How Does a Hockey Fan in Vienna, Austria Get Their Hockey Fix?

I'm one of those hockey fans who can't miss a game of my favorite team from October to the playoffs. My family knows that every year for my birthday (which happens to be in October) I expect the NHL Center Ice TV package as my gift. To bad you can't wrap it and put a bow on it because that would be perfection. I even switched sattelite companies last year because the one I had couldn't offer both feeds of each Buffalo game. There was no way I was going to go all season watching the Sabres play and only being able to watch them through the other team's broadcast. I'm a die hard Rick Jeanneret fan! So I thought it would be interesting to ask a fellow hockey fan who lives in another country how they get their hockey fix!

I met Alexander Buzek where you would expect to meet an international hockey fan, on Facebook. Of course I'm a Sabres hockey fan so I found him on the Buffalo Sabres Official Facebook page. I came across a post he made saying he would be watching game seven of the Buffalo/Philly series around 1 a.m. the next morning. I thought Wow, that would suck to be in a time zone where the game didn't come on until some crazy hour. After chatting with him a bit I found out he wasn't just watching it at his house in his pj's, he was going to a bar with 60 other hockey fans to watch the game. So I asked him to take some photos and if he would not mind answering some questions after the game. He agreed to take photos (he happened to be a photographer too) and was happy to answer questions.


Well we all know what the outcome of that game was and, in case you have been in cave for the last few weeks, our Sabres lost in Philly and that was the end of their season. So I was a little worried Alex might not be thrilled to still do an interview with me. When I saw he was online I learned he was still very willing and couldn't wait. He said they had so much fun watching the game that night even though they lost. So we set up a time that worked for both of us (10 a.m. my time which was 7 p.m. his time). I still wasn't sure how the whole thing would work out but at least I could get a perspective from a hockey fan in another country, which is what I wanted in the first place.

The following is my interview with Alexander Buzek on May 2, 2011. Some of his answers I had to edit or adjust so they would make sense and be in correct English form.

Me:
Ok Alex, just so I get everything correct, what is your name, age, location, and native language?

Alex:
Alexander Buzek, 37, Vienna (the Capitol of Austria), German.


Me:What forms of American social media do you use to keep track of your team and other hockey news? i.e. forums, facebook, my space.

Alex:
Facebook, the Sabres home page, and the NHL home page. Facebook though is the easiest way for me to get in touch with Sabres fans.

Me:
At what age and how did you become a hockey fan?

Alex:
I began playing hockey when I was seven years old living in Vienna. I continued to play until around the age of 17, all the my love for the game grew and grew with no end in sight.

I started to play because as a little boy my dad took me to hockey games several times. I was so impressed by the speed and action of the sport that I told my dad I wanted to play too!

When I started to play hockey as a kid I had no clue about the NHL. All of that was too far away and no appearance about NHL in our media. Then I learned about the existence of the NHL and, like every child, I started to dream of becoming a great NHL star! I know now I will not become one but the dream still exists.


Me:
What was the first NHL game you watched?

Alex:
This happened in a very curious way. The game was not shown here on television and of course this was before the internet. I had a friend who bought a subscription where they would send him video tapes from the U.S.A. with the games of the last month. We would all sit around and watch these games.


Me:
This is such a crazy idea to me. I bet someone was making lots of money selling these tapes to die hard hockey fans around the world. Do you remember what was your favorite team back then?

Alex:
Yes the Edmonton Oilers! This was back in the early 80's. I still like them because in a way they are my sentimental favorite team. Now my favorite teams are the Vienna Capitals as my hometown team, and the Buffalo Sabres as my heart-blood team, and nothing can ever change this.

I guess we all loved the Edmonton Oilers because Gretzky was the only really big star we knew. So it the choice of a favorite team was based more on what knew and not what was necessarily the best team.


Me:
How popular is the sport of hockey in Vienna, Austria?

Alex:
Hockey is not the most popular sport in Austria. The most popular sports are skiing and soccer but the hockey community in Austria is quite big and is growing. We have no school based teams here but there a lot of teams where kids can start to play. Vienna has one big team, the Vienna Capitals, and about 15 smaller ones around the area.

Hockey has a long tradition here. Even though we are not the most successful country we are really good for our size. I guess from 8 million Austrians we have 500,000 who really love the game of hockey.


Me:
Have you ever had a chance to see the Buffalo Sabres play live in person?

Alex:
November 19th, 1995. They played the Ottawa Senators and the Sabres won 6-0! And I was there! It was a home game for Buffalo and I want to go there again so bad just to be a part of that again and make some noise!


Me:
I know you have told me that it is very hard to watch an NHL game on T.V. in Vienna. What do you think could or should be done in order to improve access to televised hockey games for you and other fans it the area?

Alex:
I guess it is very expensive to buy the rights to show games here live, but this would be the most helpful way to show how great hockey can be. Because you can't compare an NHL game to anything else.

But let's take football for example. When they started to broadcast the Super Bowl here most people said why spend so much money for some freaks, and now, the people who watch the Super Bowl live grow and grows and we now have a weekly television program called Football Magazine TV.

There are much more hockey fans than football fans in Austria. Maybe the cheaper way is to make a weekly television show program about hockey. It would not be necessary to show all games. It would be too hard to choose anyway. So a once a week recap of all the games would be great idea. And showing the Stanley Cup Finals live would be twice a good!

The NHL should try it the way the NFL did. I am sure it would be a great success here. And they would have no problem with interfering with existing television shows because games would be on late at night.

Well, if the NHL doesn't go to Austria, Alex goes to the NHL!


Me:
Well now I wanted to ask you some questions about the game 7 between Buffalo and Philly that you went to watch at a bar with other fans. What time did the game start?

Alex:
Around 1 a.m.


Me:
What is the name and location of the bar?

Alex:
The name of the bar is nothing great. It is just called "Sports Bar". It is a place to meet people from overseas and watch overseas sports. It is located right in the center of Vienna.


Me:
How many people attended the party at the bar that night?

Alex:
There where about 60 people watching the game. There was about 20 Sabres fans, 5 Flyers fans, and the rest were lovers of NHL hockey and supporters of other teams who wanted to watch highlights of those games. Most of us in the bar were going for the Sabres. We had so much fun there that even other guests joined us and I guess the NHL has a few more fans after that night.


Me:
Obviously the people of Austria love Thomas Vanek. Would you say the he has helped make the sport more popular in the area?

Alex:
The success of Vanek didn't make hockey here more popular. What he did do for us hockey lovers is bring hockey and the NHL to the attention of the media here which is such a great development. Before Vanek they would never show games or highlights on TV here.

But it is not only Vanek alone. There is Grabner from the New York Islanders and Nödl from the Flyers. They did their part too. But in the end Vanek is Austria's Hockey Hero!

It is amazing for such a small country with so little money for the sport that 3 Austrians have made it to the NHL. This is great for Austrian hockey and for sure great for the kids who now are starting to play.

If I had walked down the street 10 years ago with a Sabres shirt on people would ask what it was. But now, since Vanek plays for Buffalo, people know what it is.


Me:
Have you ever seen Vanek play live?

Alex:
I have never seen Vanek play live but I will get to see him play two games in October when the NHL come to Germany. I have my tickets already! But for sure I want to see the Sabres play in Buffalo again.


Me:
So you believe the NHL starting their season out in Europe is a very good thing for helping the sport grow in other countries?

Alex:
It is a great idea and a big thing for fans over here, but they always go only to Germany. It is not that far away from me but it would be more effective for advertising the NHL in Europe if they really would make a tour through more countries.

The Sabres should visit Vienna! Vanek is a better player than Hecht so he deserves it more that the players come to a hometown of a player. And we Austrians are a way better audience!
　

Me:
How do you think the people of Austria feel about Thomas Vanek playing in the NHL when he is also needed on Austria's team in the IIHF tournament?

Alex:
Definitely nothing compares with a Stanley Cup title and of course we needed him badly. It was upsetting to see that the Sabres were knocked out of the playoffs and that due to injury Vanek would not make an appearance at the world championship. But we all understand that he needs to heal and become totally fit for NHL again and that is much more important to us.

All of us here would love it so much if we ever could say, "An Austrian player has won the Stanley Cup!" He and Grabner do a lot for the NHL in Austria. Grabner being nominated for the rookie of the year is another great step for hockey here. Mostly us fans are happy because maybe one day we will be able to make more things happen and the Austrian TV will broadcast a game.
　

Me:
Is there anything you think the fans of the U.S. should know about hockey fans in Austria?

Alex:
The Austrian hockey fan is very loyal and supports their team in the biggest crises the same way as in the best times. We also have two hockey hearts, one is for our home team and one is for our favorite NHL team. But in the end we are the same fans as Americans or Canadians, we are crazy about this game and love it endlessly!

Another thing about being a hockey fan here is we may not be as successful as the USA or Canada, and none of our teams could ever compare to an NHL team, but our fans have the same big hockey heart as every fan of those teams. It's not the success, it's the game that makes us love hockey so so much!