Capitals Fan From Germany Shares His “Capitals” Tour

Caps fan Bjoern Esperling from Hamburg, Germany, just arrived two days ago in New York City for the Rangers-Caps game on Tuesday night. It was the first of five Capitals games he will see in the next few weeks. He was kind enough to share his experience with NoVa Caps, and will share reports from each game he attends over the next few weeks.

NEW YORK
“First period was a bit of a slow start for the Caps. In the second and third, they were amazing. Furthermore it was great to be live at Kevin Shattenkirk’s first game as a Capital. Good luck to him. It was a great experience to walk on Times Square wearing a Grubauer jersey with a scarf of from my local German 4th league hockey club Adendorfer EC“, Bjoern says.

“It’s interesting to see many different hockey locations and fans everywhere. In NYC, I’ve met Caps fans from Upstate New York, as well as a few who came from D.C. Last year I visited road games in Philadelphia and New Jersey. In California, it’ll be the very first time for me and I’m excited about collecting new impressions”.

WESTWARD HO
It was his first of three road games cheering on the Caps. After a short stay in New York City, Bjoern will travel on to California, hopefully to see two more wins in Los Angeles and Anaheim. At the end of his tour, he’ll be in Washington D.C. for the Caps’ home games against the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild at the Verizon Center, before flying back to Europe.

During his California-Arizona-Nevada trip, Bjoern will have a hockey stop in the desert for a Coyotes game (against the Carolina Hurricanes). “It Will be fun to see a game in Glendale. German-born forward Tobias Rieder is playing for the Coyotes. We don’t have that many German NHL players and it will be cool to see one of them playing there”.

With flights and the road trip combined, the whole travel distance of Bjoern’s tour is about 15,000 miles. One of his goals – aside from seeing, in a best case scenario, five W’s for the Caps – is to visit NHL games in most or all arenas in next few years. When finished with his trip, he’ll have already been to Washington D.C., New York, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Arizona, Los Angeles, Anaheim and Buffalo. “To travel is very important to me, and hockey is very important as well. It’s always a pleasure to combine them both. I’m Looking forward to three fantastic weeks. Let’s Go Caps!’.

To be a fan who is seeing their team play on the road is one thing. To be a fan from Germany and travel across the United States to see your favorite team play is another. Bjoern is a perfect example of a true, diehard fan. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to hear more about his experiences on the road.