Results 41 to 50 of 51
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03-04-2011, 10:14 AM #41
I read somewhere that Thrashers broadcasts draw an average of 4,000 viewers a night. I've seen high school assemblies with more watchers than that.
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03-04-2011, 12:41 PM #42
Allow me to get this across. There appears to be an assumption that I think the Jets are coming back to Wpg. Not in a million years are they. The day they left is the day they were gone for good.
I was just trying to remind folks that the powers that be were happy to have them leave, nothing more than that.
Can people in Wpg, support a major North American Sport Franchise? They are far too cheap to be able to do that. Canadians are the World's best living cheapskates.
Remember the old Canadian adage and joke......
What's The Difference between a Canadian and a Canoe?
A Canoe Tips
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03-04-2011, 03:01 PM #43
The NHL is trying to "Americanize" the game and in turn, make it more popular.
From taking the team outs of small markets in Canada and putting them in the US to getting the former MLBPA Union Head Donald Fehr into the NHLPA role, it's all to grow the game and make it "mainstream".
I realize hockey is always going to be "Canada's game" but let's be honest, if Bettman has any hopes of growing the game it will be through America's fan base, America's corporate dollars, America's interest. 90% of what is cool, in, trendy or fun in this world, from culture, food, music to TV shows, originates in the US of A. So if Bettman can make hockey the "in" thing.................
Canada needs to worry about keeping the teams they've got, not trying to acquire more.
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03-04-2011, 07:54 PM #44
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03-04-2011, 08:19 PM #45
Canadian Dollar is now 4-5% higher than the US. Just watch next year when China starts to call in it's markers, all NHLers will demand to be paid in Canadian Dollars.
because the Canadian Government did not allow the banks to operate with the shenanigans that they do here.
There was only shrapnel recession because of the US, but Minerals and Housing are through the roof, and Canada is awash with clean cash with no markers to anybody.
It will be funny to watch them all run to the wicket demanding Loonies instead of GW's.
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03-05-2011, 12:01 PM #46
TSN's Jets Meter
Nice Work!
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03-05-2011, 03:11 PM #47
The Bob MacKenzie Jet's Meter. For a Fat Kid he starts does a lot of pot stirring.
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03-05-2011, 07:52 PM #48
I agree with this, but this:
Is totally ignorant. The existing Canadian teams are not having trouble drawing in fans. This season, all 6 Canadian teams are in the top 20 for attendance, 4 in the top 10 and Ottawa takes 11th (taken from http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance) so it's not a matter of the "Canadian fans being cheap." It is a fact that the NHL is trying its hardest to acquire US TV deals and doesn't believe Americans will watch Canadian games. Canadians will watch hockey no matter who is playing, Americans will only watch a sport if they can locate the cities on a marked map.
Of course, with opinions like the above, it's not hard to see that the NHL is right and Americans care more about what cities are playing than how good the sport itself is.
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03-05-2011, 08:02 PM #49
Here is my take on this.
Bettman is of course wanting to Americanize the game and make it popular in the US. We all know this, but here is where people get into a frenzy about the "markets"
We've seen un-traditional hockey markets become some of the best in the game in terms of winning teams and a loyal fan base. Look at the Panthers of the later 90's/early 2000's, Dallas Stars for the past decade (excluding recent 3 years, but after a playoff appearance the fans will be filling up the arena once again,) Tampa Bay is still going strong, San Jose has probably one of the best fan bases in the league, Carolina is much like San Jose.
All of these are markets you wouldn't consider "traditional" hockey markets. But, through development of young, franchise players and some playoff appearances these teams have turned into main attractions (most anyway) of their town. Given a solid management group that can put together a playoff caliber team that will last for years to come, hockey then is able to embed itself into the roots of the town. Look at Columbus, even though they are middle of the pack they still have around 15k a night (at least the past few months they have.)
In order to do this, they have to have an owner that wants to win. Hulsizer (I think that's right) wants to win and has the same mind set as Pegula or Illitch, the Thrashers owner's want out of Atlanta and look as owning the team as a business. Take your pick on who is moving 1st...
I think Atlanta.
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03-05-2011, 09:24 PM #50
Snake, you're bang on.
I went to LA/Anaheim for 2 weeks a couple of years ago. When I got there, the Ducks had just been knocked out of the playoffs and the Lakers were running high in the NBA playoffs. It didn't matter where I went in LA I could always count more Ducks hats, shirts, jackets, etc than Lakers paraphenalia. Kings stuff was probably 1 for 1 with the Lakers who, again, were actually in the running for a championship. There's no truth to "traditional" markets and there's no truth to a "sunbelt" theory about hockey.
Where there is truth is the fact that you have two Canadian cities, Winnipeg and QC, who allowed themselves to lose their NHL teams and regret it. You also have a league that believes the NHL could only go forward in the US with a minimum of 24 American teams. I believe this sells the league short, it sells the sport short and it sells the fans themselves short.
For whatever reason, pro hockey hasn't worked in Atlanta twice. Colorado lost the Rockies, but have proven to be able to more than support the Avalanche. Minnesota lost the North Stars but are supporting the Wild quite well. Why not give Winnipeg or QC the chance. I don't think either city would allow their team to go down in flames again, for the simple fact of Canadian pride, or rather, municipal pride within Canada.
Snake's example of Dallas proves the point that fans will go to see a winner and that comes down to ownership. If an owner steps up to, say, move a loser in Phoenix to Winnipeg and thinks he can make it work, why stop him. If the owner is committed to winning, it's only a matter of time before the whole organization is on the same page and a winner is made.
It's not a matter of Canada v America, it's no a matter of Canadians being cheap, it's a matter of a shortsighted league looking for a quick fix to something that isn't broken, but rather growing.
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Originally Posted by mq13 
