Slavia v. Sparta

Two nights ago CEA got us tickets to a Slavia v. Sparta hockey game. Wouldn't you know that hockey is one of the Czech Republic's most popular sports? They really spoiled us with front row seats. I've only been to a few hockey games, none of which were professional, in my life, so this was a fun experience.

The majority of us cheered for Sparta, though Slavia was the home team. We had heard from Marty, one of our CEA Directors, that Sparta was the better team. However, they unfortunately lost to Slavia 2-1.

This by far has been my favorite element to see the Czech people in. There was drunken commraderie gallore, family togetherness, friendship bonding time- it was great. It was as though everyone's problems were left at the door, and everyone in the areana was there to have a good time.

Two things I particularly noticed during my time at the game. The first being the lack of on-ice fighting. At home, I feel like it's a rare occurance not to see two players go at it at some point during the game. However, I saw not one glove come off, no helmets on the ground, and certainly no punches thrown. If ever an altercation, a brief yelling session insued, but then it was game on.

The other thing I noticed was the dedication of each team's fans to their team. No matter whether a team was messing up left and right or making clean passes down the ice, their respective fans were behind them through it all, cheering them on. And even though Sparta lost in the end, you could still hear Sparta cheers down in the metro tunnels as the train pulled away. Talk about true fans.

So, I'll conclude with brief footage of the atmosphere: