During today’s match of the hockey extra league between Kladno and Sparta, the Prague O2 arena shrouded in blue and yellow in support of Ukraine, which is facing the Russian invasion.
Proceeds from the entrance fee for the match, played under the slogan “Rivalita strana”, will go to Ukrainian families and children fleeing the war and seeking asylum in the Czech Republic. The idea of the playing Knight owner Jaromír Jágr was also supported at a distance by the NHL.
Shortly before the start of the match, one of the largest multifunctional halls in Europe went dark. Only lights from cell phones were visible in the crowded auditorium. Viewers could immediately watch footage from the war in Ukraine, tinted with the song Another Love by Tom Odell.
This was followed by an emotional confession from Ukrainian sisters Ljuba and Olga, who and three children escaped from Ukraine with the help of sports journalist Jan Denemark.
“You just run, you go and you run. The planes fly over you and you never know where and when the bomb will fall on you. At first they only shelled military objects, but then they started attacking residential houses. They just bomb everything,” the two-minute video said.
“We thank all the Czechs who helped us and went out of their way,” said Ljuba and Olga, who and the children watched the match from the galleries, and in the second period they received a storm of applause full of stands.
There was an invitation from both captains. “The war in Ukraine has affected us all. The biggest victory in today’s match will be helping Ukraine. Today we are coming to the ice together as one team,” said Spartan striker Michal Repik. “All rivalry goes away. We know that we can do the most together,” stressed Tomáš Plekanec from Kladno.
A strong moment was the immediate arrival of both teams on the field, as the players perfectly filled the words of the captains. At the same moment, two crowds poured from the two substitutes, in which hockey players in Spartan and Kladno colors mixed on the substitute. They also stood on both blue lines and listened to the anthems of the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
The soloist of the National Theater Opera František Zahradníček sang the Czech one, and the Ukrainian soloist of the State Opera Choir Elmaz Mrkvičková sang.
The ice cube and the filled galleries remained colored blue-yellow throughout the match. On several occasions, there was a shout from “Ukraine, Ukraine”, but also another with an insult to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is behind the invasion of Ukraine. During the commercial break, after less than eight minutes, it was the turn of the choreo, thanks to which the entire lower ring of the arena was completely blue-yellow.
A moment later, an overseas video message came from NHL boss Gary Bettman, reminiscent of Jagr’s long stint in the NHL and his fascinating career. “Today, however, we pay tribute to your heartfelt heart, Jaromír,” Bettman said, announcing that the NHL had released $ 68,000 to help Ukraine, symbolizing a number inextricably linked to Czech legend.
Both teams were originally scheduled to take place in Chomutov, which became the temporary home of the Knights for the entire season during the extensive reconstruction of their stadium in Kladno. However, after Jágr’s idea, the two sides quickly agreed and the match moved to the O2 arena, where Sparta permanently operates. Today, however, the Knights were the home team in it.
Jágr supported the great interest in tickets in an effort to raise the highest possible financial amount with a call for all hockey fans around the world to buy a virtual ticket for the match for 68 crowns. “People need help and this is a tool to help them,” Jagr said.
The match was watched by 14,512 spectators. In total, with the support of the NHL, over three and a half million crowns have already been collected.
Among other things, the duel will be followed by an auction of jerseys of ten players of both teams – supplemented by a sewn-in Ukrainian flag – including the legends of Jágr and Plekanc or the most productive player in the basic part, the Spartan striker Filip Chlapík.
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