Author Archives: Manvir Gupta

Rogers Arena Experience

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It’s game day and you wouldn’t have to guess it. Jerseys out from the morning, people coming to the office and class wearing their favourite player on their back.

 

The experience begins in the morning when you are talking about lineups with friends. Asking the group chat who wants to get there early and watch the warmups.

 

The skytrain is littered with jerseys and everyone has the same intention. The Costco dog.

 

For anyone who has gone to a Canucks game you know about the costco that is basically attached to the stadium. It used to be a go to ritual where you would wait in possibly the longest line ever for a 1.50 hot dog and drink. And it’s worth the wait every time. Recently the Costco said enough and made it so that you need a Costco membership to access the best pregame meal around.

 

So strike that.

 

Now it’s just make sure you have some food in your belly because the food inside tends to be expensive. Luckily there are lots of great spots closer to the arena, even some food stalls that are underrated for sure.

 

Heading into the line up to get into the stadium and the energy is already pumping. Fans are excited to see the players they love.

 

Once you are in the arena the sound is like a wall. The hallways become molasses and no matter what you try to do you get caught in it. People all waddle together like penguins.

 

I get a beer sometimes but it’s only ever one. It’s also expensive. I just stick to popcorn and water most of the time.

 

Once you have your desired food and beverage you make your way, again through the penguin march, and find your seat. If you are early usually you don’t have to shuffle around other people and plop down into your spot.

 

A Rogers Arena Constant is Crazy Pete. If you’ve been to a game you know who I’m talking about. He walks around the arena the whole game and bangs a drum getting the section he is in to start chanting. Some are more willing than others but he does a great job nonetheless.

 

The game is well, depending on the game. The Canucks do a good job in production and making entertainment in times where what is on the ice might not be the best.

 

I would suggest going to a game if you can find a reasonable price and taking friends and family too.

Player Report: Ryan Gauld

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It’s safe to say Ryan Gauld is a veteran in the game.

 

He’s been playing professionally since 2012 starting at Dundee United. Since then he has played in a couple of different leagues and loaned out to quite a few teams.

 

In 2021 the Whitecaps were able to bring Gauld in from Farense, a team in Portugal. Signed to a 3 year deal he made his impact immediately. In just his second game he scores a game winning goal in the final minutes of the game.

 

Fast forward to July 2022 he was the MVP in the Canadian championship. Quickly Ryan Gauld cemented his role in the team. Consistently being one of the top performers and a huge help on the field with his advanced vision quickly rising up the ranks of leadership.

 

He showed up over and over again for the team and in 2023 found himself winning Whitecaps player of the year. For the second year in a row. About 3 months after winning the award , in January of 2024 Gauld would sign another 3 year extension. A month later he was named the 25th captain in Whitecaps history.

 

Starting in July 2024 would be the beginning of a series of knee injuries that would keep Gauld sidelined for a long time. At the end of the 2024 season he would miss nothe couple of games but nothing too serious had happened.  In March of 2025 Ryan Gauld would go out with a knee injury. This would make him end up missing 38 games over the season. His return couldn’t have been at a better time as the Whitecaps were making the deepest playoff run.

 

Despite being away for 207 days you could feel his impact as soon as he stepped on the pitch. The attitude of the players shifted, everyone got more focused. The Captain was back to support the team. And it was a great run. They made it all the way to the final to unfortunately lose out in the final. But everyone felt good and the next season was looking promising.

 

Putting the current situation with the stadium aside, I don’t remember being so excited to watch the Whitecaps play, and seeing Ryan Gauld back made it so much sweeter.

 

January 2026 and we get news that Gauld is undergoing knee surgery and won’t be starting the season with the team. The timeline had him hopefully coming back by April but that seemed too optimistic as we are now in May and we still aren’t sure when he’ll be 100%.

The team is doing great right now, but when Ryan Gauld comes back I think they will find another step.

Player Report: Sebastian Berhalter

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Everyone knows Sebastian Berhalter is one of the key players on the pitch for the Whitecaps today.

But it wasn’t always that way.

 

From a young age Berhalter has been involved with soccer. His dad, Gregg Berhalter, was also a professional player in England. Sebastian joined the Columbus Crew youth academy in 2014. By 2019 he had made 10 appearances for the youth club before going to play at the University of North Carolina. He would spend a short time there before being signed to the Columbus Crew in the MLS.

 

His journey through the MLS has been a long and grinding one.

 

He joined the Crew when they were a great squad and only made 9 appearances and was unable to have any goals or assists. Columbus would go on to win the MLS Cup that year but Berhalter didn’t make an appearance.

 

After maybe not quite fitting into the squad Columbus would loan out Sebastian to Austin FC.

 

This was another chance for Berhalter to show that he’s got the chops and maybe Columbus’s system just wasn’t a good fit. But after 18 games he still was just seen as a rotation player or a sub. Wasn’t able to get his name on the scoreboard again.

 

Unsure of his future 2022 rolls around and the Whitecaps acquire Berhalter via a trade which essentially only sends cap space back the other way. The  Whitecaps Sporting Director, Axel Shuster, said Berhalter added depth and high intensity to the squad.

 

In 2022 he would make 20 appearances and goals or assist again, but this time he was playing more of the games. He was starting some games not just a sub anymore. In 2023 he would make 37 appearances and finally his hard work would pay off. That season Berhalter had 2 goals and 4 assists. The flower of potential was finally blossoming, and along with it came confidence. In 2024 he took another step up as he made 45 appearances and had 3 goals and 5 assists.

 

However in 2025 his true colors finally showed and became a staple to the team. In 47 appearances he had 7 goals and 13 assists. That’s more than double of 2024. His performance even got him a call up to the US men’s national team where now has 11 appearances and 1 goal.

 

Berhalter is another story on why you should never give up on your dreams. You never know which opportunity will be the one to take you to great heights.

Drafts VS Academies

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The MLS runs a Draft system versus in Europe where all the players are bought from foreign or local academies.

 

Let’s dive into the draft. The Draft system is meant so that all players coming into the league come through a scheduled entry. It’s also through this system there is supposed to be parity in the league. The lower the team finishes the higher they draft. And the higher you draft the better the prospective player.

 

This makes complete sense to me in the NHL where it’s the consolidated best league in the world. All the players are aiming for that league. I struggle to see where we are drafting from.

 

The Systems in say the Premier League work a bit different. In the Premier League there are tons of academies, each team has their own youth development system. The goal is to have players come up through the system and not have to pay another club for a player.

 

There are requirements like, you have to have at least 8 players that are “home grown’ in your squad. Home grown means they have played 3 seasons or 36 months with any club in that league before turning 21. You are also allowed a maximum of a 25 player squad over the age of 21. So any players under 21 don’t count to that limit. And finally like trade deadlines there are transfer windows. That is the only time players are allowed to be registered.

 

I think the academy style system is more true to being a city first. If you have some young hot shots that came up through local systems you would have first grabs at them from an early age.

That being said it also comes with negatives.

 

Players tend to go to bigger clubs, so even if Brighton have a really good player come up through their system, if an offer comes from Chelsea they probably won’t say no. Its like if Nashville was the best development system but because Montreal was a team with a legacy of winning and had more prospects coming up they chose to leave.

 

If the smaller team plays their cards right they can make big bucks and help boost the squad but it’s not common.

 

Ultimately each system has its own pros and cons. It just comes down to what system works better for the market.

Of Course the Canucks Draft 3rd

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Vancouver Canucks Orca iPhone 4 Wallpaper

I mean, are we serious?

 

Let’s just start at what the heck is this lottery process. I swear I was confused the whole time until it was time to pick the deciding ball.

 

I mean we all saw what happened.

 

We had 3 WHOLE NUMBERS. And we lost the roll of the dice. I mean losing the 1st pick was one thing but who we lost it to made it so much worse.

 

THE LEAFS?!?!

 

They missed the playoffs for the FIRST time in 10 years and just stumbled on a 8.5% chance win. If I was Mats Sundin I’d be headed for the casino. Not to mention they aren’t sure about the future of Auston Matthews. By the way he was the last 1st overall draft pick they got which was 10 years ago. If you did the quick math there that means both times they missed the playoffs they drafted first.

 

But surely that would be the extent of the pain but no. We are the Canucks, how could you expect anything different?

 

This one we lost to San Jose. Doesn’t sting as bad but seeing as they drafted first overall last year I don’t think they needed it. Also they only had a 5% chance of winning it, so again if I was Mike Grier im going straight to the casino.  I did appreciate how he remained expressionless when they won it because I thought it was classy. It would have hurt a lot more if he was celebrating it on the camera.

 

So anyways at least we cant go lower than 3rd. Literally.

 

There are some great players coming up in the draft and being able to draft this high up tends to pay off. The consensus is that Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg will be gone by the time our pick rolls around but there are other players like Caleb Malhotra, Chase Reid, and Keaton Verhoeff who could all be great picks as well.

 

When it comes down to it, it is up to our scouts and management to make the best decision possible. Whether we like it or not whoever they pick will be our next player to champion and send positive energy towards.

 

Whoever they pick will be a Canuck.

Player Report: Ali Ahmed

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Ali Ahmed has gone off to Norwich City.

 

Honestly not a surprise considering how great of a player he is. In this time in Vancouver he has played 102 games. In that time he has 8 goals and 14 assists. In his last 30 games he played with the Whitecaps Ali had 4 goals and 13 assists.

 

Ali’s playmaking and offensive positioning had gone up drastically, he was always in the right place at the right time. And when he would take off into open space and receive passes it would blow the defenceman’s mind.

 

His game clearly took a step up.

 

He was awesome to watch here in Vancouver over the season. The way he would glide around defenders and set up plays inside the box was beautiful. I definitely miss it.

 

He is also on the Canadian men’s team where he has 6 appearances and 1 assist. Chances are he will be playing on the team coming up in the world cup. Hopefully his recent run of good form transfers back to the national team. Sometimes different systems can hinder or improve a player in their role. For example it wouldn’t make sense to put a fast player in the central position where they can really utilize the space.

 

So Norwich City took a chance on him and brought him into the championship. Just below the Premier League. In only 19 games Ali has already accumulated 4 goals and 3 assists. He even scored on his debut and the fans were chanting his name at the end of the game.

Sadly he has become yet another player lost to European leagues, as most of the young talented players end up going. I understand MLS isn’t the most prestigious league and it’s good to challenge new leagues and make a name for yourself but as a fan it hurts none the less.

 

Canucks Playoff Energy

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The Canucks in the playoffs changed the whole city.

 

There are few things that can become the center of a conversation quicker than the Canucks being in the playoffs. All of a sudden your uncle is an expert on lineups and your friends want to discuss defensive pairings. Your teacher asks if you saw the overtime game like they didn’t give you homework that night.

 

The whole city becomes hockey focused. Everyone becomes a coach or critic.

 

Even people outside the regular hockey enjoyers get sucked in because the energy is so magnetic. Blue jerseys everywhere. Bars packed with people glued to the TV. Friends are talking about every goal saying “did you see that” or “NO WAY THATS PEN”. The shared stress of overtime where it’s so tense you could hear a pin drop.

 

Now more than ever with the younger audience big moments become memes. Highlights and replays of goals and devastating hits explode everywhere.

 

One of the best parts of the playoff experience is not just watching the game, but being a part of the larger conversation around it. Having that chat with your friends or uncle helps create more bonds.  Playoff hockey becomes an instant connecting point to anyone in the Lower Mainland.

 

I felt it when the Canucks last made the playoffs in 2024. You could feel the positive energy every time you stepped outside. It felt like a sitcom. People give a nod when you make eye contact, saying hello to people walking by just nothing but good vibes.

 

Friends gather in living rooms. People pull out lucky jerseys that have been handed down from family before. It’s old and never been washed, but that would ruin the luck.

 

Sports help create lasting memories. Ask anyone where they were when the Canucks made the comeback in the last period of the game versus Nashville in 2024. The stress in the final moments only to score the tying goal with 8 seconds left to take them to overtime where they would eventually win it.

 

The way the city explodes after wins. Horns are heard throughout Vancouver and parties go late into the night. And while Canucks fans can be seen as chaotic, it is that exact intensity that makes the atmosphere so amazing.

 

Women’s Sports in Vancouver

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It’s a new era of women’s sports in Vancouver.

With the success of the Rise F.C. and recent additions of the PWHL team Vancouver Goldeneyes, women are getting noticed. And the fans are there to prove it.

 

Younger fans have started to show up and bring love and support.

 

The mentality when it comes to sports has started to shift. Younger fans have started to care more about storytelling and personality.

 

Social media has really helped push the change with athletes being able to promote themselves and become relatable to a large audience online. Interviews and posts about their life to give a behind the scenes in training all help fans feel more connected before the games even start.

 

The smaller venues also aid in helping the fans feel closer to the players.  It helps create what often feels like a louder environment, less empty space for your sound to die out like the big stadiums. You also feel closer to other fans, in proximity and in community.

 

Accessibility to be able to go to games is a player as well. You can bring all your friends and have a good night out without worrying about how crazy expensive it’s going to be. That helps in growing the fan culture. Invites everyone to have a chance at falling in love with a new team.

 

As more people support the teams, the more fan pages and youtube accounts start. Helping to garner a new community with fans who ride the highs of winning and lows of losing with the team.

 

This isn’t a trend. It’s the future of Canadian Sports

 

With new franchises and new leagues popping up in support of women’s sports there are also the players. They are all taking a chance, grinding hard, and now get to compete to make a mark in history.

 

Etch their names into a team, a league, and a city forever.

Whitecaps Games Feel Like Parties

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The energy around the caps is the best I have ever experienced.

 

The feeling of celebration begins long before you get to BC Place. It’s the jerseys you see on the skytrain and the local bars and restaurants getting busy hours before a game.

 

I am a fairly new fan as I started following the Whitecaps back in 2022, but I have been down to Dublin’s Calling and have sat in the supporters section of BC Place exclusively. I have been enchanted by the chanting and celebrating with so many people.

 

I remember Sabbi scoring a crazy curler into the top corner and everyone jumped and started chanting. I was high-fiving people I’d never met before. Everyone is open and friendly and most of all passionate.

 

It’s starting to feel more like a part of Vancouver than just another event.

 

The live DJ helps set the mood as fans flood the Terry Fox Plaza with their blue and white jerseys. The sea of people moving from activities to lining up in anticipation to see their favourite team in action.

 

Once in the stadium traffic jammed hallways are full of people grabbing beers and hotdogs. It always happens where you get stuck in this slow moving glob of people and it takes forever to get to your seat.

 

Finally out to your section and you pop out and you can truly grasp the size of the stadium. It feels like you could scream and your voice wouldn’t reach the other side.

 

In the general admission section I sit in first come first serve seating so I like to arrive early and get a spot close to the front. As the seats fill up you start to hear the stadium buzz with chatter.

 

When it gets closer to kick off the supporters start chanting. The players walk in and it’s absolutely electric.

 

This is an experience that everyone should have. It’s different from the hockey rounds where you kinda chat go canucks go occasionally. It’s a full engagement the whole game. I’d be surprised if you didn’t lose your voice by the end of the night.

 

MLS And NA Corporate Slop

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The MLS, like all major sports in North America, seems to be treated like a business venture.

 

What I mean by that, is that the way teams can get moved around and ripped from a city with all their history, is something that only happens here.

 

In Europe teams have a long rich history tied to where they play. The team is embedded into the city. If a team is proposed it would be silly to think of ever removing it.

 

But not here. Here you can buy and sell a team and if you can’t find a local buyer well then all the best and on to the next. You just pack up the office and move and take all the history with you.

 

You just kinda erase a fanbase from the league and don’t give them anything in return. And yeah sure you gain a fanbase elsewhere but they inherit a history that has no meaning to them. You also strip away the chance of a new franchise creating their history.

 

Watching the Utah Mammoth has been a prime example. Even though I’m not a fan I can appreciate how cool it is, not only for the fans, but also the players. They get a chance at etching their name into the hopefully long history of a new club.

 

I can understand markets going through hard times. But fan apathy doesn’t happen overnight. When the effort is not being put in from ownership to engage with the fans regardless of what results may be it shows.

 

I take the smaller leagues in European soccer as an example. Lets say the EFL League One in England.  A team like Luton Town F.C., who currently sit 7th in standings, have an average attendance of 11,000 in a stadium that fits 12,000. This is 2 leagues below the premier league. It’s like if the Vancouver Giants had an almost sold out arena every game.

 

So it doesn’t matter if your team is first in the best league or last in the worst one, it is forever the city’s team and there should be nothing that can take them away.