When sports fandom runs in the family | Canada Voices

For Amanda Ginn of Edmonton, a love of hockey and the Oilers spans four generations.

It started with her maternal grandfather, a doctor who practiced in the small community of Mannville, Alberta. On Oiler games day in the 1980s, he’d finish seeing patients, get in his car and make the 170-kilometre trek to see his beloved team play. Ginn’s grandfather passed down a love of the game to his daughter, who passed it down to Ginn.

“My first hockey game was [at] six months old, against the Winnipeg Jets,” she says.

Ginn would camp out with her parents at Edmonton hotels where visiting teams were staying, hoping to catch a glimpse of the players. That’s how five-year-old Ginn ended up in a photo with Wayne Gretzky, who was playing for the L.A. Kings at the time.

Sports fandom often runs deep within families, whether they’re all cheering for the same team or just passing down a passion for the game. Families who follow sports together often say it helps them to feel connected to each other.

Ginn is happy to see the family tradition kept alive for the next generation. She says that during Oilers games her two sons yell so loudly at the TV that the neighbours can hear.

“My mom had the tradition during playoffs: you would always wear something Oilers on game day,” she says. “My kids are so die-hard that they wear their Oilers jersey every game, not just during the playoffs.”

Ginn’s older son also likes going to games with his grandmother. “It’s just him and her, and it’s a lot of fun.”

A parade of fans

For Susan Shyluk of Port Coquitlam, B.C., the family tradition is less about cheering for a specific team and more about a multigenerational appreciation for the CFL.

She regularly goes to B.C. Lions games with her husband and likes to share a family Grey Cup story from 1960. Shyluk’s mother had nine siblings, and that year they all took the train from Edmonton to Vancouver to watch Edmonton Eskimos play the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Grey Cup.

The party on the train got a bit rowdy, and Shyluk’s mother and siblings got separated from one of their brothers, Pete. As they were the ones holding Pete’s ticket, they didn’t know how he’d be able to get into the game. But once they got inside Vancouver’s Empire Stadium, there was Pete marching at the front of the game parade right next to the parade marshal.

“When he saw his family, he waved at them, walked across the field and joined them in their seats,” Shyluk said. A photo of Uncle Pete’s side quest was published in the Edmonton Journal.

“Ever since then, we were always big fans. My mom and my dad would have teams that they liked and there’d be rivalries.”

One of Shyluk’s aunts hosted a Grey Cup party every year, and family members would flock to watch the game together, she says. Over the years, some people have moved and others have passed. “But I still call that aunt, and we talk about football and the Grey Cup,” says Shyluk.

Connecting with past generations

Sometimes, family fandom can forge lasting bonds even with people who aren’t around any more.

As a child, Wylie Henderson, who lives in Cranbrook, B.C., went to B.C. Lions with his grandfather. They’d chat about plays all through the game and in the car on the ride home.

Henderson eventually took over his grandfather’s season tickets. Today, he travels to Vancouver as often as he can to attend games.

“It’s been part of my life for so long. I can’t picture my life kind of without going to these football games. It just gives me a connection to my grandpa.”