I have been intimately intertwined in the Bonnyville sports scene for some time now and one thing seems certain — Bonnyvillians support their local sports teams.
From mid-week, late afternoon high school basketball games to snowy Saturdays at Walsh Field for Bandits playoff football, there's always at least a respectable crowd there to show its support.
Of course, the Jr. A Pontiacs draw the most fans in town and have pulled in crowds of over 1,000 on many occasions.
The conducive combination of the AJHL playoffs, a visit from the rival Fort McMurray Oil Barons and the cozy confines of the R.J. Lalonde Arena resulted in nearly 1,300 fans packing the Pontiacs house this past post season.
And I've heard rumours of crowd sizes exceeding 2,000 people in the past.
Even if the latter is a little embellished or an outright lie, for a town of about 6,000 residents, those numbers are huge. Fan support is not lacking.
Then there is one other team that stands alone as having the second largest crowds in town in terms of numbers. However, those numbers are not near those the Pontiacs pull in, nor should we expect them to be.
The Bonnyville Voyageurs high school football team turned 26 years old this season and consistently draws crowds of about 50 to over 100 fans. And on special occasions upwards of 500 fans have been in attendance.
Obviously, assuming the Canadian archetype holds true, Jr. A hockey will always outdraw high school football in Canada.
But while the Pontiacs definitely outdraw the Voyageurs, there is something to be noted about each crowd.
One crowd shows its support through numbers, while the other fan base, though relatively small, declares its support through the volume of its voices.
When fans show up in droves to watch and support the Pontiacs, the building looks full, it looks rowdy, it looks like a lot of fun to be at, but it's quiet.
Conversely, when dozens of football fans pack the bleachers at Walsh Field, they are for the most part concentrated in one area of the field. But boy howdy does that one area get noisy.
Personally, I enjoy both settings and am often captivated by sports regardless of the fans around me. However, I can understand the appeal of a great atmosphere and enthusiastic fans, which is why I have come to notice the vast difference in how noisy and energetic each fan base typically gets.
During one Voyageurs game this season a fellow reporter from far-off town asked, “Are Voyageurs fans always this loud?”
I offered a simple and honest answer, “Yes.”
Some fans have pointed out that the dozens of overtly noisy and excited Voyageurs fans are, for the most part, parents of players and, therefore, more enthusiastic. To that I say, good on the parents!
Ironically, it was the parent of a former Pontiacs player that pointed out the lack of cheering and noise coming from the huge crowds during the Pontiacs playoff run last season.
It was like the fans were nervous for the players, left speechless and unable to cheer.
I mean, come on, if the fans are nervous and showing it, the players surely aren't benefiting from that home ice advantage.
For the sake of the players, Pontiacs fans have to be noisier, they have to be more enthusiastic, they have to get loud.
But that is not to say there is a complete lack of vocal support coming from the crowd at the R.J.
Take a listen at the beginning of O Canada, prior to puck drop, and you will hear a booming and witty quip, most often directed at the opposing goalie, bounding from the bellows of a passionate Pontiacs fan.
And it is hard to call the R.J. a quiet place when over 1,000 fans came roaring to their feet, as the Pontiacs pulled one out in overtime, in the playoffs, over those damn Fort McMurray Oil Barons last season.
Though it may continue to be a wonder why one crowd is large while the other is loud, we can certainly all agree that the fans in this town definitely support their teams.
