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Golden Knights fever sweeps through Vegas’ Hispanic community

Alexander Zapata
Alexander Zapata
Economy
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This story has been translated and edited from its original Spanish version.

Juan José Ordóñez poses with his children outside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of Juan José Ordóñez).

Juan José Ordóñez emigrated from Venezuela in 2002, and even though he confesses to being a baseball fan – considered the national sport in his country – he decided to give hockey a chance after receiving two tickets to attend a Golden Knights game.

Little did he know these tickets would change him forever.

“We went, and it was such a positive experience that the first thing I did the following day was to buy a six-game pass,” said Ordóñez.

Even though he liked the sport and its dynamics, it was thanks to his 10-year-old son, Santiago, that Ordóñez knew his relationship with the Knights would stick.

“The key was that he was mesmerized from the first moment,” said Ordóñez. He told me, “Dad, I want to play, I want to keep coming and I want to follow them.”

Since then, the Ordóñez family has not only attended several games, but now young Santiago plays the sport.

“It’s been an adventure. He has gone through the stage of learning how to skate, and now the learning the game stage begins,” Ordóñez said. “I know that for a lot of people it seems very violent for a child, but the truth is that he has learned values, like teamwork, and building rapport.”

From the ice to the desert

Plenty of questions came with the announcement two years ago that Las Vegas would have a professional hockey team. Queries such as, “Hockey in the middle of the desert?” or skeptical claims that “This is not going to work!” percolated among observers inside and outside of the Las Vegas Valley.

But the Las Vegas Golden Knights, a team birthed as part of the National Hockey League (NHL)’s expansion, has proven that a hockey team can indeed connect with Sin City — and Hispanic fans who didn’t grow up with the sport are no exception.

The Statue of Liberty replica at the Strip, displaying the Vegas Golden Knights jersey. Friday, June 1, 2018 (Photo: Alexander Zapata/ The Nevada Independent).

Since their first match in October 2017 to the championship they’re in today – the Stanley Cup – the Vegas Golden Knights’ fanbase has multiplied.

With every game, the residents of the city get more wrapped up with the team, and they dream of what even the most benevolent predictions at the beginning of the season thought impossible:  to end the season as Stanley Cup champions. They’ll have to climb out of a 3-1 deficit to seal the deal.

The trophy itself has more than a century of history: It was first presented in 1892 by Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston, and since 1906 has been property of the United States’ National Hockey Association, which manages the NHL.

With a triumphant stride, which includes establishing themselves in the Pacific Division and then dominating the Western Conference after that, the Knights have managed to win the devotion of a desert city that until now never had a professional sports team.

Hispanic connection

How did all this passion emerge in a city that hadn’t had a professional team in any sport before this? According to experts, several factors are at play.

Jesús López is the voice in charge of narrating each game for the team in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, the radio station 1460 AM in Las Vegas.

Just like with other fans in town, getting used to hockey was an adjustment.

“Before this, I narrated boxing and other disciplines. I had to train and prepare before accepting the challenge. It really wasn’t part of the plan to have a Spanish announcer,” López explained to The Nevada Independent en Español. “However, we were able to record a test, and we presented it at the station. That’s how we started with a few games, until what we are seeing today — announcing all home games.”

In López’s opinion, the connection with the Knights is something that happened progressively.

“It’s evolutionary. There has been win after win and it includes several factors, but it is shown in the incredible fact that some Mexicans in Las Vegas prefer to watch hockey over an actual game of the Mexican National Soccer Team,” added López.

First NHL playoff game of the Vegas Golden Knights. Monday, May 28, 2018. (Photo: Clark for LVSportsBiz.com)

Herbert Castro has a similar opinion. He, along with López, does the game commentary and also had to prepare for the advent of a hometown hockey team. Even though he has spent over 10 years at the ESPN Deportes station in Las Vegas, his main experience was narrating soccer and baseball games for the Hispanic community.

For Castro, the Knights’ victorious run has been an important part of the connection between the team and the community.

“We as human beings like to feel like winners,” said Castro. “And this team, as fans and as Nevadans, has made us not only winners, but also protagonists.”

But aside from their unlikely triumphs, a crucial point in bonding the city and the team was the shooting on October 1st in Las Vegas. López said it created a scar so big, it left a mark without precedent and forged the union.  

“In every game, we honor that moment, the victims who suffered and those who worked to move the city forward,” said López. “[The Knights] assumed the moral responsibility to bring happiness and joy to the city, and the response was incredible. That’s why you see people with hats and jerseys everywhere, supporting their Knights.”

A profitable business

Game after game, the T-Mobile Arena sells out. Inside, TV cameras show images of stands packed to capacity. Outside, at Toshiba Plaza, surrounded by music and other attractions, hundreds of people follow the game developments up close on big screens.

It’s one of the things that has caught Castro’s attention the most.

“One of the aspects that has surprised me the most has been the amount of people who go to the games,” said Castro. “In every game, the arena is full, you can’t find an empty seat, there are 18,000 souls rooting for the team, nonstop.”

The famous MGM lion displays the Vegas Golden Knights logo. Friday, June 1, 2018. (Photo: Alexander Zapata/ The Nevada Independent).

And while the fan base grows, some vendors like Cornell Nicholas, who runs a half-dozen stands outside of gas stations in different parts of Las Vegas, saw a business opportunity.

With a smile, Nicholas said that the Golden Knights’ success this season has enabled him to have his stands, and that “if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.”

“In my 40 years in this business I had never seen anything like this,” said Nicholas. “For a team in its first season to make it to the final, and with a major possibility to be champions.”

Even though he doesn’t keep a record of how many people come to buy his products, he affirmed that Hispanics have been frequent customers, even though he seldom saw them buying up hockey gear in the past.

“Some come and buy a $20 shirt. Others can spend up to $200 in merchandise,” said Nicholas. “The team being in the final makes people get excited, and shop.”

The official team jersey, which can be found on Amazon for $170, is part of the attire both Ordóñez and his son proudly wear.

Between the black-and-gold wave that appears in various parts of the city, and the voices that ensure Spanish-speaking feel like they’re inside T-Mobile Arena, Golden Knights fans wear the team colors with pride as they dream of bringing the Stanley Cup home.

“There are things that can seem expensive, but when it’s something that you like and feel passionate about, you don’t see it as an expense, but as an investment,” said Ordóñez.



Disclosure: MGM Resorts International has donated to The Nevada Independent. You can see a full list of donors here.
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