Sunday, May 13, 2007
Hockeytown my a**
Where are all the Detroit Red Wings fans?As I just finished watching the Ducks and Wings finish two periods of hockey in tonight's game 2 of the Western Conference Final, I can't help but notice the tons of empty seats throughout Joe Louis arena. What happened? Outside of Canada, I always thought of Detroit as a hockey mecca.
Are the fans just taking their past success for granted? They've won three Stanley Cups within a decade. The Chicago Blackhawks haven't won a Cup in about 50 years. You'd think knowledgeable hockey fans in Detroit would appreciate how hard it is to win it all...even just making the final four out of 30 teams is an accomplishment. They've come out short since their last championship in 2002, but you can't win every year.
Is it the ticket prices? Hockey tickets are expensive, but not much different than any other city. They've sold out in Ottawa, with a population base about 1/5th that of Detroit. I've read the Anaheim Ducks had 28 sellouts in a row. Anaheim! Where hockey went to die, or so I thought.
Is the "new" NHL that's turning off fans? I'm not sure about that. In 2002, clutching and grabbing hockey was at it's peak, but the fans turned up anyway because at least they were still winning. Attendance is still relatively strong in the traditional markets (exceptions to losing teams like Boston and Chicago). And even if you don't like the current format of the NHL, you'd think Red Wings fans could then honour it's history by showing up for Steve Yzerman retirement night. Embarrassingly, that game wasn't a sellout. The man most responsible for bringing championships to the city of Detroit who embraced the city so much he traded his Canadian citizenship for American, can't even get fans to pay to see him gets his well-deserved recognition in Detroit hockey history.
The fans are still there, I've been told. What if there's a Senators-Red Wings tilt for the Stanley Cup, will they pay to see them in the finals? "They'll be at Scotiabank Place. There will be thousands of (Red Wings) fans," boasted my good friend Rob. I hope so buddy, because they ain't showing up in Michigan.
# posted by SBP : 9:27 PM
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SBP,
Most of the empty seats have been sold to these games which adds to the msytery of this issue. Why would someone pay for a seat and not go?
I think that Steve Yzerman was the heart of the team and fans felt something leave when he retired. The team is not as "tough" as it used to be (although they have played pretty tough in the playoffs)and fans seem to think that the hockey offered today is less entertaining.
I can certainly agree somewhat with this thinking. I personally feel the pendulum has swung too far to the other side in the "new" NHL and can certainly see some traditional markets suffering as a result. You also see that some non-traditional markets are better now (Anaheim).
Add to all this, the fact that Joe Louis Arena is not the best venue for sports and two other major sports have brand new arenas (Tigers and Lions) and the fact that there are only so many entertainment dollars for a family to spend. It all adds up to less fans at the Joe to watch the Wings.
A new arena would be very helpful at drawing fans back to the Wings. So would a return to some more traditional form of the game. I do not see either in the near future so looks like we have to get used to the empty seats at the Joe. (Who thinks that Brian Burke has way too much power in the league these days?)
Fear not for the Wings though, it is true as you point out, there are Wings fans everywhere in the NHL and it would be great to see some of them at SBP to take in a finals game.
RBP
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Most of the empty seats have been sold to these games which adds to the msytery of this issue. Why would someone pay for a seat and not go?
I think that Steve Yzerman was the heart of the team and fans felt something leave when he retired. The team is not as "tough" as it used to be (although they have played pretty tough in the playoffs)and fans seem to think that the hockey offered today is less entertaining.
I can certainly agree somewhat with this thinking. I personally feel the pendulum has swung too far to the other side in the "new" NHL and can certainly see some traditional markets suffering as a result. You also see that some non-traditional markets are better now (Anaheim).
Add to all this, the fact that Joe Louis Arena is not the best venue for sports and two other major sports have brand new arenas (Tigers and Lions) and the fact that there are only so many entertainment dollars for a family to spend. It all adds up to less fans at the Joe to watch the Wings.
A new arena would be very helpful at drawing fans back to the Wings. So would a return to some more traditional form of the game. I do not see either in the near future so looks like we have to get used to the empty seats at the Joe. (Who thinks that Brian Burke has way too much power in the league these days?)
Fear not for the Wings though, it is true as you point out, there are Wings fans everywhere in the NHL and it would be great to see some of them at SBP to take in a finals game.
RBP
# posted by 
: 8:40 AM, May 14, 2007
: 8:40 AM, May 14, 2007Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
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