Among the many events in Ontario, Ice hockey and football (called soccer in some places) are two of the more popular sports that Ottawa residents and Canadian citizens in general like to follow and get involved in. It is easy to see why ice hockey is popular because winter is a regular season in Ottawa so it stands to reason that ice hockey would gain many followers. Football or soccer comes in a close second because Ottawa residents have been participating in this sport for more than a century now. The good news is that both ice hockey tournaments and football tournaments will be hosted by Ottawa in the near future.
One reason ice hockey remains popular in Ottawa is that corporations have partnered with ice hockey leagues like the National Hockey League. These sponsorship deals help ice hockey teams stay financially viable especially when fans choose to support the ice hockey teams by buying tickets to their matches. If the ice hockey team has a charity to support this is another good opportunity to get the attention of ice hockey fans as well. It is a sad truth that without corporate sponsorship many teams would flounder hence the corporations serve as the “white knight” that provides funding to allow team players to stay focused on their training and to participate in matches. The goal is to provide matches that are entertaining to the public so that the corporations will find it worth their while to support such tournaments.
Soccer or football on the other hand is now more diversified after the introduction of the Ottawa Fury Women soccer team for women. This women’s football team is the partner team of the men’s soccer team Ottawa Fury. The women’s team Ottawa Fury Women competes in the United Soccer Leagues W-League while the men’s team Ottawa Fury is part of the USL Premier Development League. The Ottawa Fury Women have been the champions of the W-League for nine straight years which is pretty impressive for a women’s soccer team. But their title as league champions was stripped from them this 2013 after the Laval Cometes beat them by one point in their final match. Ironically, it was a former member of the Ottawa Fury Women who helped lead the Laval Cometes to victory. Still, the Ottawa Fury Women team may be able to rebound from this stunning loss next season so don’t rule them out yet as contenders.
These tournaments in Ottawa show the devotion to sports of Ottawa men and women. It also shows that money is needed to help these teams sustain their momentum during training and in actual tournaments. And judging from the unexpected loss of the Ottawa Fury Women this 2013, it also shows that veterans of these sports can be easily unseated in any match by the proverbial Young Turks who want to wrest their champion status from them in fair and transparent competition. The big winner in all this is of course the fans who get to witness the rise and fall of their favorite teams which adds to the interest level raised for each sport in Ottawa.