– We made history! It is so incredibly important to us. No matter if we win or lose today, I wanted to come and see this historic moment, Ronalds told before the start of the match.
Latvia made it to the medal games of the Ice Hockey World Cup for the first time. It could be seen and heard in Tampere many hours before the start of the semi-final match.
– This is our boss, Ronalds introduced.
The boss is called Rabbit. He doesn’t speak English, but the rest of the party interpreted the boss’s speeches.
– The biggest victory before yesterday (the victory over Sweden) was when we beat Russia once in the World Cup, Janis said and continued beating his drum.
The colors of the Ukrainian flag were taped to the drum stick. Janis offered a club to the journalist’s hand. Just try it out.
The group of men from Riga said they would be in Tampere until Monday. Latvia’s historical moments must be witnessed on the spot.
A huge number of Latvians were found in the center of Tampere and in the fan area near the arena before the start of the game.
In addition to male groups, many young people and families could also be seen in the fan area.
– It was really difficult to find plane tickets. All the machines were immediately sold out, the young man said.
His name is too Rabbit.
– Surely not surprising? It’s the most common male name in Latvia, Janis laughed, and showed his identity card as proof.
Flight tickets from Riga to Tampere were found after persistent internet browsing, but they didn’t come cheap.
– 1000 euros for two passengers.
Janis was watching the quarter-final in Riga. Right after the game, he decided that he had to get to Tampere.
– Although this is still feeling a bit weak after the last game, if you know what I mean…
It wasn’t hard to spot.
In the end, it was surprisingly easy to find tickets for the match.
– I bought the tickets from the Swedes. We got tickets for three games for 136 euros, i.e. for two people. I think it was a very good price, Janis says.
One thousand euro plane tickets, plus access tickets. And of course refreshments. The prices of drinks in Finland are hugely higher than in Latvia. Janis came up with a solution for that even before the trip began.
– We might have brought some travel snacks from Latvia, but don’t tell anyone! This is so great for us! Latvia for the first time in the medal games, Janis was happy.
A few Swedish hockey fans were unexpectedly visible among the Latvian teams.
What is happening here, have you decided to support Latvia?
– Hahaha, of course not. We only support Sweden, As Jesper the introduced man said.
How do you feel when Sweden is no longer playing in the tournament?
– Boring, so boring.
In the match itself, Latvia was caught in a big surprise for a long time, but in the third set, Canada clearly turned the game around and advanced to the final.
From the beginning, the audience had a boisterous and passionate atmosphere. Although the game ended in a defeat for the Latvians, the fans cheered on their own even after the match.
The shouting continued outside the arena.
Some of the fans were down, a few even had tears on their cheeks, but the majority of Latvian supporters continued to smile.
Lelde and Marcy had come to Tampere with their daughters Evijan with. The mother of the family, Lelde, praised the match as an incredibly great experience.
– Of course I’m sad when we lost, but the bronze medal match is tomorrow and we’ll win it. And in next year’s games we will take gold, he assured.
For my daughter, the game was memorable in many ways.
– This has been my dream for a long time, so to get to a match in these games. A perfect day, Evija said.
On top of that, it was his birthday today. Like her mother, the daughter knew how to tell what happens on Sunday.
– We will win bronze, for sure!