Every sport likes to believe its fans are the most passionate.
Hockey has a compelling case, but so does football, British football that is.
Spending a week in London and Edinburgh didn't convince me that one fanbase cares more than the other, more that passion is expressed differently, and that those differences shape everything from the design of a stadium to the way reporters cover a team.
The goal of the trip was straightforward: I wanted to see how some of the world's biggest football clubs approached fan engagement, media, stadium experience and digital storytelling, then compare those observations with the environment I've become familiar with covering hockey in Canada. Visiting football stadiums throughout England and Scotland made it clear that while the games are different, the biggest contrast isn't found on the pitch or the ice, but the culture that surrounds them.
That culture starts long before kickoff.
In Canada, many professional arenas anchor downtown entertainment districts. Fans drive in, grab dinner, watch the game and head home. The arena is often the destination, much like Rogers Place is in Edmonton.
Many football stadiums in Britain feel like they're simply another part of the neighbourhood. Walking toward Emirates Stadium, Stamford Bridge or Tynecastle Park, it never feels as though you're entering a separate entertainment complex. Houses, local businesses, pubs and cafés gradually give way to thousands of supporters wearing the same colours, all moving in the same direction. It feels like the community grew up around the club as opposed to the other way around.
There's a rhythm to matchday that isn't easy to appreciate until you're standing in the middle of it.
Supporters fill local pubs, children kick footballs around nearby parks, scarves become as common as jackets, and conversations drift naturally toward team selection, tactics and league standings hours before kickoff. Nobody seems to be in a hurry because the day builds toward the match instead of simply arriving at it.
Then the singing starts.
In hockey, the loudest moments usually follow a goal, a big hit or a crucial save. Football supporters have fans rolling out songs throughout entire sections for minutes at a time before another chant picks up somewhere else. Even during quieter stretches, the atmosphere rarely disappears because it becomes part of the match itself, almost like another participant rather than background noise.
That constant energy changes the feel of a stadium, and how clubs present themselves.
Modern venues like Tottenham Hotspur Stadium showcase some of the most impressive technology and premium hospitality spaces anywhere in sports, yet the building never loses sight of the club's identity. History is everywhere. Former players, famous matches and decades of tradition are built into the walls, concourses, and the artwork that surrounds fans from the moment they arrive.
Even newer spaces seem designed with the understanding that people aren't just buying a ticket to watch ninety minutes of football. They're participating in something that has been passed from one generation to the next.
One of the more interesting observations throughout the trip was how much effort football organizations put into storytelling away from matchdays. Official social media accounts are filled with documentaries, academy features, community events, historical moments and behind-the-scenes content that keeps supporters connected every day of the year. Winning still matters, of course, but so does reinforcing what the club represents.
NHL teams have made enormous strides in this area over the past decade, particularly as social media has become central to fan engagement. Still, British football clubs often appear to think less about creating content for the next game and more about strengthening a lifelong relationship with fans.
Covering hockey in Canada means living in a world of injury updates, roster decisions, salary cap discussions and trade speculation. The daily news cycle moves quickly, especially during an NHL season, and reporters naturally spend much of their time reacting to what's happening today.
Football reporting certainly covers transfers and breaking news, but there also seems to be more room for larger conversations. Tactical analysis, club ownership, academy development, supporter concerns and historical context all receive sustained attention. Coverage often feels less transactional and more reflective of a club's place within its city.
Neither approach is necessarily better.
They're products of different sporting environments, different histories and different expectations from readers. What fascinated me was seeing how those expectations influence everything else, from press coverage to social media strategies and even the experience fans have walking through the front gates.
Looking back, that's probably what I'll remember most.
The stadiums were impressive. Wembley deserves its reputation, and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is every bit as modern as advertised. But the buildings themselves weren't the story.
Families wearing the same club colours across three generations. Supporters who knew every word to songs that had existed longer than many players on the pitch. Local businesses proudly displaying scarves in their windows because the football club is woven into the identity of the neighbourhood itself.
Those are the details that stay with you.
As someone who spends much of my time covering hockey, the trip reinforced something that's easy to overlook while chasing deadlines and breaking news. Fans don't fall in love with organizations because of one great season. They come back year after year because the club becomes part of their lives, their families and their communities.
Whether it's an NHL franchise or a football club in Britain, that's ultimately what sport is built on. Winning creates memories.
Culture creates loyalty.
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