Tom Says...
The anticipation of the 2012-2012 started for me the second the Sens were eliminated in 7 games at the hands of the New York Rangers.
The city had just finished watching a team that had defied the odds all season long. Six months of incredibly compelling hockey chock full of story lines and surprises that no one saw coming a mile away. For the first time since 2007 when they made the Stanley Cup Finals there was a genuine buzz in this city about the Sens. People were excited and they had good reason to be.
I don’t think it every really hit me that there was a serious chance of a lockout until the regular season was supposed to begin. For some unknown reason I was fully convinced that there was no possible way that the league and players would go down that road again. Why would they want to? What was there to gain? The league was coming off a string of seasons in which revenues were higher than they had been in years, and player’s salaries were increasing steadily. Who had anything to complain about?
Apparently everyone involved.
Here we are 40 some days into a lockout. For fans it’s the same exact situation that we found ourselves in during the doomed 2004-2005 season. Nothing to do but wait until a bunch of millionaires sort out their millions. It blows. It’s terrible. I want nothing more than to be sitting down to watch the Sens play 3 or 4 times a week, but instead I’ve found myself addicted to Fantasy Football and caring a little too much about how many point Larry Fitzgerald scored (or didn’t score) in a Monday Night Football game.
Between the thinly veiled press releases from the League or the Players Association, or the idiot players on Twitter complaining about a fair deal in one breath, and then posting picture of their Ferraris the next I’m just getting sick of this ridiculous process.
I don’t care about “scheduled talks” or “unscheduled talks”. At this point I’m apathetic to the lockout. The lack of talks between the NHL and NHLPA and the constant posturing in the media has left me bored. I genuinely don’t care about hockey right now and that sucks.
As soon as a deal is made I’ll be right back in my season seats excited out of my mind that hockey is starting again for another (shortened?) season.
Anyone that tells you they won’t ever watch a hockey game again is a straight up liar. Lots of people have jumped up on their high horse saying the NHL has lost them as a fan forever, but if you came back after the last lockout you’ll be back after this one too. Two weeks after the games start up again everyone will be back into the swing of things as if nothing had ever happened, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Until that happens, I’ve given up on getting my hopes up for hockey. Just let me know what time the first game starts and I’ll be there as usual.
Let me know what you think in the comments or send me a note on Twitter @TomSENS.
Gotta say I disagree with ya bud, though most of the time I think your spot on. For many of us, this is the third lockout we have been forced to endure. Now I do believe your right in saying that people who say they will never watch again are liars. I will definitely watch on TV again, and I will follow our Sens for sure. But I will never buy another ticket or NHL product again. If I get given tickets? Sure I'll go, but the NHL has gotten it's last nickel from me. This is absolutely ridiculous, and any fan who goes out and buys tickets after this is insane IMO.
And Happy Halloween everyone. Hope all you trick-or-treate rs, have a fun and safe night.
I think the attitude above, while valid in some respects, is exactly what Tom is referring to. It is incredibly easy to say you will never buy another ticket to an NHL game again....during the lockout that is. Let's see what your attitude is when there are actual important games to be played. Lets say, Home Opener or, Alfie's number gets retired or, Heatley returns to town. (The Bastard) or, Game 1 of playoffs. Game 7 of playoffs!?!? You aren't going to buy tickets to any of these games out of spite?? If you can hold strong, good on you, but 99 percent of fans won't be able to resist. During the lockout, it is so easy to say BOYCOTT!!! However, I feel everyone is writing cheques with they're mouth that they won't be able to cash. We all love hockey people. Yeah the NHL is a bunch of plugs whining over millions, but I'm sure as hell ready to keep giving them these millions to see Karlsson's crazy speed, or to see Spezza go Top Cheese.
One thing that bothers me is when people complain about millionaires not being able to divide millions of dollars. It just doesn't make sense. Think about it...the bigger the pot of money the harder it is to split up. It would take you 2min to split up 20$ between you and a friend. But 3.3billion is a little more difficult. I personally would fight like crazy to not loose 10-15% of my million dollar salary. That's over 100k per year!!!!
You are increasing the NHL's revenue just by watching games on TV, you aren't really hurting the NHL. I get it though, you don't want to spend your own money to watch it, but don't be fooled into thinking that watching from your home doesn't give the league money.
The real question is not how much do we all love hockey, but the question becomes how much do we really love our Sens?
This line of thinking will not doom the NHL at all, this line of thinking will only hurt our Senators.
Do we really want to keep NHL in Ottawa? Then we had better support our team.
Having said this, since the last lockout my interest in NHL hockey as a game played by superior atheletes for the love of the game and the city they play in, has diminished, and the innocence in believing that these players actually give a shit about winning a Stanley Cup, for their teams and their fans, has become secondary to the actual business and individual revenues they all bring in.
I have said this many times, before last year, it became very clear that other than a few members on a team, most NHL players would give their all, but once the season was over, the all would get into their Ferrari's drive to their mansions, and call their travel agents to book their summer vacations around the world.
Back in the 70's and 80's when a team was knocked out, you could actually feel their dissappointment , today, after they are knocked out, we get the standard BS comments, and they are off to all parts of the world to enjoy their millions.
NHL and the PA, are really revealing that this is no longer a real sport, but only a business. Might as well run it like the WWF, it is only entertainment where the players are all just actors
Having said all this, I am still very torn, and I will do what I can to support an NHL team in Ottawa
Go Sens Go!!!
Look at the old school hockey heros we read about as kids.
hockey players were hereos, they played for pride, they played injured, the played drunk lol, they had pride for their team and would defend anyone on the team until death. they worked jobs during the day and became legends at night. they were real heros that we looked upto, they had pride in what they did.
todays hockey players,
greedy, want $$ for autographs, want endosements, leave their team for a bigger paycheck, cry about diminished roles (play better than stupid, the coach is trying to send you a message to play better) go on the injured list for almost anything, they almost all dont care about their teams and city, most SENS do but most players dont. They whine about travel when they travel in jet planes with food and luxury items, tv, video games everything they want. complain they are tired, sore, sick or that they have to play on a holiday.
they make millions and most are no longer heros, kids see most players as jack asses, dont have time to talk or sign a hockey card etc. these guys have heads bigger than the captain of the high school cheerleading squad that every guy tries to get, thinking they are all that and a bag of chips.
please, this whole sports profession is a joke, hockey players are only a part of the bigger problem that is ruining passion for the game being played. i'm not saying much that you dont know but if they really cared about us they would be spending the extra money they're fighting over on promoting the game, making more charity donations, becoming a positive role model for kids and be thankful for being able to play the game for a living without having to worry about anything else.
the days of a real sports hero is nearly gone,players like alfie will be the past.
No die hard is going to stop following hockey, but I'm definitely not putting money towards tickets or merchandise for at least the next year.
In the short term it doesn't give them much. They make much more money through tickets and merchandise than they do in tv contracts at this point in time. It may make a bigger difference towards the next tv contract, but that's not up for a couple years.
I'm a season ticket holder who will also go back. I'm not young anymore in my 30's or 40's and have the years left to do a 2, 3 or 5 year fan boycott of the NHL to prove a point.
But that doesn't mean I'm not frustrated and mad as hell at both sides.
Now they are fighting over who does an agenda? That's beyond ridiculous.
Listening to Pierre McGuire this morning.. he said the Owners are mainly controlled by Jacobs (Boston) & Snider (Philly). He says it's time for the moderates on both sides to take control of these negotiations and get the deal done.
It's too much about egos right now.
Looking at teams that lost money (including the Stanley Cup Champs) -- a lot in the hockey markets.. the players have to realize that 57% of HRR is not realistic.
Get it to 50-50 over a few years. I agree that the players should keep their contracts as is.
This sport can't afford another year off. Fehr and the players have to realize that the NHL is the weak sister, financially and from fan perspective, of the 4 major sports in the US. Another lost season could do significant damage that this league may not recover from.
this lockout in the end will be a big F U to betmen and it will be the end of him in the NHL.
the NHL needs to be run by hockey people and needs to be in hockey markets.
The NHL shouldn't be everywhere in the US, it needs to be around hockey people and fans.
The more I envision this being the end for Bettman. In a way, if that means missing half season/a whole season, so be it.
The NHL needs to get rid of this guy. He doesn't care about the players, he doesn't give a shit about the fans. He's trying to FORCE hockey in markets where it has no business being forced. While great canadian hockey cities like QC, still don't have a team??!
None of it makes sense. I hope this is how Bettman is remembered, and I don't see how he cannot be remembered by this lockout as well as the others.
By no means in this particular lockout are the players "innocent". But let's give credit where credit is due, and I credit this lockout to Gary "the weasal" Bettman.
Jason Spezza (Rapperswill - NLA): 12 GP, 5G, 8A, 13P, 4PIM, -1
Sergei Gonchar (Mettalurg Magnitogorsk - KHL): 16GP, 1G, 10A, 11P, 10PIM, Even
Erik Karlsson (Jokerit - SML): 12GP, 3G, 5A, 8P, 0PIM, +11
Kyle Turris (Kärpät - SML): 8 GP, 2G, 5A, 7P, 8PIM, +8
Milan Michalek (HC Ceske Budejovice - CZE): 3GP, 3G, 0A, 3P, 2PIM, +1
Peter Regin (Lagenthal - NLB): 4GP, 2G, 3A, 5P, 2PIM (note: has returned to Ottawa)
Erik Condra (EV Füssen - GER 3): 4GP, 3G, 6A, 9P, 2PIM
Colin Greening (Aalborg - DEN): 2GP, 0G, 1A, 0PIM
I'm pretty impressed with Gonchar's numbers as well as Turris & Condra. But then again Condra is playing in a pretty bad league.
As per Regin's return to Ottawa: http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/10/30/senators-forward-peter-regin-returns-after-stint-in-swiss-league
The piece most frequently overlooked is, this is a business at a local team level as well as a league wide level. NHL will continue to invest in non traditional markets as a lost liter with an eye to success in the future. You want to get picked up by television with national coverage, you need to find fans from coast to coast.
Will some of these teams fail and eventually move? Probably but a lot of th locations chosen were strategically based on Canadians living down south.
It's estimated that 2.8 million Canadian live in the US currently not including retirees that spend the hockey season there and the summers here.
Bettman is no fool, they don't give the role to anybody. His job is to grow the NHL and he's done that better than anyone else. For all the players bashing him, they should realize that he is the primary reason that revenues are up and accordingly so are their salaries.
As stated above, time for the other owners to step up and overthrow this monopoly being dictated by Snider and Jacobs. Bring people together motivated to get a deal done and make it happen. Would love to see the US govt impose a mandatory mediation ( fully understand that this wont happen).
This is an extremely uneducated comment.
Gary Bettman alone is responsible for revenues going up?!
Are you serious?
So who's responsible for half the teams in the league losing money? Who's responsible for Phoenix/Florida/Columbus?
Agreed his job is to "allow the NHL to grow". But at what cost, and at what point are some of his "experiments" just not working out?
Why should the players/other owners have to pay for his mistakes?
like him or hate him Bettmans numbers are the real facts, and he truly has grown the NHL better than anyone.
Also completely agree that it is now time to stop letting a few owners and a few top level players dictate how this negotiation is going.
take a select group of 5 owners, and a select group of say 10 players, to represent their groups, and let them hammer this out.
Trust me if we were to have a vote, I would say the majority of NHL players will gladly come back to the deal the NHL has already put in place,
i think the growing age of the hockey fan and kids becoming adults, Tv deals, minor hockey, NHL games being streamed online, better cable/satelite service and increased prices on all nhl merchandise have produced the larger numbers more than betmen himself. Hockey is evolving just like all sports i dont think betmen had much to do with it.
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So the lockout is controlled by teams like Columbus, Florida, NYI & Phoenix? Where is Snider? I thought he was the one more in control.
S.Fehr and B.Daly talked extensively on the phone on Tues about a variety of issues. Hopefully it leads to meaningful negotiating.
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Not going to get my hopes up. Did that in the last owner's offer... and hopes were dashed.
I'm not going to boycott anything. I love hockey too much and I love the Sens too much to boycott going to games or buy merchandise. I'm going to be see happy when the NHL comes back that I'll probably go out and buy tickets to the home opener and purchase some sweet new Sens gear to show my pride.
I live for NHL hockey.
It benefits most current and all future players for them to stand up for a fair deal, and imo any player saying they want to just take a deal so they can play and get paid whatever is much more selfish than those that are fighting for their rights as an association.
Anyways, both sides have agreed 50/50 is the end goal, the players just want to ensure current contracts and their player rights that they gave up for the salary cap in the last lockout are honored.
I got news for you...great companies are driven by great leaders. If you don't believe it you clearly know nothing about business.
You think Microsoft, Apple or Cisco got where they are today by sheer development of the IT industry. The NHL is competing with all other major sports for their share of fans.
Compare the revenue growth rate of the NBA to the NHL, by your theory they should have increased equally but didn't come close...
were talking about a guy that is hired by billionaires, you don't get that kind of wealth without knowing a thing or two about recognizing talented business people.
All across the league before every game for the rest of the season(if played), as the quick skate-around ends before the opening faceoff, a chorus of boos rain down on all those stupid fucks as they line up. Right up until the puck drops to open the game.
It's against both sides and I'm sure the league will feel it as much as the players standing before us.
If you think it's a good idea, spread it far and wide. Every blog you participate in, TSN comments, etc. And it started here on SensChirp.
So buy a ticker, parking, get yourself a beer and pizza, now you've spent over 80$ already and all you do is "boo" !? Philly fans have been doing that for years and the message hasn't come across. Lol
However if I was not a Sens fan I would say screw the NHL and not watch games, I am a Sens fan first hockey fan second.
I love to watch karlsson, Spezza Alfie Lehner Anderson Cowan and all our new talent on the way up, a really exciting time to be a fan.
Take that away and no way I pay for center ice. The fans that are not die hard for the team they follow can fall away easily (non Northern markets)
As Sens fans we have no choice but to suck it up from the screwing the NHL and NHLPA did to us and cheer for our awesome team.
This season seems lost and I hope the owners and players loose a ton of money this season over the crap they pull, I am just fine with watching next year at this point.
Get your shit together NHL and NHLPA
Pretty much nailed it. Bettman, aside from the lockout, gets a lot of flack. But you can't really deny what he's done for the sport's growth in general... Like he said, Apple didn't get the way they are because of IT growth. They got their by marketing Apple like hell.
They are competing with major sports leagues for profit, revenue, and sponsorships. While it is up to the players to produce and play, it's Bettman's job really to market the hell out of the NHL.
And I'd say with the rise of like UFC, ATP/WTA Tennis (has grown exponentially), and even Golf (seeing a resurgence with new blood)... it's a tough time to be the NHL, even if they had record revenue last year, it pales in comparison to other sports.
I predict that every team south of DC will be requiring life support. There will be massive contraction as a result of Fehr and his union.
And what will you do? Stay away and stomp your feet? Everyone else will be back. You'll be back too. I doubt you drop money on a ticket guy, but for those us that do, it's an effective way to express displeasure. Gotta better idea?