evergreens on ice

Watching Global news this morning they had a piece on Everett Silvertips. The Silvertips are currently in round 3 WHL playoff action against the Vancouver Giants – who lead the series 3 games to 0 going into tonight’s game. If the Giants take it tonight, they go onto the WHL finals – if not, the Silvertips are still alive in the series and the playoff continues.

I ‘ve known for a while that Silvertips fans were a lil kookie, crazy and 110% into their team. A few weekends ago when we were in Kelowna and Everett was playing them in the last round, we saw cars driving by on the street waving flags and honking for the ‘tips. Well apparently the Silvertips jersey is #2 on the hockey jersey bestseller list. Out of any league (including NHL) and second only to the Calgary Flamers’ jersey. Interesting.

Is there something to be said then about the Pacific Northwest and hockey? The ‘higher-up’ from the Everett club said during the interview this morning that the fans know very little about the game – they just like it. They get excited about every little thing ie. the puck gets cleared out of their zone and they’ll go nuts – they continuously sell out and have a great time.

Is the Seattle area aching for more hockey or is Everett a special case? With their other professional teams (namely NBA) dwindling, it may be something for Oregon and/or Washington to consider. Still, I don’t see hockey overshadowing baseball or football any time soon south of the 49th.