How to get the other team's goat, as told by UNB hockey superfans
When the UNB Varsity Reds hosted the national hockey championship last year at the Aitken Centre, some students were inspired to show off their passion.
This year, the national championship is back at UNB, and so are the superfans.
- UNB Varsity Reds set to host top hockey teams at David Johnston University Cup
Some of the UNB fans shared their approach to getting the home team pumped up for the big game: they do their best to discourage the other team.
Fan signs
An essential part about being a good fan is bringing in clever fan signs. Alex Cameron says it takes "hours and hours of preparation."
UNB fans sported signs such as "Concordia pays for Tinder", and "Concordia couldn't get into McGill."
Many of the fans also had Swiss cheese signs, to emphasize the fact that UNB should have no problem getting it past the holes in the Concordia defence.
Chants
For Nick Bransfield, an essential part of being a fan is trying to use chants to get into the opposing team's head. Some chants are clever, others are just blunt.
"We'll pick a player on the team, usually the goalie, we'll chant his name, tell him he sucks, and then it really brings the morale down for the team … that also brings Concordia's morale down, so we're trying to boost our boys and bring them down," said Bransfield.
"I think it really resonates with the opposing teams when we say that one. That's probably our worst one and it could be a lot worse."
'It's all in good fun'
Bransfield doesn't feel bad about taking jabs at the other team. If UNB had to play somewhere else, the opposing team's fans would be doing the same, he said.
"This is all in good fun, and I think they understand that, and it would be the same if we were playing there."
Bransfield confessed that the fans' job is made easier by the fact UNB is the top-ranked team in the tournament.
"We're used to it here, which, like, we can brag about," he said.
UNB fans will be back in action on Saturday as the Varsity Reds face the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in the semi-finals.
