Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sunday Potpourri: Simple Math, Peluso and Thankys

With the end of the various conference tournaments yesterday, good mathematics places the Seawolves as the 17th best Division I team out of 58.  Bad mathematics places the Seawolves as the 20th best team.  Good mathematics says the Seawolves played the 2nd most difficult schedule of all teams.  Bad mathematics agrees.

The Seawolves were mathematically better than a fair number of traditionally high finishing or higher profile programs such as, St. Cloud, Maine, BU, Michigan State, Cornell, Northern Michigan and Ohio State among others.  The fifteenth and sixteenth teams just ahead of UAA?  Minnesota and Wisconsin.  UAA's most frequent opponent this season was CC and they finished mathematically in the 13 hole.

There are two ways to look at the fianl league standings in my mind.  One is to be happy that a team which wasn't expected by many to do that well, did pretty well.  The Seawolves finished with 26 points which was just two short of hosting a first round WCHA playoff series.  In their last 19 games they compiled an 11 win and 8 loss record.  

Playing well at the end of the season is something every team in this league strives to accomplish.  And the Seawolves can be proud of themselves for doing so.  They went 5-1 over their last six games and none of those games was on home ice.  That's far from anything to sneeze at regardless of the league opponent.

The second way to look at the season is to think what might have been.  Had the Seawolves just won three more games they might have hosted a WCHA first round playoff series and possibly been in the NCAA tournament.  The first of those three was the early season tournament game against Union.  The Seawolves spotted them 3 goals in the first 13 minutes before coming back to even the game with just over 13 minutes remaining, then giving up the game winner with about two and a half minutes remaining.  Due to Unions good record through the rest of the season, if UAA had won that game the factors in the math would have been beneficial to the Seawolves.  Non-conference games are VERY important.

There were multiple WCHA games where the Seawolves essentially lost their chance at hosting home ice.  The 3-2 home ice loss on a Friday and the 2-2 tie the following night versus Mankato jump out of the schedule at me.  A 4-3 loss against St. Cloud at home and the 2-2 tie against DU at home also loom large in the WCHA standings race.

But more importantly than the standings and rankings; this team learned valuable lessons for next season and established themselves as a team to take seriously next season in the bid for home ice in the WCHA playoffs.  And the staff honed a strategy that will serve the the team well going forward.  Next season, the squad will have 19 returning skaters with only two of those guys not having gotten a decent amount of ice time this season.  

It'll only be a small group of seniors to lead but 8 juniors will round out the upperclassmen and bring leadership.   8 sophomores will contribute their experience to the underclassmen side of the equation with what looks to be overall a damn fine group of freshman.  And damn fine may be understating that a bit.

There can be little doubt that this years squad took a nice sized step forward which makes next season's outlook fairly bright indeed.  There'll be nobody looking past the Seawolves next year.

A valid question each off-season is whether or not the returning roster will look exactly as it does at the end of the year.  In other words, we gonna lose anyone we aren't expecting to lose?  It's always a possibility I suppose.  Looking up and down the roster, nothing jumps out at me.  But last year nothing jumped out at me and Lee Baldwin jumped unexpectedly.  

You can never be certain, personal decisions by individual players can't really be anticipated.  But for now, there's no reason to think that any specific player expected to return won't do so.  Let's just cross our fingers I suppose that things remain as they are.  It's obviously a very tight group of guys and any unexpected losses would be a shame.

Speaking of shame.  An average of 3319 folks turned up to watch the 17th best team in all of Division I hockey play each game this season at the Sullivan.  That's 53.5% of capacity and 22nd overall out of 58 teams.  Shitty programs like Massachusetts, Mankato, Ohio State, Vermont, Bemidji, Mass-Lowell and Cornell put more butts in seats than the Seawolves fans.  Hell, even UAF put 3118 in their crappy metal shed every night.
I think that flat out sucks.  Lots of people blame the program for bad marketing.  I don't think any amount of good marketing would have changed that number much.  Winning is supposed to take care of it.  But the 2nd half had only one decent sized crowd that I recall.

There was a buzz in the city at the end of the season and had we gotten that much coveted home ice spot, I'm sure the building would have sold out with no problem.  I wouldn't have considered that any big deal.  I would consider it a big deal if the regular season attendance would get up to where it really should be.  At least 5K every home game.  And that's at least.  If little bergs like St. Cloud, Grand Forks, Colorado Springs and fucking Bemidji can fill their rinks then an alleged "hockey town" like Anchorage sure as shit ought to be doing it as well.

So go slap your neighbors for not turning out.  This program and the players deserve far better treatment from hockey fans in this town.  And I'm not talking about the fight fans that show up for the Aces.  I'm talking about people that know the game.  If you take the time to compare "NHL prospects" that show up at Sullivan Arena over the course of the season.  There are more playing in the WCHA than the ECHL.  The college game is faster, more exiciting and doesn't turn into gong show bullshit ever.

_________________________


Best of luck to the seniors leaving the squad.  We didn't get to see Kane Lafranchise play this season but he's landed on his feet and is doing well with the Aces since joining them.  We will follow with great interest to see what the hockey world has in store for Grant, Parky, Haddad, Vidmar and Wiles.  If you missed my Senior Tributes to these guys then click on their linked names above to do so.

_________________________


There's still time for you to lend your voice to the efforts to have Mike Peluso's #24 jersey retired by the Seawolves program.  The HOF committee accepts nominations through the end of the month.  Just email committee chairman Chris Green ... chrisgreen@uaa.alaska.edu ... to add your voice.  I know many UAA fans have already done so.  I know also some hockey fans in Minnesota added their voices to this effort so I want to thank them as well.

Peluso is a guy that added great honor to the program through his accomplishments as a professional.  He is the only Seawolves alum with his name on the Stanley Cup and is likely to be the only 4 year UAA player to achieve that for quite some time to come.  

Yes, Curtis Glencross, Jay Beagle and perhaps Nathan Lawson might all accomplish it one day; but none of those guys were four year players were they?  Beagle and Glencross played for two years each here and hence my pride in them as alums just isn't the same.  Nathan Lawson played here for three and so I've got a little bit bigger place in my fan heart for him.  

If there is anything that I accomplish through this blog that brings me a higher level of pride than helping to have Big Mike's number retired, I just can't think of it.  So please, add your voice to the effort if you haven't.

_________________________


As a follow-up to his piece that ran in the ADN last week regarding putting ice in the proposed new campus sports arena Eric Tuott was on Mike Porcaro's radio show on KENI on Friday.  You can listen to the podcast by clicking this link.  The show is an hour + in length and Eric's portion begins at minute 34.

Give it a listen.  We all know that the best solution for UAA Hockey is to get out of the Sullivan Arena and get our boys playing on the campus.  Eric's solution isn't the optimum solution.  Honestly, it falls a bit short of what we really need.  But that said, it's a big step forward from anything that looks like it will happen as things are now.

The optimum solution was killed off a few years ago.  Another good solution was ignored by the UAA administration in favor of whatever grand plan the muckety-mucks see as a future solution.  They are happy to maintain the status quo of playing at the Sully until they can politically wrangle their apparently secret grand plan into action.

_________________________


I want to take a moment here and once again thank everyone who donated to the effort here on the blog this season.  My enjoyment in writing here and maintaining this blog is greatly enhanced when I know that it's appreciated.  In general, the numbers of readers I see coming here helps me achieve satisfaction but honestly, getting some compensation for the time I spend doing it is a big deal to me.  It's a great gauge for me as to how you readers feel about the efforts.  

I haven't decided how best to move forward and may or may not make what I consider major changes going into next season.  We'll see, I'm going to try to evaluate how best to provide the content and still achieve some compensatory feedback.  I'm considering a number of ways to do that.  The "donation model" I currently use has some serious drawbacks in my mind.  I'm averse to putting advertising here but I suspect if I did it would have been close to matching the donation total.  Of course, putting advertising (depending on the methodology) could be more work for me.

Of the $1167.00 total you see there are a couple of readers who made up more than 20% of the total with their dual generosity.  I like the "community mindedness" of the donation effort but am less than thrilled with it's results.  Don't get me wrong, I am deeply appreciative of every penny that was contributed.  But only 29 people "chipped in".  I assume that there are at least 200 regular daily readers here.  So does that mean 171 people just don't care?  I guess I'm not sure.  I read stuff on the internet that I'm thankful for and don't click donate buttons either ... so there's that.

I hope none of that sounds ungrateful.  I'm thrilled with the overall community as it's grown this season.  The number of different folks participating here is great.  Any changes I make in the future will take into consideration maximizing reader participation.  I recognize that the current structure of posting here sometimes interrupts the flow of that participation.  One new post often kills a conversation on the previous post so I'll make some sort of effort to alleviate that.

________________________


Lastly today, I want to thank JJ for coming on board and bringing us the nightly post game interviews.  Just from my perspective as a fan, it's great to get to see what the guys and the coach have to say after a game.  As far as I'm concerned he's a natural at the interviews.  It adds hugely to the blog content and for that I'd like to find some way to more personally thank him ... and I will do that for you JJ; you have my word.

Thanks also to the staff at the UAA Atheletic Dept for their assistance in making the blog go well this season.  In particular Dallas Baldwin, Jane Pallister and Dr. Cobb for their information and help whenever a question needed an answer and/or some special arrangement for "this or that" was needed.

And as always, thanks to Richard Leary for all his efforts in supporting me and JJ.  Richard is "The Man".  Thanks also to all those other volunteers that make things go at the rink.  The Blueliners as usual did a great job with their end of things.

30 comments:

Wolfman said...

Donald...this is the time of year I dislike. It seems like you are "Signing off" until next year...I do not like the off season. I love my school and all sports, but I love my hockey program. I do want to see some more movement on the arena front, and if I see anything, I will let you know.

Don Leaver

Donald Dunlop said...

Don,
It'll be a bit of a slow off-season signoff versus any sort of quick one. Just thought today as it was so close to the end that some thanks were in order.

AKfan said...

Thanks for the link to the Tuott radio interview. Good stuff.

I still say UAA needs to get the home games off the television. How many fans would the Aces get if they could stay home and watch the games for free instead of spending $100 for their family to attend? Nuff said.

The attendance has fallen off every year since they started to air them on channel 1. Air the away games, but it makes absolutely no sense to air the home games when we desperately need butts in the seats.

Initially the home games were put on TV to bring awareness to the community, but that little experiment failed miserably.

arcticfox said...

Wolfman, I agree. Always kinda sad this season as things wrap up.

Donald, If it turns out to be beneficial for the blog to go with the advertisements, you should give it a shot. Would be cool if there was one of those options of being a "donating member" that didn't have to see 'em though. ;)

AKfan, I have to agree with you on GCI television. I love running to the tv after getting home from a great win and watching it over again on Ch#1.. but you're right that it has at least some effect on attendance.

My neighbors are perfect examples of that. Game night both parents and every one of their umpteen kids are strutting around in their UAA jerseys. But they no longer pile into the family van and head for the Sully.. Now they just plop their butts down in front of their big screen tv and crank on the microwave popcorn. :-/

I guess it's one of the things UAA will hopefully to ponder as they think about how to get the place back to the days of sold out crowds. :)

Thank you to JJ as well!

And big Alaska bear hugs are being sent to BBEF. Trust us. We know your pain. :(

AKfan said...

arctic fox, I know. I have similar stories as well, and it really needs to be looked at. I know that JPC loves doing the games, but you gotta look at the bottom line - revenue and arena atmosphere. It sucked last year and is getting worse every year.

BBEF said...

Articfox – thanks…but CC lives to fight another day. That day is Friday. Please tune in.

This rock star from Mars is going to make the trek to St Louis to watch his warlock assassins (aka CC) build the perfect torpedo of death and play in the western regional.

They are battle-tested bayonets, bro. It should be bitch’n!

They’ve got tiger blood, man…

EOM

Al said...

All the best to all the WCHA teams!

Unknown said...

There is an article in today's ADN about the BTHC. It has been officially proposed and goes to the Chancellors etc this summer, but it appears to be a done deal for 12-13

Unknown said...

Correction 13-14

http://www.wcha.com/men/presarch/201103/mar21b10a.pdf

Anonymous said...

AKfan how can you say that they need to stop televising the games. what about the parents and families of the players that can't make it out to stadium every week. how do you expect them to watch the games? you think only residents of anchorage watch the seawolves? this is one of the dumbest comments i have read here.

Anonymous said...

Courtesy of NCAA.com:

• The Big Ten Conference announced on Monday that it will recommend to its Council of Presidents/Chancellors that it establish a men’s hockey conference, beginning in the 2013-14 season. Penn State will become the sixth Big Ten institution to sponsor NCAA hockey when its men’s and women’s hockey teams begin play in the fall of 2012. Currently, three Big Ten schools – Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State – play in the CCHA, while two – Minnesota and Wisconsin – play in the WCHA.

Quick Hits
• Michigan Tech head coach Jamie Russell resigned last week following his eighth season behind the bench in Houghton. Russell posted a record of 70-197-37 in his tenure, including an 18-17-5 season in 2006-07, the Huskies’ first season above .500 since 1992-93.

Wonder where Russell's going to..

Anonymous said...

And, on the tv situation just have a one-day tape delay at 10 pm or maybe even the afternoon. The JPC department needs to keep broadcasting/taping the games if we ever want it to get better.

Donald Dunlop said...

I think the perceived problem is that local folks won't go to see the games when they are tape delayed to 10pm. I'm not convinced that masses of people are staying home rather than go watch the game. If I was convinced of that I would have written about it.

Attendance issues aren't greatly affected by tape delayed local broadcasts. Sure, a few cheapskates might stay home cos they know they can see the game later. But the bigger attendance issues are related to the bandwagon and unsophisticated nature of fans and having two teams in the market.

And it certainly doesn't cost loads to go to a game. Even for a family. There are simple to access ticket deals every game that reduce the cost substantially.

Also I think anyone calling for the games to not be broadcast are really just talking about limiting those live broadcasts in the local area and not taking them away for remote locations.

As for BTHC stories, I'm not highlighting them in posts here because they're widely covered in other pubs. As well as the fact that my opinions regarding the BTHC are (like so many of my opinions on anything) far removed from the mainstream view.

Anonymous said...

Donald, it does cost a lot to go to the games. I spoke with several families this season who were struggling with fitting in the games because of their finances.

Tickets are averaging $17.00, so that's $34 just for a couple, not to mention kids, which are $5 cheaper.

Add in the snacks or meals and a family can EASILY spend $100-$150 on a weekend. Yes there are special deals for kids on Fri and Sat, but this is not advertised anywhere but on the UAA website, and many people know noting about them.

I am all for keeping the road games on TV, but don't see the need for them to be on TV locally. I have heard from too many people who say they just tape it on TV and watch it at their convenience.

It's hard to do a study on this because the attendance figures reported are not accurate (and that comes directly from UAA). I do know that the first two years that the games were on locally, we saw drastic reductions in fans at the Sully. And it has continued to get worse every year. This is something that has to be looked at.

Donald Dunlop said...

Anon,
I'm sorry that a couple of anecdotal examples of cheapskates doesn't convince me that people are staying home in droves because they can see the game on tape delay and/or DVR or whatever. And if someone who is financially challenged doesn't buy General Admission tickets and take advantage of special deals (and there are other deals available regularly -- like 10 tickets for 50 bucks) then that seems like their own mismanagement to me.

My point is (as it always has been) that sports fans are bandwagon and in particular hockey fans in Anchorage. They are more concerned about going to a game and seeing a win than they are going to a game and enjoying the competition. When they think they'll go and see a win ... they turn up. When they are unsure if the team is going to win ... they stay home.

There is a family in the row I sit in that did exactly that this season. When optimism was high they attended. When it wasn't they weren't there. I've got little doubt if I had queried them that they would have expressed what you're saying. But that doesn't mean it's the real reason.

Can I perfectly quantify what I'm saying? No. Is it however, more than just my impression? Yes ... I think it is.

Anonymous said...

can you explain ASF? i didn't get to hear

arcticfox said...

Seawolves Fanatic,

What did Dr. Cobb have to say? I hate 650 AM - =ack=!

Anonymous said...

Well, that was a waste of my time. Though it was good to hear Kurt Haider during the commercial break. It seems every time I hear Cobb speak he tells me what I want to hear. For me, he has ZERO crediblity.

But he got to the points that, there are either going to completely refurish the Sully (BLEH) or keep holding out for a new facility for (ice). Athletic Director Steve Cobb made it seem like ice was his major concern, not basketball or volleyball. But I take that information with a huge grain of salt. (Much like the size and graduer that is Tommy Grant's hair)

Donald Dunlop said...

I caught the last segment. Cobb said that if UAA and the Muni are unable to reach an agreement on a "complete overhaul" of the Sullivan that the University would pursue an on-campus facility. I certainly like the second part of idea but I have no love for the first part. And honestly, what interest does the Muni have to move forward with renovating the Sullivan?

The Sullivan is 30+ years old. It isn't on campus. I don't care what steps you take to overhaul the joint, it's still not going to be on campus and the Anchorage Aces will still be champing at the bit to control the scheduling.

I'm also not in favor of some multipurpose arena that has to be switched over continuously between bball and hockey. So including ice making facilities in existing proposed facility doesn't really turn my crank. Eric Tuott et al have a good point that incorporating the necessary equipment for such a thing is better than not. But I think doing so would mean the end of any hope for getting a real hockey arena on campus.

I have my doubts that the University can get the funding necessary to build a separate on campus facility though. This state is frustrating in that it has LOADS of cash but is so tight fisted that you'd think they were completely broke.

My druthers (and I think lots of us passionate fans) would be to get about 70 million bucks and build a real sweet 5,000 seat hockey arena. That's been what we've all wanted for quite some time. The unrealistic nature of that desire though makes it unlikely and has quite honestly sapped my enthusiasm for ANY and ALL proposals along these lines.

The only way UAA gets the proper facility on campus is if someone digs into their pocket and makes it happen through a donation. And since we've seen only TWO such donations in the last 20 years to college hockey programs and there are exactly ZERO UAA grads with 70 million extra bucks in their pocket then I must conclude that we're stuck at the Sullivan for a long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long long time.

Anonymous said...

Kane Lafranchise has 5 assists in 17 games for the Aces, including 6 PM and he is +12. He is wearing #5 and has 16 SOG so far.

Kevin Clark #32 has gone 6-7-13 in 40 games so far for the AHL Manitoba Moose. Add on a +5 rating, and 20 PIM with 74 SOG.

Josh Lunden is back up in the AHL playing spot duty: 0-0-0, -3 rating with 4 PIM and 4 SOG in 7 games played.

Jon Olthuis is playing in the Southern Professional Hockey League.....YEEEEHAAW!!
In 28 games played he has a record of 18-9-0, 2.73 GAA & .914 save percentage. He has had 2 shutouts too.

Ya'll remember Peter Cartwright? He is still kicking, by that I mean playing hockey for a living in the UK's highest hockey league the EIHL. Click on Peter's face and you'll see something pretty sweet:

http://www.dundeestars.com/2010_11/roster.asp

He is third on points with 25-30-55 totals in 56 games. Tack on 52 PIM no less.

Jay Beagle is in the show for the Washington Caps providing 2-1-3 totals in 26 games. He is +1, gave 34 hits and took 23 SOG. Not to mention his two goals in the NHL this year have been winners, he only has been wistled for 3 penalties so far.

Curtis Glencross who has been helping both my fantasy hockey teams has put up a career year: 22-19-41 in 72 games played. Tack on 133 SOG; 96 hits, 51 shots blocked, +8 and 59 PIM. He also has been putting up some special teams numbers: 3-2-5 on the PP, 2-1-3 on PK duty with 4 game winning goals for the Calgary Flames.

Quite frankly Nathan Lawson is having a year to forget in his first year in the NHL. #52 has gone 1-4-0 in 10 games played (7 started) for the, well... the lowly Islanders. He's got a 4.06 GAA with a .893 save percentage. Relax buddy, its your first year in the show. The best thing for him is to stay postive....that the Islanders will release him and he lands with a better team that needs a NHL backup.

#49 Justin Johnson up in the AHL for the Manchester Monarchs has put up some solid numbers: 2-4-6 in 40 games played. He is -2 with 159 PIM, yes that's right, he's an Enforcer.

Soo yeah, there's my update on former Green & Golders that are above the ECHL.



Is it hockey time yet??

Anonymous said...

Take the Denver Broncos for example. If the arena is not sold out, the games are blacked out in Denver so you cannot see them on TV.

Makes perfect sense. The only gauge we have to go by is attendance. It has been dismal since games were aired locally, time to try something new. Show them on a 2 day delay if you have to.

arcticfox said...

Dammitall - for some reason when I try to post here using Google log-in, I lose my thread every time. I need to use one of the other options I guess. Hope I don't post this twice by mistake. :D

Seawolves Fanatic - thank you for all of the updates on everyone! I turned the Aces on the radio a little while ago (speaking of Kane). Chad Anderson is really playing well too. Guess I'll finally go check them out on Friday. That Wes Goldie dude sounds like something else! :-O

Donald - until you mentioned the Aces and scheduling.. I had forgotten all about Dan Coffey (one of the Aces owners) wanting the mayor to ditch SMG's contract so the Aces can create their own management company. I wonder if the city is still considering that?

For some reason I have visions of all this arena stuff being discussed over cocktails by Cobb, Coffey, and someone from the muni.

Just heard a commercial during the Aces game reminding us to vote on "Proposition something or other" for Sullivan Arena renovations. I guess on April 5th we vote for both the final funding on the UAA arena as well as Sully renovations?

BBEF- Have fun in St. Louis! If the Blues & Oilers didn't suck so much, it would be fun to watch them the night before your game.

So with the Michigan Tech coach resigning, how many D1 hockey coach vacancies are there right now anyway?

Anonymous said...

A few thoughts ... There will never be a stand alone on campus hockey arena. A combined facility for BBall and hockey yes, stand alone for both no. I could be wrong but I don't believe that I am. Will the voters turn out to vote in a renovation of Sullivan Arena...hmmm...I have to go coin toss on this one but leaning towards no. Thinking a majority of voters are not interested in spending money on something they have no use for, or more correctly, don't use, and not sure what kind of money we are talking about on this anyway. If the cost is low (figures we would go cheap route) maybe yes. Ok moving on...TV and attendance. I agree with Donald, broadcasting the games is not keeping the inevitable sell out crowd at home. Fans are finicky and like a winner. Aces fans like their brand of hockey and UAA fans like theirs. Aces win an ECHL championship and make the playoffs most every year. Yeah they pull in the fans. Deal with it. They don't play in the WCHA not even close but if you go to see them they make sure the crowd is into the game. We can't even show a good hit or pussy ass penalty replay on our "jumbo-tron" corner video cause it might wake the fucking comatose crowd up. We might get excited for Christ sakes and boo and shit. OMG what a hostile environment. I got it let's play that rocking organ music between whistles all the time...gee whiz the grandma sitting 2 rows in front of me might need a diaper change. We'll get there eventually but we need young energy involved in our processes and decisions now to make positive change for the future of UAA hockey. Old time "remember back when" mentality is just that...old time. Sheesh all this negativity...humble apologies. For a positive departure...UAA brought their A game the second half of the season. Stepped up, stood up and represented...keep em up Shyiak...Mike/Out

AKfan said...

Can someone tell me the point of even having home games on television? I know that Cobb wanted to do it to bring more awareness about UAA hockey to the community (thereby maybe getting fans to come to the games???)

If that was the purpose it has failed miserably. Doesn't this cost UAA? One article I read said it was a $40,000 cost for UAA. That money could be better spent.

Aces games aren't on TV. I say if the community wants to watch the games they should get their butts to the arena. I honestly don't see any point in airing them.

One student commented at the ADN that he is a HUGE Seawolf hockey fan but stays home to watch the games. Arctic Fox points to an entire family who are die hard fans who watch the games at home. That should be a clue. Unless someone can give me a GOOD reason WHY the home games should be shown, I don't see a reason to do it.

Anonymous said...

It's a student production isn't it? Mike

Anonymous said...

Jamie Russell resigned, Don Lucia will most likely get a contract extension since UM had trouble getting their football coach and basketball coach. Troy Jutting from MSU might not get a extension, it'll be intresting to watch to see what happpens.

Donald Dunlop said...

JPC produces and broadcasts the games in conjunction with GCI in order to give the it's students real world experience in that regard. UAA should continue to broadcast the games. Airing them on tape delay DOES NOT keep hockey fans away. It gives bandwagon fans an excuse.

Additionally, airing them live outside the city gives the program exposure and sets the program above other WCHA programs which make zero effort in such regard or are held hostage by commercial broadcasters profit motives.

It is a wonderful service. The students work hard and learn much through their efforts.

The one student on ADN who said that was so thick that he didn't even know he could get tickets to every game for free. How do you not know that? That information is provided to EVERY student when they get their "wolfcard" thingy.

Saying otherwise was just an excuse for his own thickness. People that claim they stay home because it's on TV are full of shit as far as I'm concerned. No "die hard" fan would stay home.

If you know someone claiming to be a die hard fan but can't go ... tell them to contact me. I will get them a ticket. And guess what ... nobody will contact me. Because they're just telling a story.

Suze said...

Totally disagree with you on the TV coverage Donald. And at this point, looking at the dismal attendance this past season, I will take all the band wagon fans we can get.

When weather has been very poor, we have been tempted to stay home and watch on TV instead of making the 25 mile drive to town. We have always shown up, but we've been tempted. I can easily see how the casual fan would choose to stay home.

You have no way of knowing if it keeps fans away or not. Attendance has dropped off significantly since TV coverage started. Just sayin. This is one time I strongly disagree with you.

Donald Dunlop said...

The bandwagon fans will show up when they believe the team will win. Bandwagon fans have no desire to watch hockey ... they only want to cheer a team onto a win.

People aren't honest with themselves about why they choose to do "this or that" in their lives. So they sure aren't going to be honest with someone else. They might think they are being honest ... but they aren't. Nobody ... and I mean nobody is going to own up to being a bandwagon fan. Not a single one of them. But they are.

Suze said...

I guess where we disagree is your use of the term "Bandwagon" fans. I prefer the casual fan as opposed to the die hard fan.

I gave away passes this year to folks who were casual fans ... and they came EVERY TIME ... they couldn't afford to take the whole family if they had to pay. So what did they do when they didn't have passes? One guess.

So, the "desire" was there, the finances were not.

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