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One Golden Knights Fan Was Missing At T-Mobile Arena Monday Night

Alan Snel

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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com 

They danced and screamed and cheered Monday night. The Vegas Golden Knights fans were back, through only 2,605 were officially allowed to enter the arena that has a fixed-seat capacity of 17,367.

There were many familiar faces underneath those masks.

But one person was not there.

Golden Knights superfan John Baratta, who died one year ago today. Baratta, who was 68 when he died, was an arena favorite. He was known for sporting a Hulk Hogan-style mustache and seen on the T-Mobile Arena jumbotron tearing his shirt a la pro wrestler Hogan after the Knights scored a goal.

One year ago, his death left so many VGK faithful heartbroken.

The last game with fans at T-Mobile Arena before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the NHL included an emotional tribute to Baratta.

And then, no fans for 363 days at the Big Ice House by the Strip. Until Monday.

They re-started NHL hockey games in T-Mobile Arena in January without fans. And the Las Vegas Raiders also played NFL games without a single fan in the 65,000-seat domed stadium.

It was made-for-TV programming for fans in their living rooms.

But watching these major league games in person without fans was watching elite pickup games with gifted athletes wearing upscale uniforms playing in fancy venues.

There was a weird vibe to it all. The games had winners and losers with statistics to be sorted out, but the entire venue lacked an emotional heartbeat.

This morning, I asked some hardcore Golden Knights fans their thoughts on attending last night’s Golden Knights’ dramatic comeback win over Minnesota in overtime.

Christopher Green:

“It was a magical time at #TheFortress inside T-Mobile Arena. Ingress and egress was seamless and almost pleasant. I think social distancing procedures were adhered to most of the time thanks to the diligent training and observation by Arena staff. seeing the Vegas Golden Knights loyal & faithful fans in attendance was a huge step in the right direction. The team will win games and the team will lose games, you cannot win all games, it is statistically impossible. But when the Vegas Golden Knights players take to the ice at T-Mobile Arena in front of us fans it is, and always has been a wonderful experience. win or lose. Last night was wonderful: such intriguing drama and captivating suspense throughout the whole game to win an overtime was truly magical.”

Stacey Nutini:

“Last night lived up to my every hope and expectation!! Obviously the team struggled a bit and had an incredibly dramatic ending in the tank for us.  I was still quite confident during second intermission that we would tie it up and head into OT and they did not disappoint.
“I didn’t take much pic or video, as I was trying to live in the “now” of the game after not having been there in 363 days. I am glad I took a video of players acknowledging the fans at the end. It sure was good to scream and shout and watch it all unfold live.
“Look – it was pricy, but if you’re on the fence… do it. Go. You won’t be sorry.  I felt safe. I felt happy. I was with the hockey fam and we had a tremendous time!”

 

Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

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