Las Vegas has fallen in love with Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The expansion Golden Knights have taken the league and their hometown by storm in their first season.

The team is Las Vegas’ first major sports franchise, and defying some predictions, locals have filled the stands game after game.

Las Vegas resident David Santangelo is a season ticket holder and longtime hockey fan. He says people “fall in love” with the team after going to a game.

Santangelo was among hundreds who gathered this week in downtown Las Vegas to watch the Knights play the San Jose Sharks in a second-round playoffs series.

The gold-and-grey-on-black helmets are everywhere. They’re on the T-shirts of mall patrons, on stuffed animals and on bumper stickers in suburbia.

Bars away from the city’s tourist-driven areas show the games on TV, and watch parties have become a regular activity.