Experiencing Giants in Belfast

The Belfast Giants were formed off the back of the Good Friday Agreement to act as a new sporting team for Northern Ireland, one that was free from any traditional perception of bias or sense of belonging to one particular community or another.

Throughout the 20 years since all three of the major sporting bodies, the Irish Football Association, Ulster rugby and the Ulster Provincial Council of the GAA have worked hard and with diligence to present themselves as open to all.

We have seen members of the PSNI play Gaelic Games and Catholics and protestants line out alongside each other in the green of Northern Ireland’s football team and the white of Ulster Rugby.

Success has come with Heineken cup triumphs, All Ireland Football titles and the qualification for the Euro 2016 finals.

Investment has been made at Windsor Park and Kingspan Stadium and sport has been a major part in healing the divisions that had rendered Northern Ireland asunder in the previous 35 years and more.

And yet, despite the reason for the establishment of the Giants becoming less important they have still thrived and built a solid fan base.

We were at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Sunday to see them run out impressive winners against the Glasgow Clan. Going 1-0 down in the first minute was a blow but an equaliser and then a second-period surge saw them to a 6-1 win.

They are one of twelve Elite League teams across the UK and have won the Championship on five occasions.

The average attendance at the SSE Arena is a little over 4,500 and there is plenty to keep fans coming back. As with most US-based sports, entertainment and the fan experience is a central part.

There are riffs and themes that accompany key moments in the game that are familiar and enthusiastically embraced by the fans. One of these is the theme from The Babana Splits which will bring back pretty vivid childhood memories to any readers of a certain age.

A meeting of our Sport for Business Belfast Group of sporting and business leaders will take place in the city on Wednesday, January 29th, 2020. To find out more and get involved with what we are doing across Northern Ireland, get in touch with us today.

The fans are committed with many wearing the teal coloured team jerseys. There is an imaginative series of draws and raffles through the game as well with ‘The Shirt Off Their Back’ being one that gives an opportunity to do just that.

50/50 is a raffle with tickets costing £2 that means you can win half of the jackpot and decide which charity the other half goes to. Small little things but consistent at every home game and clearly part of the experience.

Boomerang Corner is the ‘Hill 16’ or the Shed for Giants fans. There gather the most energetic of fans, with a selection of drums and rattles to keep the beat and the chants going across the 60 minutes of action and the 100 minutes of experience that a game generates.

The belle of Belfast City blasts out and is fully sung whenever the Giants score. Sometimes trying to manufacture enthusiasm does not work. It does here.

In between periods, there is activity on the ice that is guaranteed to raise a smile if nothing else. We got to see a game of ice-based musical chairs, using inflatable armchairs and fans wearing regular footwear slipping and sliding towards winning a prize that could have been anything.

During breaks in the play food sponsors including Subway and Pizza hut would emerge from one aisle entrance to run up and down looking for enthusiastic fans to present with a sub or a pizza.

There were t-shirt cannons and mascots, all manner of means to keep you entertained and keep you coming back for more.

There were plenty of sponsors as well. Stena Line are the main backers of the team but they are one of many. Each of the players is sponsored and credited as they are named or called out on the big screen for having scored or contributed an assist.

Ice Hockey is not in our collective sporting tradition but it is a fast game, with the odd fight and a lot of fun.

This was my first experience in a live environment. It won’t be my last.