Flyers fans celebrate their return to the rink
PHILADELPHIA » It had been almost a year since the Flyers played in front of fans at Wells Fargo Center due to coronavirus restrictions.
Longtime season ticket holder Tim Raudabaugh of Ridley Township attended the game. The man is such a diehard Flyers fan he took his day-old bride Kathy to a game at the old Spectrum, followed by a nightcap at the adjacent Ovations club, where on a good night you would be lucky to run into as many Flyers icons past and present as he did.
Flyers games just bring out the best in Raudabaugh, who along with 3,099 other fans, attended the grand reopening of Wells Fargo Center to watch the Flyboys take on the Washington Capitals Sunday. The Caps prevailed, 3-1.
Television didn’t offer Raudabaugh what he has missed more than anything but his wife in this age of COVID – being part of it.
“This is our first real time out since the coronavirus,” Raudabaugh said on the way to getting back in his seats. “This is really all we did before the coronavirus. It’s good to be back.”
Just then, an usher walked by and greeted Raudabaugh and his wife with a “Welcome back.” They knew each other from game days. It was like a family reunion that Raudabaugh hoped would include some of the season ticket holders who sat around him before the NHL shut down and shut out fans.
“Just to be able to see all the guards and the people you used to see all the time, we’re all friends,” Raudabaugh said. “It’s going to be good to get together again. I’m yapping the whole game at home just like I do here. But this is the place I wanted to be. My seats are right behind the bench. I just had to be here.”
In another area of Wells Fargo Cen
ter, Sean Couturier’s most loyal fan, Jaclin Dreisbach of Norwood, was rocking his jersey and reveling in the camaraderie of fellow fans checking out the decorations.
The Flyers made sure their faithful knew how much they were missed with an enormous “WELCOME BACK FLYERS FANS” string of letters arching over the escalators in the concourse, as well as balloon arches here and there.
Dreisbach snapped away with her cell phone, along with other patrons.
“It’s amazing,” Dreisbach said. “I’m not a season ticket holder but I come to games all the time, so I’m really excited to be back. It’s just not as fun watching it on TV. I love being here. The atmosphere is everything. It’s really awesome to be back.”
Dreisbach had a lot more energy than the Flyers in the second period. After Joel Farabee gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the first period, bringing the crowd to its feet, the Capitals bounced back in the second frame with two goals in the last five minutes, the first by Alex Ovechkin.
It took a little of the edge off the first concessions in almost a year, the offerings ranging from tantalizing fresh-smelling hot dogs to soft pretzels.
Ushers, bag checkers and support personnel applauded the waves of Flyers fans walking through the doors and into the concourses. It didn’t take long for the Flyers’ cheer to be heard.
Wells Fargo Center Senior Vice President of Arena Operations Phil Laws, who resides in Chadds Ford, said the building was scheduled to accommodate almost 4,000 people Sunday night, including players, support staff, media and 3,100 fans. A far cry from the 19,689 attendance at the last event here, a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on March 10, 2020.
This game was just a beginning for the Flyers and their fans, who go together like peas and carrots.
Raudabaugh always will remember his honeymoon. And, of course, he’ll recall the post-game party at Ovations, where he met a star-studded cast of the always approachable Flyers. It’s a memory that contrasts these unapproachable, mask-it times of the coronavirus.
“It was amazing,” Raudabaugh said. “We went to the game and went to Ovations after the game. We met Rick Tocchet and Derrick Smith, and ‘Proppy’ (Brian Propp), afterward. Who did they play? I don’t remember. It was the day after our wedding.”
Once a Flyers fan, always a Flyers fan.
On this Sunday night, the long wait was worth it.