Brittany Hilliard, Sports & Gaming Editor, and Josh Benjamin
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This opens Charles Dickens’ classic book, A Tale of Two Cities. Coincidentally, the line also encompasses the roller coaster ride that every sports fan knows well. Fans of the Carolina Hurricanes are no exception; however, on June 14, 2026, Hurricanes fans (who call themselves “Caniacs”) were treated to the ultimate triumph: watching the Canes lift the Stanley Cup again. It had been 20 years since those images filled their television screens when Rod Brind’Amour (now the head coach of the franchise) raised the shining silver chalice above his head during the Canes’ first championship. Now, they were champions once more, making confetti rain from the rafters at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after their shutout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights with a score of 3-0. For Caniacs everywhere, that night led to days and even weeks of celebrations that will be cherished for a lifetime. It is in that spirit that Josh Benjamin and I take a walk down memory lane as we reflect on our own experiences being Caniacs and the recent Stanley Cup victory that changed the history of our beloved Hurricanes – and North Carolina – forever.
From Graduation Caps to Hockey Sticks
By Brittany Hilliard
My journey towards becoming a Caniac has an unusual beginning that, in hindsight, should have given me some indication that I belonged as a Canes fan. Before enrolling at UNCG, I was an English major at North Carolina State University. At the time, hockey was not on my sports radar. I was (and still am) a dedicated football and soccer fan. For that reason, my first encounter with hockey was both truly unexpected and amazing. After finishing my undergrad program at NCSU, I attended my graduation ceremony at what was then PNC Arena. When I arrived early that morning, I was lined up with the other graduates at the back of the complex. Standing next to shelves of various food items that were ready for the concession stands, I was filled with nervous yet excited energy about my big day. As the line moved forward, we inched closer and closer to the arena floor where all of us would sit down. Just before we reached our seats, though, we made a pit-stop in what appeared to be a locker room with a Canes poster on the wall. I wasn’t sure if it was the Canes’ or the visitors’ space, but as I looked around with my eyes as wide as saucers, I couldn’t believe where I was. I was actually standing in the middle of a professional sports locker room! It felt unreal. Even though I wasn’t a fan of hockey or the Canes yet, I knew I was in a very special place. It felt like a huge honor to be there, and I was stunned that I had gotten so lucky.
Fast forward to the summer of 2026. I had heard rumblings of the Hurricanes being on the hunt for the Stanley Cup and that they were the favorites to win. Since the NFL and college football seasons had ended, I was starving for more sports action, so I decided to start tuning into the Canes’ games. As I took in each nail-biting moment of the Stanley Cup series, I became increasingly fascinated by the sport. Somehow, it felt foreign yet familiar. Each time the puck got close to the net and was swatted away by Andersen or Bussi, or each time one of the other Canes scored a goal, I cheered as loudly as I did for the Wolfpack, my alma mater’s football team, or the American women’s national soccer team. It wasn’t long before something dawned on me. I really enjoyed hockey, specifically Canes’ hockey. They were like flashes of red lightning as they blurred across the ice. Their unwavering determination and commitment to teamwork were palpable through my television screen, and I could feel how deeply they wanted to win it all for their fans.
And win they did! As I watched the Canes rush out onto the arena floor to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup at the final buzzer of Game 6, a giant smile spread across my face. I was genuinely proud of them and thrilled that I had experienced it. For the next few days, I watched YouTube videos of fans sharing their joy about having the Cup back in North Carolina. I also watched the local news channels’ coverage of the Canes’ parade in Raleigh. I even played (and replayed) a video of fans watching the last game live at the Lenovo Center. With the massive screen hanging from the ceiling in the background, they sang “Sweet Caroline” as they hugged each other. Although the game had happened already, I sang in unison with them. It felt fun, natural, and right. That was when I knew I had found a new sport and team to love. I became a Caniac, and I have been singing along with my fellow Canes fans ever since.
Late-Blooming Caniacs
By Josh Benjamin
It baffles me that I missed about 15 years of being a Carolina Hurricanes fan, despite living as close as I’ve ever been to a professional sports team. My childhood summers were filled with endless games of street hockey until we could barely see the ball in the streetlights. I grew up not too far from Buffalo, New York, where there were plenty of Sabres fans. I watched games on TV and, as an undergrad, went to plenty of college hockey games and even played in an organized roller hockey league.
And yet I remained only casually interested after my wife and I moved to North Carolina in the summer of 2006, just months after the Hurricanes’ first Stanley Cup championship. In fact, we went to our first game that season, but only to go along with some other friends who wanted to see the visiting Sabres play.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t a sports fan — I had been rooting for the New York Giants for as long as I could remember, and my wife grew up cheering for Syracuse Orange basketball. After my daughter was born in 2014, and I gave up supporting the NFL for reasons I won’t get into here, I was in a sports drought. We didn’t have a team the whole family could cheer for. Once the arena returned to full capacity for the 2021-22 season, we took our daughter to her first hockey game, thinking it was time to try hockey.
That was it; we were Caniacs. The energy and excitement in the building were unlike any other sporting event we had ever seen. The chants of “Let’s go Canes” and “Cheaters never win,” the way every fan jumps to their feet after a goal, the high fives from total strangers, and the storm surge after a home win—the atmosphere here is like nowhere else.
It wasn’t long before we had a streaming subscription so that we didn’t miss a game, had our favorite players’ jerseys hanging in our closets, and made sure to get to as many games as we could during the season and playoffs. It doesn’t hurt to have your home team make the playoffs every year. Having a perennial championship contender as your home team feels good, but we’ve learned there’s more to being a Canes fan than that.
It starts with embracing the way we play hockey here in North Carolina: stifling, pressure-filled hockey that wears opponents down. Gritty wins that we grind out night after night by outworking the other team and never quitting. We take pride in the players’ work ethic and attitude, which of course starts with our beloved coach (In Rod We Trust). And as fans, we do our part by making our arena the toughest place for a visiting team to play.
The players who stay here always talk about the fans, and it really feels like a community. I’m sure every fan base feels that to some degree, but it’s special here in North Carolina. After one home game, we got a tip from some other fans that we could see the players leaving the arena, and they would usually pull over and say hi. While we waited, the arena announcer, Wade Minter, saw my daughter’s sign and gave her his best Jordan Martinook impression.
When my daughter’s favorite player at the time, Brent Burns, rolled down his window to sign an autograph for her, it made her night. This past season was even more special, and we’ll never forget staying up late to watch the finals and see our team win the Cup, 20 years after we moved here and after the last championship. We went to the parade this past summer to join the massive celebration with the players, coaches, staff, and thousands upon thousands of other Canes fans, and it felt like one big party for everyone involved.
As my daughter said while we walked to the car after last week’s wild preseason win in Greensboro, hearing the “woos” being echoed through the parking lot, “Being a Canes fan is like having a whole arena full of friends.” She’s right about the bond that’s formed around this team. Here in North Carolina, it’s hockey country.
Are you a Caniac or a hockey fan with a story to tell as well? If so, leave a comment and share it with us! And don’t forget to tune in tonight at 5:00 p.m. EST when the Hurricanes play at home against the Florida Panthers on ESPN!
Headline image from Wikimedia Commons
