Superfunkomatic - Observations of the Socially Inept

Frankly, i couldn’t care less if hockey returns to the southwest outbacks of the united states, why would they have ever deemed Atlanta a place for professional hockey in either incarnation - the Atlanta Flames or Thrashers? It doesn’t take a rhodes scholar to figure out that people that live in a climate that is above 20 degrees celcius for most of the year will not have a huge fan base for a sport played on ice.

While expansion to these markets provided short-term revenue for the league and a few notches in gary bettman’s belt, it ensures nothing in long-term value to the league. Expansion has created a league that has allowed almost the best players to be in the world’s most elite hockey league. The inevitable failures and bankruptcies caused by the lockout will allow for contraction and bring back more parity between teams and reduce the likelihood a tough guy will be signing a million dollar contract.

I think as canadians watching our national sport (next to lacrosse) i think it’s time to take back the reigns of the game. can you believe the audacity of a president of a league that makes his announcement from outside the country with the largest fan base. gary, what are you thinking? fans are going to be pissed off, and your smug looks and barbed replies flung from new york do not rest well with canadians. Hockey is a blue colar game, and it’s now run by lawyers and the hyper-educated - i’m not saying there anything wrong with being smart, but those folks are not part of the common demographic of hockey - how can they know what fans will or won’t do, or how they will react to the season being cancelled.

in my opinion, i’d love nothing more than to see the WHL or a similar league spring up and recreate the energy of a small NHL - like the original six with canadian teams from vancouver, calgary, edmonton, saskatoon, winnipeg, quebec, toronto, montreal, halifax, detroit, chicago, new jersey and new york. these teams and centres are the life blood of the game, the rest be damned. why the necessity to cater to other markets? focus on those that like the game - selling hockey to folks in the tropics is like selling ice to someone living in an igloo - not a lot of chance of it catching on.

bring back the competition, the level of talent, less teams and the fans will return. continue down the path of establishing teams like minnesota with half-assed talent, and the most boring systems of hockey and fans will stay away, in droves. get rid of the mediocre talents and it will open the game up, create speedy hockey that’s interesting to watch.

but what do i know, i’m just a fan. i’m sure gary bettman knows what’s best for hockey - maybe one day it’ll be as “exciting” as basketball. one can only hope.

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