the door had locked behind him. He was forced to climb over his balcony and go knock on his neighbors door to let him inside, to his absolute embarrasment. His story served as a warning to not get locked out on the porch. Jani’s eyes gleamed as we all collectively chuckled. With a few more directions on how to use his personal sauna, he bid us farewell and left.
Tampere was cold and rainy the first day, but we ventured around town, eager to get to know more than the inside of a hotel room.
The following day, we visited the hockey hall of fame, walking up and down cases of hockey sweaters and hockey paraphernalia from Finland’s past teams.
Next, we explored the textile museum and learned about Tampere’s history as a major textile hub.
Later that day it was game time and we headed over to the arena. The crowds gathered at corners forming a tide of blue and burgundy jerseys at the entrance.
After entry, we made for the food court. Jeremy purchased two beers for himself and a water for me. We made our way to the entrance for our row when we were stopped and told that only water was allowed in the stadium.
Jeremy looked down at his two tall beer cans and said “challenge accepted” and downed them in the next 20 minutes before the game.
For a hockey game, it was oddly quiet
The crowd watched on bated breaths as the teams clashed. You could almost hear the grunts and the slap of the puck as it hissed across the ice.
I looked over at Jeremy as he watched and cheered his team on, and saw how happy this made him. If nothing else happens on this trip, the trip will have been a success.
The final score was 5 to 1, Avalanche. We left with mixture of feeling tired and wired. The streets flooded with fans as they spread out into the night. We took a stroll and found our way into a bar for late night drinks and snacks before sauntering back to our room.
