Where do Reno’s team loyalties lie? Story and photos by Matt Bieker m attb@news re view.c om
DAY To serious sports fans, team loyalty can be a deeply personal decision, taking into account factors like family history, respect for a particular coaching/playing style, or even the off-field behavior of the players. And to fans who watch casually, the reasons can be even more varied—like, maybe the mascot is super cool. Strict geography places most professional teams in the major coastal cities west of Nevada, and with the influx of California transplants to the state over the past decade, support for teams like the Golden State Warriors or the San Francisco Giants is commonly seen on the bumper stickers and apparel of Reno residents. With a few tectonic shifts in Nevada’s professional sports landscape in the past decade, however, like the establish establishment of two professional teams in Reno, and another two in Las Vegas, Reno sports fans may have new factors to consider in deciding where their allegiances lie come game day.
HockeY Today, professional hockey joins football, basketball and baseball as the big four sports occupying the
national attention span. However, this didn’t used to be the case. Die-hard fans have celebrated the high-speed, full-contact sport for decades, but general interest in ice hockey was usually relegated to instances like the national team’s performance in the winter Olympics. However, hockey’s popularity has risen steadily in the U.S. since the 1990s. This is due in part to more professional facilities being built in California and “the Sun Belt” as the National Hockey League has expanded. The nearest professional team to Reno for years has been the San Jose Sharks, whose home stadium, the SAP Center or “Shark Tank,” is closer to Reno than even the Giants’ Oracle Park. Since the establishment—and recordbreaking inaugural season—of the Las Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, however, Northern Nevada hockey fans may have to consider their loyalty to their home state in future matches. “Vegas is my hometown—I was born and raised there,” said Kaitlyn Olvera, a senior at the University of Nevada, Reno who began supporting the Golden Knights after their first season. “I think a lot of it was just having something to, you know— you’re proud of something. Vegas is known for being Sin City, for people going there to gamble. Now we’re known for being home to a team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup in their first inaugural year.” To Olvera, who grew up familiar with how hockey was
played but never followed any NHL teams, the Golden Knights provide a tangible connection to her hometown while she attends school in Reno—a connection she was especially grateful for on Oct. 1, 2017, after Las Vegas became the scene of the worst mass shooting in American history. “The opening night game was, like, a couple days after the shooting, or a week after the shooting, and they dedicated that game to the victims,” Olvera said. “So, I think that was also something that just really hit home with me because that was my home, and I think the team was able to, you know, kind of raise the city up—give them something to smile about in such a dark time.” Factors like hometown pride or family culture don’t enter into the equation for some fans, though. To a new generation of hockey fans deciding their loyalties for the first time, or to casual fans just along for the ride, the reasons for supporting a particular team don’t have to be especially meaningful. “My coworker and I were actually joking around one time because our boss is, like, a hardcore, to-thedeath hockey fan, and we always make fun of him for it,” said Laura Cooper, a marketing specialist and newly minted hockey fan. “And so we’re just like, ‘We need a hockey team.’ And then we basically decided, ‘Well, the Sharks are close proximity.’
Mike Dunnn remains a lifelong Raiders fan, even after leaving California 10 years ago.
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