“May the leprechauns be near you to spread luck along your way. And may all the Irish angels smile upon you on St. Patrick’s Day”.

The day I’m writing this is St. Patrick’s Day, and that is one of the many Irish blessings that are shared on this holiday. Did you see how the Vancouver Warriors celebrated St. Paddy’s Day on Friday? It was quite the show, and I was lucky to have a bird’s eye view.

The luck of the Irish might have been on the Vancouver Warriors side on Friday night, as they battled from down 7-2 to beat the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 13-12 with the game-winning goal coming from Adam Charalambides with just 26 seconds left.

The game was great, but what about the well-marketed theme for that night? If you saw the advertising for the game or attended, you could tell right away that it was a night to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, or as some call it, St. Paddy’s Day.

I’ve always been interested in how pro sports teams approach theme nights, particularly those connected with holidays. You might not always see a so-called “authentic” representation of the holiday, but you likely see an overall representation of what makes that holiday unique or memorable. So what did the Warriors do to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day? Well, more than I first would have imagined, and it was a fun-filled night to remember for those in attendance.

Before breaking down what and how this theme night was done, I begin by asking you this question, what’s the first thing you think of that’s associated with St. Patrick’s Day? Okay, there are probably a few good options, but at the core of it all, it has to begin with the colour green. Did you know the original colour for St. Patrick’s Day was blue? I know, surprising right? But it was, and it was changed because of Ireland’s nickname: Emerald Isle. Green is the colour of choice now because of shamrocks and the green in the flag of Ireland.

Green was everywhere, and I mean everywhere, at the Warriors game. From the scoreboards, the beer, the decorations, and even the sponsorships (ok, maybe TD being green is just a coincidence). Since I had a bird’s eye view of the game, I also noticed all the green St. Patrick’s Day apparel in the party zone. The fans came to celebrate, that’s for sure, and I could tell even before the game began that the Warriors had some plans ahead for this intriguing theme night.

That was just the atmosphere of the game, like that feeling you get when you’re settled into your seat getting ready for the game to begin. So what followed, and how did these pre-planned activities stack up with some other North American traditions when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day? Well, it all began with a local music group, The Shenanigans, who performed Irish-type, and I say type here because some of it was more “North American Irish music” as opposed to traditional Irish music, before and during the game, including commercial breaks. The highlight of all the Irish music had to be during the player introductions, where a real classic: ”I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys, set the mood for the night. At this point, if you were in attendance, you were not just ready for the game but also for the festivities planned for this special theme night.

Okay, so you’re probably thinking by now, that’s it? Well, no, that was just the beginning of the St. Paddy’s Day activities that night. Halftime was when the real fun began. You may have heard of the phrase “Leprechaun Leap” before, but what does that mean?

Well, for the Warriors, it was a race with four contestants hopping across part of the floor in a “bean bag”, spinning around many times and then hopping back to the starting line. This was surprisingly entertaining and ended in quite the photo finish at the end of the race. This got the crowd’s energy going; everyone was in a good mood, despite the Warriors trailing at the time. Following this race, they had a pair of Irish step dancers who kept that energy going, and you could feel the mood lighten up despite the Warriors’ average first-half performance.

The Shenanigans came back with some more Irish music leading into the start of the third quarter, and at this point, I was already quite impressed by what the Warriors had done for this theme night. The third quarter was where even more fun segments happened on the big screen, really getting the fans involved with these. One lucky fan did a “pot of gold” toss where he had 30 seconds to score points by throwing these inflatable balls in garbage pins to win prizes. I guess you could say he was “searching for gold”, but he didn’t quite have the skills to take home the gold.

The fans got a good laugh at this guy’s somewhat poor performance. As the third quarter progressed into the fourth, there was a quartet of moments throughout the latter part of the game that got everyone in the crowd involved.

Starting with a dance cam, because who doesn’t like dancing along to a good Irish jig? This was followed by one of those “cheesy” sayings you probably have heard more than once on St. Patrick’s Day… but with a twist. It was the “Kiss Me I’m Irish kiss cam”, a classic at sporting events, but even better when it’s in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, right? So are you convinced yet that the Vancouver Warriors put on a good show to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day?

As the cliche goes, but wait, there’s more! What’s something that I haven’t mentioned yet that is a very North American thing to do on St. Patrick’s Day? Ah yes, of course, drinking green beer! This staple was highlighted by the “Green Beers Cheers Cam” which was highly entertaining, to say the least. Before the final of this quartet of interactive activities, the Irish dancers and the Warriors dance team joined forces with the Warriors mascot – Timbr the Sasquatch – to bring a St. Patrick’s Day edition of the tradition they do at all of their games… the Timbr slide.

To cap it all off (before what was an epic final few minutes of the game I must add), was a singalong! Not just any singalong though, it was of the Spirit of the West’s classic: “Home For A Rest”. If you haven’t heard this song yet, you’d probably recognize it if you heard it, because it’s probably one of the most notable Canadian St. Patrick’s Day themes. The song was made by a Canadian group, but you can hear the Irish influence, and the crowd at Rogers Arena had a grand old time singing along to this classic.

At the end of the game, as the fans said “Slán go fóill!” (An Irish way of saying farewell or bye for now), everyone agreed that the luck of the Irish was in fact on the Warriors side that night. Did all these wonderful St. Patrick’s Day activities play a role in their win? Well, probably not, but the night as a whole is just always more positive when the home team gets the win.

So, to answer the question that I was searching for even before I arrived at the game: Did the Warriors do a good job in representing this jolly green holiday? I would say yes, they certainly did just that. They checked off most boxes for some of the many St. Patrick’s Day traditions, of course doing what they were able to do at a live sporting event. You just had to be there to experience it, but I hope you got an understanding of how the Warriors celebrated St. Paddy’s Day if you weren’t in attendance. Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2024 from the Vancouver Warriors and myself and cheers to this great holiday, a Warriors win, and a day to remember for everyone in attendance that night!

If you want to see more photos and videos from this night, check out my latest Instagram post!