Comments (0) Best Fans - 2006

Houston Aeros' Tailgunners

Face it: Being a hockey fan in Houston can be tough. Mention the Rangers to someone, and they think you're talking baseball. Give a Texans fan five chances to spell Jaromir Jagr, and he'll still be tossing Y's at you on his fifth try. But there's plenty of upside: The Aeros play entertaining hockey at a high skill level, the tickets aren't that expensive, and you get to watch them at the Toyota Center, with its great sight lines and easy access to beer. Best of all, you're with 5,000 fellow hockey nuts who revel in their cultishness without all the defensive, wounded elitism of soccer fans. Aeros fans dress up and cheer loud, they know their hockey, and they know how to have fun. You don't have to join the Tailgunners, the official booster club, but if you do, you'll get to participate in charity events and get-togethers. NHL hockey, if it ever comes, will never be this cheap, intimate and loose.