Fans continued to zip through the line for the Stanley Cup, sporting all kinds of hockey jerseys, including college, professional and international as they stood next to the Cup. As one fan exited the line, she said, “I don’t feel worthy.” Another said, “Feels weird to touch it.”
Tom Erick, Marissa Ander and James Nazareth, all friends from Calgary, decided to make the trek to Boston for this tournament.
“This is super cool,” Nazareth said. “A friend sent me a list of what was happening at the Fan Village, so a chance to see the Cup, we had to check it out. We came early and there wasn’t a huge line, which is great for right now because it’s going to get bigger. (Seeing) the Cup was awesome, but we didn’t touch it. Some people touched it, but we didn’t.”
Erick is a huge sports fan, and even though he had to explain the concept of the 4 Nations Face-Off to his friend, Nazareth didn’t want to miss the opportunity to experience it. So they purchased tickets for the Canada vs. Finland game at TD Garden on Monday (1 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).
“What’s good to see is that the players actually care,” Erick said. “I was worried they would treat it more like an All-Star game, but when (Sweden defenseman) Rasmus Dahlin knocked over (Canada center Connor) McDavid (in Game 1), I was like, ‘OK, this is actually hockey.’
Craig Schneider, of Newton, Massachusetts, and his son, Ben, had their photo taken with the Cup while sporting replica 1980 Team USA jerseys. Fittingly, they wore Jim Craig and Buzz Schneider jerseys.
“The Fan Village has been really fun,” Craig Schneider said. “We loved the scavenger hunt. It was engaging and motivated us to go to every single booth.”
