The bitter-sweet joy of supporting Kometa

Photo: CTK

A dream came true this season for ice hockey fans from Brno, myself included. Kometa Brno, the most successful Czech hockey club in history, returned to the top division after long 13 years. But the joy did not last long – the “Blue and White Aristocrats” lost the first eleven matches in a row, which has put many fans passion for Kometa to a serious test.

I first heard the name Kometa from a friend in elementary school in Brno. He turned to me and said, ‘are you going to the Kometa game tonight?’ I had no idea what he was talking about. Some years passed before I went to see them play in the early 1990s. Kometa was pathetic, and soon sunk again to the lower division. Founded in 1953 as a sports club under the Czechoslovak interior ministry, it was first called Red Star. But people did not like that name, and nicknamed it Kometa, or The Comet. This stuck, although the club officially adopted the name in the 1990s.

My father played hockey himself back in his day, and we both went to see Kometa every now and then. Last year, we got tickets for a couple of games in the second top division play-off. Brno was trying to win and secure promotion to the top league, called extraliga.

Photo: CTK
That, unfortunately, did not happen. What happened was that the Brno team bought the extraliga licence from another Moravian team, Znojmo that did not have the funds to play the top league any more.

Despite snotty remarks by fans from other camps about money talk, Kometa joined the Czech hockey elite after 13 years. The Brno hockey arena sold out immediately, and some 7,000 people bought season tickets. Everything seemed to be in place for the start of a new glorious chapter in the history of Kometa. But the joy ended there, and the ordeal began. First home game – a loss to Plzeň. First away game – another loss to Litvínov. Then Kometa hosted one of the best teams – Sparta Prague – and lost. In the following round, Kometa came to Kladno, a town not far from Prague, and I thought I would go see for myself if my team wrestles in the first points of the season.

Not long before Radio Prague’s very own David Vaughan pronounced himself and his son, Tom, to be big Kladno fans. We agreed on a joint venture to the Kladno hockey stadium to see who would come out of the clash victorious. The game started out nicely, with Kometa successfully defending and not conceding in the first period. But then it began – the first minute of the second period – 1:0 for Kladno. Four minutes before that period ended – 2:0 for Kladno. Two more goals in the final 20 minutes, and 4:0 for Kladno it was. David Vaughan and his son did their best to cheer me up.

In fact, the same thing happened to my dad. He went to see Kometa play in Kladno some time in the 1970s. Kometa scored first, and he cheered. Then the host scored ten times, and the local fans bought him a conciliatory beer. After eleven losses in a row, however, Kometa grabbed a lifeline. They beat Liberec at home, and most recently, they defeated the sitting champions, Karlovy Vary. A glimpse of hope, at last. If all goes well, I might go see Kometa play Sparta Prague next week. That’s what happens when the call of your heart is stronger than the sound voice of reason.