Canada’s very own ‘crowd ignitor’ gets paid to cheer at games

We all love an over-the-top fan at a sports game, but imagine being a fan full-time.

Canada’s very own Cameron Hughes is a professional “crowd ignitor” and over the last almost 30 years has spent time cheering at every kind of sporting event, including basketball, hockey and soccer games.

And yes, he gets paid for it.

Hughes recently joined the hosts of The Morning Show to talk about his new book King of Cheer and how his journey began.

He said it all started at an Ottawa Senators game.

“I was at the game with a buddy of mine and no one was cheering and I was upset,” he said. “I got up in the crowd, eight minutes to go, and I started to dance like crazy.”

He said the team came up to him after the game and asked him to come to another game just to dance.

“I kept showing up to other venues and eventually they paid me.”

Hughes says sports fans aren’t always clear on if he is a paid fan or not and the author says that’s part of the fun.

“It’s that sense of human interaction… when a human being is doing something crazy we connect to that more.”

And although he has had the opportunity to cheer at every type of sporting event all over the world, he says when it comes down to the best fans, hockey has it made.

“For me it’s hockey. I grew up in Ottawa,” he said.

“I think what I do works really well in the hockey world… I love the rawness of the hockey crowd.”

Cheer King chronicles Hughes’ life and love affair with cheering at sporting events, including two Olympic games, five NBA Finals, two Stanley Cup finals and the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

For the full interview with Hughes, check out the video above.