Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Goal Horns - My Secret Passion?

Ever since my childhood I’ve been fascinated by the sound of the goal horn going off when a home team scores. Don’t ask me why, or how, because I myself don’t even know. I just believe that now, in the age of cookie cutter arenas, the only thing that sets the rinks apart is the goal horn. I remember when I was younger, living in Chilliwack, British Columbia, I would go watch the local Junior A team, the Chiefs play. With 2,000 people crammed into a tiny barn to watch these kids play, it got pretty rockin’. The rink also had a pretty great horn, and man was it loud. I’m pretty sure that the new WHL team, the Bruins, use the same horn. Is that where my love for the goal horn came from? Who knows.

I’ve been told that the Chicago Blackhawks were the first team to use a goal horn, but I don’t know how true that is. I would like to know who invented the idea of blaring a train horn when the team scored, but as of now, I do not know. There’s just something to each teams’ individual goal horn that sends chills down your back, and most fans know what I’m talking about. Is it the fact that the goal is being rubbed in? I really don’t think it is. I think that it’s because we’ve associated the noise with a goal, we get that feeling.

It’s certainly a unique aspect of the hockey, setting it apart from other sports. Baseball is starting to adopt “Home Run Horns”, and I have no problem with that. I think of it as hockey being a trend setter. If you share the same love for goal horns as I do, please comment and tell us. Also, if you want to hear every team’s goal horn, I recommend you check out VietKamo’s profile on Youtube. He has every current NHL team’s horn, some defunct teams’ horns and many minor league horns.

My top ten favourite horns would have to be, in order, Calgary, Montreal, Buffalo, Boston, Edmonton, Ottawa, New York Rangers, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and Anaheim.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good article Greg. Re the goal horns - I agree it adds excitement to the game!

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure your first exposure to a great arena horn was in Belleville,Ont. when you were about 3 years old. They had (maybe still do have) a great horn and a big Bull's head and when the home team scored steam would pour out of the Bull's nose!! You loved it!The Chilliwack one was awesome too.....

Anonymous said...

I literally feel the exact same way. Im obsessed with them. It wouldnt be as exciting with out them. It pumps me up so much. The one i hear the most is the Carolina Hurricanes. That one is just awesome. Its so powerful and pumps me up. GREAT article by the way.

Anonymous said...

You may want to update your blog because VietKamo's profile on youtube has been suspended. Just to let you know.

Anonymous said...

Chicago was the originator, and in my opinion, still have the best horn in the league.

Anonymous said...

VietKamo didn't make the horns. I made almost all of the minor league ones and another guy made all of the NHL ones. They are all posted on 2khockey.net...then Vietkamo and many others took them and made them into videos

Anonymous said...

can't forget the songs they play with the horns

Anonymous said...

i also feel the same way. im 13 and i love goal horns. loud, blaring goal horns. i take regular NHL goal horns and mix them up a bit using Mixcraft 4. my favorite goal horn is the Boston Bruins goal horn, New York islanders, and a ton of minor league goal horns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juhcRhW_Vuk
most recent one i made :)