Any North American professional sports team is bound to have fans beyond their city limits. And the Philadelphia Flyers are no different. But then there are fans across continental North America and then there are fans in more distant places. This article is about Timo Suomalainen, a 30-something Flyers fan who grew up around Helsinki, Finland and has been a fan since early childhood.
Timo Suomalainen remembers when he first fell in love with hockey. In 1995, the Finnish national team won the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship in Sweden, defeating the host country 4-1 in Stockholm. “Every kid wanted to be a hockey player,” Suomalainen says about the team being crowned world champions. “Winning the championship was huge for the nation overall. We were in the middle of an economic depression when we won. It really brought the nation together. The celebration was bonkers.
“I was only six years old when this happened but the spark for the sport was ignited. Not only for me, but everyone in Finland. The kids playing outdoors wanted to be Saku Koivu, Jere Lehtinen or Teemu Selänne (Selänne wasn’t part of that Finnish championship team).”
Suomalainen recalls his early hockey playing days with a local team in Helsinki when he was six. The team was called the Red Wings and he wore number 19, the same team name and number worn by Steve Yzerman. As a result he and teammates were Detroit Red Wings fans. But things changed when he started playing the NHL 98 and NHL 99 games, the latter game featuring Eric Lindros on the cover.
“Instead of the Red Wings logo, I chose the Flying P,” he says. “They looked similar. Maybe it was a pure mistake for me to select the wrong team, who knows. But playing with the orange and black jerseys, the names were great, the players were great. Eric Lindros, John LeClair. The best players in the NHL. It was the console games that gave you the opportunity to be the team, be the player. The one who I fell in love with was Simon Gagne.”
Of course in the 1990s people were thrilled with having an internet connection and a 56K modem, meaning streaming any NHL games “was something NO ONE had heard of.” Timo says he could watch NHL action on Saturday mornings on Finnish television when one channel showed episodes of NHL Power Week, a highlights program.
“I especially remember one birthday party of my teammates where NHL Power Week was running in the background,” Timo says. “There was a piece about Mark Recchi’s amazing snapshot. Again, a Flyers player dominating. Somehow I was constantly drawn to these players with the orange and the black.”
From there Timo was able to watch reruns of games from the 1996-97 and 1997-98 NHL playoffs, the former featuring the Flyers run to the Stanley Cup Final against Detroit.”The Flyers had the misfortune to play against a Motown dynasty,” he says. “But even with less than ideal results it was an opportunity to see NHL hockey and check out the actual games.”
As the years went on, and with the huge leaps in internet connectivity and technology, Timo could “watch games, read statistics and study the team’s history” far easier. YouTube highlights and documentaries like The Broadstreet Bullies cemented his already rocksolid devotion to the Flyers. “They got me to really appreciate the ‘us versus them’ approach, the foundation that Mr. Snider brought to Philadelphia, the integrity and the blue-collar attitude,” he says. “This was my team even though I am not from Philly.”
As Lindros, LeClair and Recchi left the Flyers, new Flyers in Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau caught Timo’s attention while he caught highlights of the 2004 playoffs through NHL’s official site. Timo loved Primeau for his leadership and gritty, physical play. From there he carried on his fandom, recalling the 2007 draft of James van Riemsdyk and the “quite nerve-wracking” but “always entertaining” tenure of Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. He also remembers one of Holmgren’s moves quite fondly when the Flyers traded for Ville Leino “who at the time was my favorite Finnish player.”
“I knew that if he could get the opportunity under Lavy (then Flyers coach Peter Laviolette) there could be something brewing,” Timo says. “He then formed the most exciting line with (Scotty) Hartnell and (Danny) Briere for the 2010 run. It was a blast.” Timo says he became a huge fan of Wayne Simmonds (“ultimate favorite Flyer ever”) when the Flyers acquired him in June, 2011. He says he loved Gagne but equally loved Simmonds’ combination of hard work, grittyness and skill, making Simmonds Timo’s Flyers GOAT. Meanwhile more internet advances saw him streaming more Flyers games online.
Finally in 2015, after graduating from university, Timo realized a dream by attending a Flyers home game at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers beat the Jets 5-2 with Simmonds scoring and earning an assist. But it was more than just the game he remembers. “The whole experience was unforgettable,” he says. “I bought fan gear from head to toe and got my new Simmonds jersey signed by Dave Schultz, Bernie Parent and Bob Kelly.”
“This experience was really the thing that got me to love the city, the players, the team and the people of Philadelphia. So friendly and hospitable to foreign fans coming to see a hockey game. I especially remember Bob Kelly sharing some stories about his national team visits in Oulu, Finland and Bernie Parent and Dave Schultz being so friendly.”
As for the current Flyers, the Finnish fan was pleased with the past season but hoped they’d get into the post-season. He also hopes the Flyers front office continues with the rebuild and is happy the team has Sami Kapanen scouting for them in Finland. And he hopes the Flyers take a hard look at some Finnish prospects this June, including centre Konsta Helenius who is slated to be in the top half of the first round and right winger Emil Hemming who could be a second round or third round option.
Nowadays Timo has a family of his own but still keeps up to date on the Flyers via podcasts while traveling to and from work. Blogs, fan sites, Reddit and watching weekend games that are reruns of matinee games which start just before midnight local time also keep him up to date. “Shoutout to all content makers, you really make being a fan easy and interesting!”
In the meantime, Timo says he’s a Flyers ambassador wherever he goes, wearing t-shirts, hoodies, bomber jackets and roughly half a dozen different caps when not drinking out of Flyers coffee mugs. And like any Flyers fan, he knows there’s always bound to be something happening just around the corner. “All in all it’s good to be a Flyers fan! Never any dull moments!”
