"Boom boom..boom boom.."

Sept. 29, 2011 - As I entered Tesla Arena, home of the Sparta Praha Hockey team, a sea of burgundy and white Praha jerseys flooded my vision. Everywhere I turned my head I saw hundreds of these with the exception of a few blue New York Rangers jerseys mixed about within the mass.

I began rushing up the stairs quickly to get to my upper level seat before the 7 p.m. tipoff. As I approached my tunnel I came to the conclusion that I must swiftly move over to the concession line to grab a cold pivo. A man in a blue  Rangers jersey in his late 30s standing in front of me in line looked at me and said with a smile, “It’s not hockey without beer, man.”
I said “amen,” paid for mine and was off to my seat.   

As I settled in both Sparta and the Rangers entered the rink. Thousands of fans were standing in unison chanting for their team as Sparta aligned into their starting positions. Behind the Sparta goalkeeper there were six big, intimidating Sparta fans banging rapidly on what looked like big, wooden drums. The echoing sound - “Boom boom…boom boom…boom boom” - brought the hype and excitement of tipoff to a whole new level. 

As quickly as the drums beat, the Rangers won the opening tip. Sparta showed no lack of confidence on their side as they began to play - very physical.

The rangers were playing rather sloppy in the first few minutes, having trouble connecting passes. The Sparta fans were loving their team's quick aggressive play and the echoing sound of beating drums again grew louder and louder - “Boom boom…boom boom…boom boom.”  

About 10 minutes into the first period Sparta had a great shot on goal that was saved one-handed by the Rangers keeper. 
As I looked around at the fans sitting around me I noticed some Sparta fans had yet to sit down. They seemed confident as their team was certainly outplaying the historic Rangers in every aspect.

With about a minute left in the first period, the Rangers had a dangerous shot on goal that was saved by a terrific diving stop by the Sparta keeper. He had a cool demeanor about him and the fans seemed to capture his confidence as they yelled again in unison, “Hail Sparta.”
"Boom boom…boom boom…boom boom.”

The first period came to an end and I realized my beer cup was dry so I followed the energized crowd to the closest concession line to refill.

While standing in line I became consumed with all the excitement in the room. Sparta fans were high-fiving one another and talking rather robustly as they happily acknowledged their team's valiant effort.

The second period began with the Rangers coming out strong. They seemed to have found their rhythm as they were connecting passes skillfully and toying with the Sparta defense. 

At about the 15 minute mark the Rangers had a great shot on goal that hit off the left post. After this, the arena became rather quiet; even the beating of the drums grew silent.

The rangers took advantage of their momentum and scored a great goal off of a flying V attack. 

Three minutes later the rangers scored again, this time rather effortlessly as the Sparta keeper made a mistake with his line and the Ranger forward was able to slip the puck right past him into the open net.

Rangers fans were now chanting with cockiness and relief. They had proven in the second period why they are one of the best teams in the world. 

As the second period approached its end the air in the arena became very cool and crisp. There were no warm vibrant cheers coming from the Sparta fans. As I looked in my vicinity I saw many acting very aloof, probably thinking to themselves, “What went so wrong in the second period?”

Sitting in front of me was a slightly inebriated man in his upper 20s talking with a New York accent to a woman sitting next to him.
I introduced myself and he told me his name was Curtis and he was from Brooklyn, here in Prague on vacation with his wife. 
“I’m surprised by how well Sparta started off,” he said. “They have some tough physical players on their team, but they need a little more puck chemistry. The fans are great; I didn’t know they knew their hockey over here in Czech. This is a fun game - my Rangers have finally showed up too.” 

As the third period went about the New Yorkers continued their dominant play, but the Sparta keeper stayed strong and did not allow any more goals. 

Sparta fans began chanting more and more, thanking their keeper for his effort. The drumming was back: “Boom boom…boom boom.” 

As the game came to an end the Sparta and Ranger players shook each others’ hands and gave the crowd a quick clap of appreciation. 

Sparta may not have scored any goals, but they did give their fans a show of quality hockey against the historic  Rangers, which Sparta fans should be proud of.