Home, sweet home

This may surprise some, but I've never really liked playing hockey at the MEN Arena. It is a spectacular building, worthy of the time and effort put into building it. When the Storm attracted 16,000+ crowds, it was a phenomenal sight. But for me, it was never "home".

The seating was excellent, the sightlines, perfect. The big-screen was utilised to its maximum. The match-night presentation pressed all the right buttons. However...

It has never had that "atmosphere", where the crowd were big enough and noisy enough to win a game or count as a goal head start. The Storms presentation was based on "a good night out", which was understandable but not enough to put fear into an opposition team. It was based on attracting families who would have spent money on cinema tickets or something, to have a night out at the hockey. That, to me, doesn't breed long term fans - sure we have the people around today, but we're the exception. We spotted the potential in hockey, the wonder of the sport. Too many other people came, loved the big screen and... left. It was sometimes like a pantomime, cheer for the good guys and boo for the opposition. Not that we "ever boo the opposition at the Nynex/MEN Arena" - something that frustrated me no end. Whats the point of cheering for your team if you can't build a healthy, respectful dislike for the opposition?

Look at Sheffield - loathe him or... loathe him, Dave Simms creates an atmosphere which makes it difficult for other teams to come into Sheffield and take away the points. It still works today. The House of Rust, Gameboy and all, is a difficult place to go and win. It is cramped, uncomfortable and Simms gets the home fans going and the away fans off their stride, complaining at him rather that supporting their team.

I've grown up with football, with the kind of fierce, almost tribal, loyalty than coming from a small town breeds into you. I'm a Burnley fan, and the one thing about following the Clarets through thin and, lets face it, thinner in the lower divisions is the fans would create an atmosphere at Turf Moor that said simply "Come in here, and we'll make it difficult for you".

The Longside was worth a goal a game.

Of course, football is a different level of... tension. I hesitate to use the word "hate" with footy because it isn't about that. But the comparatively fluffy world of the Storm was a constant source of frustration for me. Rightly or wrongly, the Storm bent over backwards to be the anti-Sheffield, including welcoming the opposition with open arms.

The season past, for the first time ever, IMO the match-night atmosphere at the MEN gained a level of intensity. The Sheffield "Brit" game was the highlight, where the crowd might be tiny compared to Storms heyday, but the roof was ripped off in a way that the Storm never did. I think the fans that night wanted to prove a point. This is our team. These are our players. This is our house. When Gavin Ferrand challenged Mark Thomas and got his backside handed to him, it was the perfect moment. It was what the ISL missed, our Manchester lad smacking the snot out of their Sheffield lad.

The fans went wild that night. Because we identified with our club. The club we had raised from the dead was challenged by the Big Bad Steelers and our guy went toe to toe. I remember saying to Mark Samaru "They're going mental in the stands, this is what we need!"

That identification is important. I've got a Phoenix laminate with "Turning Customers into Fans" on it and I think that was the moment I realised someone, somewhere had Got It. If the club had merely been "Storm Part II - This Time We've Got Some Cash", I honestly don't think I would be here today. I simply didn't identify with the team or the people running it. And as I alluded to in the previous edit, that was because the club didn't identify with me.

The Phoenix will be back in its own rink. I'd put money on it. (Hell, I'd put money towards it if I could.) But I think one thing is crucial. The new rink has be our home. From the start, the attitude has to be "coming in here will be difficult". And of course, I don't mean that to be nasty or derogatory to the opposition or their supporters, but I feel it has to be "welcome, shout if you like, we're louder, we'll win and oh, meet you in the bar afterwards?"

The year the Storm won the ISL, they had the chance to clinch the trophy, live on Sky, in Nottingham. And Mike Blaisdell sent out a rallying cry to his Nottingham team and their fans - "They will be the Champions. But not today. Not in our barn."

If the Phoenix can reproduce that attitude, passion and intensity in Manchester Square Gardens, then I for one will be a happy camper.