"Leopold Stotch" <butters RemoveThis @sp.co.us> wrote in message
news:oE4lg.4288$DR1.2605@trnddc02...
>
> "Adam Prince" <aprince4 RemoveThis @nycap.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:_S3lg.48829$8G3.27101@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
>> Fair point...here's a question that i asked the buffalo group. Do you
>> want the game to grow or remain a niche sport only?
>
> Why should I care if it grows? My vision of a perfect NHL is one with
> healthy teams in as many cities as can support it, which I would suggest
> is less than 30 today.
I understand your point, and are all 30 perfect right now no. Heck, the
town I grew up in is very clsoe to losing their team again (pittsburgh).
But there is a growth in non-traditional markets like Raleigh. Seven new
ice rinks since the team started to play there in 1999. the number of
registered hockey players has increased more than ten fold. (To pushing
3,000). Yes, i Know that may not seem much to yourself. But this from an
area where hockey was nothing.
>
> You shouldn't have to force-feed the game to people to get them to enjoy
> it. In my opinion, the NHL made a *huge* mistake in PUSHING expansion
> teams into some of the markets they did (like Miami and Tampa). Expansion
> teams should go to cities where the is a genuine grassroots demand for a
> team -- where there is a PULL for one (e.g. Minnesota).
Well the ownership groups wanting a team helped that. But let's go with
your point, the growth of the Hurricanes who started from nothing In Raleigh
to the new ice rinks, to the growth of players, to the number of skate to
play leagues. To kids, (yes it's not on a frozen pond) but the amount of
kids playing street hockey and growing up with the game down there is
awesome for the sport.
>
> I just don't understand why people think a "niche sport" is such a bad
> thing. Do we really want a league like the NBA or NFL, which is more
> about hype than substance?
The game isn't like that....the players and fans have too much respect for
the game. It's shown in the new markets of Tampa and in Raleigh. It is
amazing to see how fans down thereo ver the past seven years have grown to
learn, appreciate, and respect the nuances of our sport.
Which has ticket prices too expensive to bring your
> family? Which has turned its players into spoiled brats, promoting
> themselves to excess and running afoul of the law?
Again, I think hockey has a culture of respect of each other the game and
its history. Players learning the game understand the efforts of those
before and do not want to insult the legacy of those before them. Hockey
players, and it is even said in columns in Raleigh, are more liek the
average joe at the bar than any ofher sport around.
The funny thing about our game is that we hate being looked at as third
world citizens, but when there is a chance to embrace and include new people
and fans to the game, too many rather be in their own little world vs.
allowing the game to grow and prosper.
>
> Certainly not.
>
> Hockey players and hockey fans are somewhat unique in North American
> professional sports, and I want to see it stay that way. I don't want to
> see the NHL evolve into something that attracts "poser fans" who don't
> really appreciate the game itself.
>
> >> Stay informed about: You guys don't deserve an NHL team 
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