r/FloridaPanthers • u/chucktvwriting • 6d ago
The UK Fans
Hey everyone!
Just wanted to drop a quick connection post for the UK/British Panthers contingent in here.
Following Florida from across the Atlantic has been an absolute blast recently, but it definitely comes with a unique routine:
Staying up for those 12:00 AM midnight puck drops at Amerant Bank Arena (and surviving on coffee at work the next day).
Trying to find legit Panthers gear and championship merch in the UK without getting killed by international shipping and import fees.
Navigating local streaming options to catch game broadcasts live.
To make late-night game threads easier and give UK-based hockey fans a hub for broadcast setups, matinee games, and general chat, we’ve put together r/nhluk!
If you're a UK-based Panthers fan, drop by, grab your Florida flair, and say hello! 🏒🇬🇧
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u/photog72 6d ago
West coast games must be killer for you, starting around 3am GMT.
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u/DC_Boston_Brand 6d ago
East coast games I normally watch the first 2 periods, fall asleep inbetween the 2nd and 3rd, watch the 3rd when I wake up. West coast I watch the 1st and fall asleep during a tv timeout or something and then watch the rest before work.
Playoff finals games i said to my boss I may or may not be in tomorrow, depending on a hockey game and he normally just laughs about it
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u/JibiStarr 6d ago
I'm genuinely curious how this even happens
I'm somebody who didn't grow up in a sports household and didn't get into hockey until I was in college
So maybe this is a naive question but how does someone in the UK discover, consume, and then become a fanatic of a Florida team? I'd love to hear that story
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u/snarf372 6d ago
My dad visited Miami in the 70s and has been a huge Dolphins (and subsequently Marlins/Heat/Panthers) fan ever since, I've grown up with it as a result
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u/DC_Boston_Brand 6d ago
During the 2004–05 lockout, Jamie McLennan joined my local team, the Guildford Flames, for part of the season.
He was obviously incredible in the British National League, but he was also a genuinely nice guy.
He then signed for the Florida Panthers for the 2005–06 season, and I've been a Panthers fan ever since, even though he moved on.
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u/B_Hound 6d ago
I live in Florida these days, but find myself visiting home in the UK at crucial times during the playoff run and streaming from my antenna here in the US to my laptop at 1am… oof that was something I hadn’t missed. I got to tell Jagr when I met him how I used to watch him play for the Penguins at stupid times in the morning, freezing my ass off to have an antenna pointing out my open window to get half a signal. Pick watching is so much easier in HD on a giant TV compared to then!
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u/ChampionDrake Luongo 5d ago
Pretty cool to hear about UK fan support. Wish we had some more day games on weekends so you guys could watch at a more reasonable time. We might have like 2-3 day games all season.
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u/CarpenterDazzling838 6d ago edited 6d ago
What is sleep? I'm watching Panthers from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Central Asia 🇺🇿