The Nashville Predators are known to have one of the loudest crowds and hardest environments to play in for opposing players at Bridgestone Arena.
When we talk about passionate fanbases in the hockey world, who do we think about? The Nashville Predators have become one of those no matter who you ask.
You have the “Original Six” teams who made it through everything in the early days of the NHL, and they still have really big fanbases that will always be among the most passionate due to all the history.
But when it comes to having a passionate one, some would have to say that the Nashville Predators have an argument to be made as having the most passionate fans.
The unique traditions
There are some great traditions that you’ll notice when going to a Nashville Predators home game, or when you go back and watch previous big games in their history.
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Throwing the catfish on the ice is one that many fans point to that’s a huge tradition for the Nashville Predators home fans.
The chants from thousands and thousands of Predators fans make you feel like you’re at a college football game in the SEC.
The fans also like to chant at the opposing goaltender after the Predators score a goal on them. It’s been a chant since the beginning and it still goes strong when you hear it on national television or see it in person.
Putting all arguments aside everyone can be biased and say that their team has the most passionate fanbase.
They were almost lost
When you consider when the Predators almost got moved out of town and up to Hamilton, Ontario, the Nashville community responded in a big way to keep their team.
Many times in sports history fanbases didn’t have that same fortune, watching their team be moved away to another city and another fanbase.
Everyone from around the surrounding areas came in and showed the NHL that it would be a huge mistake to move the Predators out of the growing city of Nashville.
Luckily that didn’t happen as attendance steadily rose that season and the rest is history. They’ve been to the Stanley Cup Final since then, and even fans who can’t stand the Predators will tell you the Predators fans are rabid and very passionate about hockey and their team.
Looking back on it, what would be different about the NHL today if the Predators moved? Would it still be the same amount of teams in the league or would teams have relocated even more trying to raise a new fanbase out of the ashes?
The fans of the Nashville Predators will always have the team’s back no matter what gets thrown the team’s way. No matter what the score says, usually the fans stay loud at Bridgestone Arena and aren’t fair weather fans.
Then you have the incredible showing they made to the 2020 Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl in Texas. It was the second-largest attendance for a hockey game in history, and the Predators fans played a major role in that.
The Predators fanbase even got so popular in 2019 that Forbes wrote that the fanbase was No.9 in the top loyal fansbases in the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins took the top spot.
Having that bragging right to say that your fanbase is among the most storied and historical NHL franchises goes to show that Predators fans are certainly one of the best, and one of the most passionate.