Colorado Avalanche: The Glorious Nature of an Outdoor Game

The Colorado Avalanche are going outside, and it must be mentioned what it means to be a fan amongst the glory of a hopefully snow-filled escapade of hockey. The following is more an exploratory venture on the topic of what it means to be a fan — particularly a hockey fan — but is certainly inspired from the fact that the Coors Light Stadium Series is coming to Colorado.

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The Colorado Avalanche are a mechanism, a complicated existence like the rest of the things in this world. Like men and women alike, they can’t be understood, but we long to feel some sort of recognition. All I’m saying, is everything in life is made to be a part of something, and should feel a part of something.

And that’s what we’re here for, a discussion of what it means to be a fan, because being a fan means one is part of something, a following centered around whatever intrigues them the most. It is this longing that draws people together — the boredom, the inexplicable desire to belong, and the inevitable walk toward something greater than oneself.

Outdoor hockey is childhood memories, frozen ponds and wooden sticks.

This is hockey, and now it’s going to be outside. It’s childhood memories, frozen ponds and wooden sticks. But if we’re all honest, there is something about the fandom that is all too enticing. That’s why I’m here, and that’s why everyone else is here.

So, let’s discuss what it means to be a fan, especially because the Coors Light Stadium Series is coming to Colorado. After all, that’s the best time to express what it means to be a fan, and ultimately a part of the Colorado Avalanche mechanism.

Everyone in life has some sort of obsession, and these obsessions transcend all categories of normality. but there is something particular and glorious that comes with giving one’s all to the ups and downs of a sport. It’s the attachment to something greater than one’s own existence that draws the fan to the inevitable — the love of the game.

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But, you see it’s not just about the fact that your favorite sport is on the TV — and the many facets of how you spend time while watching the game — but it’s also about the fact that the players you’re watching have also given their reckless abandonment to the cause, realizing their life-long dream to become a pro player. They watched hockey when they were little, they had players whom they idolized, and in the end we’re all just humans adapted to community, engaged in that which makes humans particularly special.

So, people ponder the life of a fan, how they could watch every single game, how they drool over the news surrounding their team, and how they connect with a player, or an environment (which in this case involves outdoor hockey). But, to be a fan is something that should be misunderstood, it is something that can only be understood when one truly joins the ranks.

I think it’s time for a quote that describes the true love of the game, it discusses soccer, but the point is clear and certain things can be substituted so that it seems more like a hockey quote.

"“What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes. It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city. It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.” — Sir Bobby Robson"

“Without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love” — that’s the same thing I felt during my first hockey game, and that’s what I’m going to be feeling when I walk into Coors Field in February. Because it’s not really about whether or not you can see the ice — although important — it’s really about the environment and the people you are surrounded by. Furthermore, this environment is only amplified now that it’s outdoors because the players must remember pond hockey when they were little and feel that same love of the game that a fan has.

And, what better way to prepare for this game than watch the alumni Avalanche duke it out with the rivalry-era Red Wings? If you’re looking for more reasons to get pumped about the alumni game, check this out!

I remember crying at a Game 7 between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche, when the Avalanche came out on bottom.

I was only a little tyke when the Colorado Avalanche first became a team, but I remember those years. I specifically remember crying at a Game 7 between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche (unfortunately, I had to relive this horror in the 2014 playoffs) when the Avalanche came out on bottom.

It was Patrick Roy’s last game and the end of an era.

But now he’s donning the skates and pads for one more bout against the hated Red Wings. We all know it won’t have the same feel as a real hockey game, but the alumni game is still a grand affair.

Ultimately, Colorado Avalanche fans have the explicit pleasure of joining in with their team outside and becoming a part of the grand nature that is hockey. Players have the privilege of supplying their fans with outdoor hockey, and hopefully the weather plays along and drops flakes for the experience.

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In the end, sports are just another existence in the encompassing clock that is life, helping us to spend the time we have to live. However, there is no denying the belonging you feel to you team, and the pride associated with all the things that you team represents.

The Colorado Avalanche are representing themselves surely, but in February they will also be representing a state, a city, and its fans. That surely is belonging, and the feelings associated with it because to be a fan means one is utterly bound by the fate of their team.

Anyway, that’s all I can divulge on the convoluted existence of fandom and its many different facets. On February 27th I’ll have the distinct pleasure of expressing this level of commitment with many others in hockey sweaters, struggling to keep warm.

What does your fandom look like? And, what are your thoughts about the outdoor game in February? Let us know in the comments!

Next: Five Reasons to Love Outdoor Hockey in Colorado