Memorial Cup: Boy’s tears, filmed on TV, sum up London’s ‘heartbreak’

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A young boy, wearing a Knights jersey, with tears streaming down his face – the image from Sunday’s Memorial Cup telecast spoke volumes for London fans.

The boy, filmed in the stands as London lost the final to the Saginaw Spirit, is the son of London Knights super-fan Sav Neth. They were among many Londoners who traveled to Michigan for the tournament and watched the team lose so close 4-3, with seconds remaining, to host Saginaw for the junior hockey title.

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“TSN caught my son crying on national television. I’ve gotten hundreds of messages from (people) saying, ‘Keep your head up,'” Neth said.

Among the messages of comfort were some from the families of nine-year-old Jordan Neth’s favorite Knights players, said Neth, who watched the tournament from his front-row seat for Free Press readers, emphasizing what he seen and heard while hunting junior hockey players in London. first price.

“It’s heartwarming,” Neth, founder of a Knights fan club on Facebook, said of the comments he received after the “heartbreak” he felt driving home from Saginaw.

Still, he said he was proud of the way London played, coming from behind to tie the game before Saginaw won with less than a half-minute to play. Here’s how Neth viewed the game from his seat in Section E3, Seat 7 at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw:

A SLOW START

After the first period, the Knights led 2-0. When the lead widened to 3-0, fans on social media soured. “How did the Knights collapse so badly at the finish line? one fan wrote on a Reddit post. Even when a comeback seemed unlikely, Neth – like his son, visible on the TSN broadcast – encouraged London.

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“I had faith the whole time. I really didn’t stop cheering,” Neth said. The “lows,” he says, come when the team needs its fans the most. “We didn’t give up. No matter the score, no matter how many shots we made, we couldn’t stop cheering.

RETURN IN THE THIRD PERIOD

The Knights came back scoring three goals to tie the game. The energy of the fans in the crowd also increased, Neth said. “The fans were loud,” he said. The same fan who questioned the Knights on Reddit edited this post to say “WAIT”, then “WAIT”. Ultimately, that wasn’t enough. Saginaw scored its fourth game-winning goal with 21 seconds left.

POST-GAME THOUGHTS

Despite the loss in the final, Neth said the Knights – the Ontario Hockey League champions, who went through the round robin undefeated – have every reason to hold their heads high. The fans are proud of them, he added.

“All players should be proud of their season, on and off the ice,” he said. He highlighted the team’s commitment to the community throughout the year, including supporting charities, attending minor hockey games to encourage the next generation of players and bringing smiles to their faces. young supporters of London Children’s Hospital. “They don’t just play hockey,” he said.

Neth, a father of two, said the players have become leaders that young people can look up to. He hopes they stick with it as they progress in their careers. “It’s more than just hockey,” he said. “They have a community.”

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