If your team moved, would you watch them? Give up hockey?

[Whalerfan11]

To answer the question of would I still watch the team...the answer is a definitive NO. I can say this because I grew up in Hartford as a diehard Whalers fan and absolutely refuse to watch any game that the Hurricanes are playing in. Last year was extremely difficult because it was the first SCF that I have not watched, taped, and rewatched every game of in the past 10 years. I actually watched a couple of the games, but was very disheartened when Bergeron crashed into Roloson. It was just destined to be for Carolina last year...what with all the key injuries to their opponents in the playoffs...they couldn't lose. Yes, I'm bitter. No, I will not get over it anytime soon.

To answer the question of would I still watch hockey...the answer is a definitive YES. Not only do I think I watched more NHL hockey after the Whalers left (since I didn't really have any alligences), but I also began to watch AHL hockey and college hockey a lot more too. I love the sport and regardless of what happened in Hartford, my love for the sport continues to grow each day.

This is exactly how I feel about the Whalers situation. I'm still a hockey fan but I just watch the games from a distance. I don't get into rivalries that much and I don't really have any favorite team. I have just become more a fan of the game.

I am going to Pitt, Philly, and NJ for a 3 games in 3 days trip in Feb. Can't wait!

BRING BACK THE WHALERS!

 

[Hennessy]

I half-heartedly followed the Devils after the Rockies moved to New Jersey, but that didn't last long. I put most of my hockey energy into Colorado College hockey, but gave lip-service to NJ. Of course, once the Nordiques relocated I adopted them immediately.

 

[Hartford HockeyFan]

I still follow the Carolina Hurricanes ever since they left. I think I like the team more now than ever because they are actually winning, something they never did in Hartford. I also follow the AHL and the current team, the Hartford Wolf Pack. I am not a bitter fan like 50-60 whaler fans still are, namely the HWBC . I got over it and moved on and still have a love for all hockey including the NHL, and the current AHL team. Its a shame more of those so called fans dont support what we have.

 

[GWhale*]

I am not a fan of the Hurricanes. Nor am I a fan of the AHL since they stuck Hartford with a team owned by the Rangers (rivalries don't die when your team moves).

I played hockey in college on the club team. Now I go to stick time regularly and might join an adult league team if I have the time. For the first few years I went to at least one game in Boston or New York and just rooted for whoever they played against. These days, I still play hockey and I watched an NCAA college team I had a friend playing on. But I haven't watched a professional hockey game on TV or in person in a few years now. I do enjoy the international games on TV (IIHA, World Cup, Olympics) but I really have little to no interest in the NHL now.... this from someone who made at least 4/5 of the Whalers games (when they didn't conflict with my own games). Yeah there's a huge drop in interest.

 

[Live in the Now]

I'd have a hard time following the Kings, and I wouldn't have an easy time following the Ducks. For me, part of being a fan of a team is being able to go to their games whenever I please, due to their location.

I don't think I'd be able to become a fan of another team, as it was hard for me to affiliate when the Raiders and Rams left LA. It would probably take a while, but I don't ever want to have that happen to me again.

 

[Freezerburn]

When Buffalo's future was up in the air and the rumours of relocation were everywhere (Portland), I planned on following the team wherever they moved to if they did in fact have to move. That being said, I am not a Buffalo native so my allegiance to the team is not based on geography, so I guess it would have been easier for myself as a fan.

All in all, thank you B. Thomas Golisano.

 

[Captain Ron]

I became a fan of the Kings when I lived in the LA area. But I no longer live in California now. So if the team moved it would not affect my support for the team. Because I am a fan of the team......not the city.

 

[Ducksforcup]

That is a loaded question. If the ducks left, then I would certainly not be a Kings fan. I would have a hard time maintaining my loyalty to the (Insert) Ducks though I think. Of-course, I would still like them, but not as much. I would like to think that I would still be a huge Duck fan, but I am not so sure. I would still watch hockey though.

I hope I never have to worry about such a question and I wish the Pens and their fans my best wishes!

 

[Jaded-Fan]

That is a loaded question. If the ducks left, then I would certainly not be a Kings fan. I would have a hard time maintaining my loyalty to the (Insert) Ducks though I think. Of-course, I would still like them, but not as much. I would like to think that I would still be a huge Duck fan, but I am not so sure. I would still watch hockey though.

I hope I never have to worry about such a question and I wish the Pens and their fans my best wishes!

Very deep thanks for the well wishes. This has been very hard no matter how it turns out. I have been a Pens fan almost back to the days when the Pens were founded, early 70's. I have known nothing else. I loved the Pens as a kid and growing up even more than I loved the Steelers, even though my family has had season tickets to the steelers since 1972. Never much cared for the Pirates. My mother went on dates to Hornets games. The Hornets are the pro league that preceded the Pens in Pittsburgh, in fact professional hockey has been in Pittsburgh since the late 1800's and Pittsburgh was the first place in North America to have articial frozen ice rink and professional hockey played on it. I played street hockey and skated at the local mall as a kid pretending that I was my favorite Pens.

I have seen my stars get bled away for over a decade and a half. I just have gone through a long rebuild and watched sucky hockey of being the bar none worst in the league for half a decade and the team lucked out and got Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and on and on. And a salary cap so that the team could keep the bulk of them too. To be honest that would not happen again if we got an expansion team. I just could not go through two more decades of sucking while having the Pens win cup after cup elsewhere. I at this moment just can not imagine it and am numb. As I have said, I have never been anything but a Pens fan since as long as I can remember. I am a Pens fan, not an NHL fan, as that is all that I have ever known. I am not at all sure that I could switch from the only thing that I have known and may just drift away if the Pens do. I am a full season ticket hold by the way.

 

[jacketracket*]

I'm too emotionally invested in the CBJ to imagine them leaving town. I doubt I'd be able to simply "follow" them to another city, though. And I doubt I'd be able to watch the NHL with any real enjoyment for a few years, either.

I really enjoyed following Euro hockey back before the CBJ arrived (although I was an NHL fan, just not team-specific), and I would probably pick up with that again.

 

[kdb209]

San Jose is getting another MLS franchise to replace what is now the Dynamo.

Yes and no. Lew Wolfe, owner of the Oakland A's (soon to be the San Jose A's of Fremont) was granted the rights to an expansion team, if a suitable venue was ever built - something that is still a long time off. I wouldn't plop down a deposit on new Earthquake season tix just yet.

 

[moz]

With TV/internet it's so much easier to follow teams so there is some solace in that. I live in Toronto, so I only get a few Sens games on tv, when they play the Leafs. But I listen to every game on internet radio. This wouldn't change if they moved to Portland or Winnepeg or wherever else. Of course, it would still be terrible to deal with. They're my hometown team, I go to games whenever I'm in town, I love seeing the support of the city behind the team and would hate to see it dissipate because the team moves. But I could survive.

 

[codswallop]

I watched the Flames leave Atlanta back in the late '70s, I was crushed.

I grew up in California where there was no hockey at the time, but I was the youngest of a big family that was born and raised on the sport. Except for me, they were all from northern Minnesota (Duluth). I lived a mile away from the Pacific, nice beaches and good surf; but most of my first memories were about skates and sticks. Then my dad got transferred to Atlanta. Big adjustment, but there was an NHL team so none of us complained.

However, in less than two years after moving to Atlanta, the team was gone. I was so ticked off, I stop watching/following hockey for a couple years. Was just a youngster, didn't have the emotional base to get through that. But I eventually did miss it too much, had to watch it again. And even though my Flames were in Calgary and not in Atlanta, I had to root for them. It helped that they played a very spirited brand of hockey when they went to Alberta.

Almost a decade after they left Atlanta, I was one of their biggest fans when they made their run to the Cup. I loved that they finally broke through and won it all, but at the same time it hurt like hell knowing that me and everyone else who went through that relocation couldn't enjoy a "hometown" team winning it all. They started off in our back yard (so to speak), but they gained the ultimate glory on someone else's land. To say the least, that hurts.

So yes, it is possible to root for your old team if they happen to move. It sure as hell isn't easy, but that's part of what being a real/true/hardocre fan is about sometimes.

My hometown team left when I was a little kid back in the late '70s. I supported them as much as I could from afar, but there is a limit to that. Myself and many others waited two decades for another NHL team to come. The first five years there was little if any hint of the team's success.
That makes a quarter century that some of us have waited to get even a vaguely decent NHL team. And there are absolutely no guarantees as to what will happen next; they might be great, they might such for a long time (who the hell knows at this point).

Those in Hartford, Quebec City (KC, Denver, Cleveland, etc) can relate. Even if the team they lost didn't accomplish much, it still hurts losing them. A lot.

Don't speculate what it will be like. The Pens are still there, and hopefully they will continue to be.
Don't stare down this dark tunnel until it's absolutely necessary.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

I'm a hateful, spiteful, vindictive person. (see my avatar)

If my team relocated, I'd hold a grudge for a long time, and passionately want them to fail -- miserably.

I'd still watch hockey, but not with a favorite team.

I'd probably focus more on college hockey.

 

[Remdawg911]

If the Bruins moved, I would root for the team moving into Hartford or Boston.

 

[Bruinaholic]

Actually i would strongly consider giving up the Bruins if Hartford got a new team...
Call me a sell out if u will but every single favorite player ive ever had got shown the door, as it is now i cant get excited about Bergeron/Chara/Savard

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Actually i would strongly consider giving up the Bruins if Hartford got a new team...
Call me a sell out if u will but every single favorite player ive ever had got shown the door, as it is now i cant get excited about Bergeron/Chara/Savard

Siince when will Charles Jacobs et all sell an original 6 team

 

[Jumptheshark]

For those of you so excited about the possibility of the Pens moving (I can understand it among those who might get a team in their city, but others of you? Not so much), imagine for a moment your team relocating at the end of this season. Montreal, you are on your way to Hamilton because despite support the city will not kick in for a new arena. Toronto, you are on the way to KC. Philly, pack up for Houston. And on and on. What would you be going through now? Would you follow them in their new digs half a continent away? Would you support an expansion team if it came in and go through a decade of growing pains after growing up since birth with your team (or for some of you for a decade or more anyways)? Would it be the same or would you find it hard to come back to the NHL?

when the Grizzlies left Vancouver I stopped watching the NBA

 

[Bruinaholic]

Siince when will Charles Jacobs et all sell an original 6 team

i never suggested that at all....
technically i went OT but my comment still is relevant to this topic

 

[corneo]

I would find a new team to cheer for.

 

[Chimaera]

If the Caps left, I probably would watch hockey, and follow the team for wherever they ended up.

However, as soon as there was an expansion team or a replacement team placed in DC (not a gurantee) I would ditch the team that left and go with the new one.


I'm more of a fan of the sports in the area, and the community, and while that loyalty has gone to the certain teams nearby, hometown teams first and foremost.

Luckily in hockey I also find a few players and teams that I do enjoy watching, so if the Caps were contracted, I could find a team to follow. Though It would not be as enthusiastically.

 

[Stammer Time*]

I would become a Thrashers fan if the Lightning moved.

 

[Unholy Diver]

if the Pens move I will hope for them to crash and burn in whichever city they decide to settle in and then root for the Blue Jackets

 

[Stephen]

If the Leafs moved, I wouldn't watch them in their new city.

 

[Blades of Glory]

I would follow the Sharks, but I really wouldn't take time out of my day to watch the NHL.