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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Eric Van Rysdam <vanrysdam@adelphia.net> |
| Subject | Re: hockey |
| Date | Mon, 1 Nov 2004 10:32:43 -0500 |
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>> I was kinda excited when
>> the Whalers (my favorite team for years) moved to an arena 20 >miles
>> from
> my house. But, the few Candy 'Canes games I have >attended were an
> abomination. Mainly because the whole game is presented in a fashion
> that
> dumbs down and dilutes the sport for ignorant Americans sports "fans".
>
> Mike:
> As a Connecticut native, I grew up a Whalers fan -- and even had a few
> ex-Whalers as youth hockey coaches when I was a kid. So it was nice,
> when I
> moved to NC in 1997, that the move coincided with the Whale's move to
> Greensboro as well.
> I didn't see them again until Milkshake Jones came down for
> Sparklefest in
> 2003. My wife and I were in a bar on the Saturday night before the
> performances started and we caught the first period of the Canes
> against the
> Buffalo Sabres. At first, I was overjoyed to see them again, but my
> glee
> quickly turned to distaste.
> It took me a minute, but I finally figured out why (and please forgive
> me
> for saying this): They had dumbed down the game and were essentially
> presenting it as "Hockey For Southerners." The whole tone (which
> carries
> over to the Web page) appeared to be that Southerners had no experience
> and/or appreciation for the game and thus had to be spoonfed. It was
> thoroughly unpleasant.
>
> The sad thing is, if the lockout ever ends, the league will inevitably
> contract, and I fear that the 'Canes may not exist in the reconfigured,
> post-strike NHL. The CW is that a lot of the smaller market teams may
> not
> survive a season-long lockout.
>
Actually, the team will probably lose less money by not playing this
year. I know that's the case with the Buffalo Sabres (my wife works for
the team and I'm a game DJ). The game will change, but the owners seem
to be united in their effort to bring the players in line with the
reality that the game is losing popularity. It will be interesting to
see where this ends.
I went to a game in Columbus once and the guy behind me not only yelled
"Take it to the house!" on a breakaway but he also mentioned having
"home court advantage". When he got angry that the Blue Jackets weren't
playing a puck, I turned around and explained what a delayed high stick
call was and he kept his mouth shut the rest of the way. Hopefully he's
done some research since then.
I love hockey and I really miss it!
Eric
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