The Larscheiders have lost their spot at Canucks games
After years of enthusiastic support through some tough years, the Vancouver Canucks seem to have forgotten about some of their most boisterous fans.
The Larscheiders, the first and only Canucks supporters group, have not been given the option to buy tickets next season. At least not as a unit, as they have done since the 2016-17 season, when the likes of Michael Chaput and Jayson Megna were regulars in the lineup.
Needless to say, members are upset to be left out.
“10 years [of] support to be thrown out the window at first chance once the team becomes relevant. So much for emphasis on ‘fan engagement,’” a Larscheiders member said on a viral Reddit post on Wednesday morning.
“We have bought out section 325/326 for seven to nine games for the last decade of losing seasons. We are a passionate fan club who stood all game, gave unwavering support no matter how bad the team was.
“Now the team is good, sales are better, and we are not being given the choice of buying out our sections anymore.”
The optics are terrible from an organization that jacked up their ticket prices immediately after playing playoff games at Rogers Arena for the first time in nine years. Speaking of the playoffs, the Larscheiders weren’t given the option to buy tickets to them last spring either.
The move to keep the Larscheiders out of the rink doesn’t appear to be an intentional one, however. A Canucks spokesperson told Daily Hive that they sold more tickets than in previous years and reserving a spot for the Larscheiders would require moving a lot of people out of their current seats.
“We are not trying to get rid of them,” a Canucks spokesperson told Daily Hive. “We’d like to see them stay.”
Founded in 2016 and named after beloved former Canucks broadcaster Tom Larscheid, the Larscheiders grew in numbers over the past eight years. They eventually became big enough to take over an entire section in the upper bowl at Rogers Arena.
Full disclosure: the author of this story helped grow the group in the early years.
The Larscheiders stand through every game they attend, usually seven to nine games a season. They’re impossible to miss for those in attendance, whether due to the giant Larscheiders banner at the back of sections 325 and 326, or their chants that ring through Rogers Arena.
Remember “Bruce there it is”? That chant started from the Larscheiders section in 2021 during Bruce Boudreau’s first game with the team.
How about that unforgettable image of Elias Pettersson reacting to the crowd after scoring his first NHL goal in 2018? The crowd was chanting his name.
Take a guess who started it.
How did that standing ovation sound, Elias? 😎 pic.twitter.com/WfmH49clsB
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 4, 2018
The Larscheider impact could be felt as recently as last season, when Conor Garland was fighting back tears in a post-game interview with Kate Pettersen. His name was being chanted that night.
Pretty cool scene as Garland soaks up the energy while Rogers Arena chants his name #Canucks pic.twitter.com/E19kQVaY2z
— Ally Penders (@AllyPenders) April 9, 2024
Conor Garland! #gocanucks #larscheiders pic.twitter.com/2uy7luFu8Q
— Buck (@OldDoeYoungBuck) April 9, 2024
The Canucks even gave the Larscheiders a rare chance to take over a section in the lower bowl in 2022, at the height of the “Bruce there it is” movement. They called it “LarscheiderMania.”
This Larscheiders’ section in the lower bowl is so cool. Never really seen this kind of electric, soccer-like atmosphere at a #Canucks game before pic.twitter.com/xDbLj93Xur
— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) April 20, 2022
SOUND UP 🔉
The Larscheiders are loud and proud! pic.twitter.com/Z3TZXifPYp— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 20, 2022
The Larscheiders and the Canucks organization have had a good relationship throughout the years. Sources say team owner Francesco Aquilini was a big fan.
The Canucks marketing team must have been fans too, because images of cheering Larscheiders have been used in TV commercials advertising tickets on multiple occasions.
Ryan Nicholas, a former senior director with the Canucks, was in charge of game entertainment from 2015 to 2019. He championed the Larscheiders’ cause on the team side before the pandemic.
“I felt the Larscheiders were invaluable from both a fan experience and marketing perspective,” Nicholas told Daily Hive. “During the lean years in the late 2010s when the team was not performing, the Larscheiders were the most effective way to bring some energy and atmosphere to the arena. No matter the score they would add buzz in the building which could be heard even on TV.
“These are your most vocal advocates both in and outside of the arena, so why wouldn’t you want to do all you can to support them?”
That’s a good question.
Carlo Bodrogi, one of the group organizers of the Larscheiders, told Daily Hive that he reached out to the Canucks this summer the same way he had done in previous years. But this time he got a different answer.
“The team told us they sold too many tickets and aren’t able to run the traditional program this year. We all buy retail tickets and so often you’re sitting with people who are barely paying attention to the hockey. For years we’ve had a section where everyone is actually watching the game, reacting to the game, supporting the Canucks win or lose. Now they’re good again and this type of thing isn’t feasible.
“There’s hundreds and hundreds of really disappointed fans.”
But Bodrogi isn’t ready to throw in the towel.
“In times like this, I like to think, what would Tommy Larscheid do? I think he’d keep it classy, he’d stay passionate and certainly wouldn’t give up. So despite the changes, we’re hopeful we can work with the Canucks to find other ways to bring some energy this year.”