The New York Rangers won on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, but it was not the highest attended hockey game at Madison Square Garden on that day. Instead, it was the New York Sirens against the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League that sold out the world’s most famous arena.
I traveled from Philadelphia to New York to take in the New York Sirens game, my third Sirens game at three different arenas this season. The Sirens (much like the Rangers) are a young team trying to figure out their identity and win some games. Unlike the Rangers, however, the fanbase is not established and the games have primarily been inaccessible.
This created a wild atmosphere at Madison Square Garden. The most attended women’s hockey game in United States history certainly felt like it. Throughout the entire game, the crowd was going crazy. It entirely felt like a playoff game, despite the season not going the Sirens way and not being over just yet.
The game taught me a lot about what works and doesn’t work in today’s in-game entertainment world.
My biggest takeaway was the lack of “suits” so often complained about by Rangers fans. The lower bowl was primarily filled by genuine fans (or those trying to become genuine fans) and it made a huge difference. Every seat was truly filled, and even more importantly, filled by people making noise. The arena entertainment helped nudge the crowd in the direction of consistent noise as well by catering toward what the crowd would enjoy. Rather than music from the 80s and 90s, the music was modern.
As the game carried on and the New York Sirens trailed, I noticed a discernible difference between Rangers fans during a playoff game and Sirens fans during the game. Whereas Rangers fans look for something to make them cheer, Sirens fans cheered throughout regardless of what was happening. This is something I’ve long wished for Rangers fans to adopt, as when the Rangers are playing poorly or playing even, the Garden can be a bit snoozy.
This is also where I’d like to encourage you to attend a New York Sirens game! The season is almost over, and the team plays in New Jersey (sidebar, this is the biggest issue. The team will never reach the attendance goals they want to reach until the team is truly easily accessible for New Yorkers.), but it’s worth a quick PATH train to support the league and have some fun.
Some may roll their eyes about the quality of play being worse or whatever sexist mumbo jumbo people want to say, but the crowd truly cares, the players all play with intensity, and it’s inspiring to see how much kids at the game feel motivated by what they’re seeing on the ice.
Hockey is awesome, and the New York Sirens reminded me of that on Saturday night.
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