SEATTLE — The sound of victory is one Seattle Kraken fans are hoping to hear Saturday night as the team plays their first home playoff game in franchise history.
Season ticket holders Jason and Carol Ladwig said they had been gearing up for playoffs for weeks. They were decked out in their Kraken gear at Queen Anne Beer Hall seven hours before the start of the game.
“It’s been crazy,” said Carol Ladwig, a Seattle Kraken fan. “I've been telling my brothers that I am so obnoxious. I'm not this obnoxious ever, but I am really obnoxious now.”
Jason and Carol are lifelong hockey fans, but say seeing other people join in to support the Kraken the past two years has been incredible.
“There’s people that are just curious and come along for the ride,” said Carol Ladwig. “It is so addictive, it’s contagious. You go to one game and it’s like, ‘I love hockey!’”
It’s a community Queen Anne Beer Hall owner Gary Szeredy is proud to be part of. The hall is an official watch party spot for the playoff games.
“If you asked me if I thought we would be in the playoffs this year, I'm going to tell you, yes, I did think so,” smiled Gary Szeredy, one of the owners of Queen Anne Beer Hall. “But yes, it is against all odds. But everyone knew it and everyone's excited. You know, our city is becoming a hockey city now.”
During the first two away games earlier this week, the beer hall saw 600 people each night and they are expecting an even bigger crowd for the first home game of the series tonight.
“We'll see over a thousand throughout the afternoon and night,” Szeredy said. “We're so excited about it. I mean, it's just crazy. And to see Queen Anne doing so well and Lower Queen Anne businesses thriving and everybody getting excited, it's really cool.”
Fellow Lower Queen Anne bar owner Joe Mahoney up at Ozzie's agrees.
“There has been a pull for the entire Queen Anne area, and Belltown, and in the surrounding area because we're all feeling a piece of the business of the Kraken community coming together," said Joe Mahoney, one of the owners of Ozzie's. "The restaurants are full, the bars are full."
Ozzie’s fills with Kraken fans before and after games, something that Mahoney said is special.
“People are excited about a new team being here and getting to the highest level in the second season,” Mahoney said. “So, it's been great for the community as a whole and people are very excited about it.”
A playoff run has boosted morale for the city and brought support for iconic Seattle spots.
“I think it's a really big deal for our city," said Alex Rose, Fishmonger, Pike Place Fish Market. "First playoff game ever. We're just here to support from one Seattle staple for another Seattle staple."
“I am so pumped," said Marsha Dickgieser, a Kraken fan. "I'm so excited. I can't believe it's year two and we're doing this. It's so exciting."
Lifelong hockey fans and die-hard Kraken fans said they love seeing the community grow over the past two years.
“It’s a really supportive community helping each other out learning the rules and it’s just an awesome vibe every single night,” Dickgieser said.
As bars get ready for fans, everyone is getting ready to hopefully celebrate a win for the Kraken’s first home playoff game.
“We have one win, one loss so far,” Mahoney said. "We're hoping for a win tonight, and Monday again, and then close up in Colorado.”
It is a win that would make Seattle history as the first home playoff win in franchise history.
“I hope we come out blazing,” Szeredy said. “I hope we come out and we beat them four - nothing. That's my prediction for tonight.”
“A crushing defeat would be nice,” said Carol Ladwig. “But I just want them to play their game, because if they play their game, nothing can stop us.”