IMO, if the number of comments opposed to this move were a true reflection of the team's fanbase, they wouldn't be moving and the team would still be getting 9000 per game. The ones complaining about the drive don't want to cross the Port Mann, and think Langley is the same distance as Chilliwack.
I agree it seems hypocritical to complain about the distance when many long term Giants fans have been making the long traffic jammed drive into Vancouver for many years. I know a few fans in the greater Vancouver area that are mostly mad about that. But I would say a majority of them are more angry at the product (and no, I'm not just talking wins/losses) and this type of change makes it much easier to give up their season tickets. If it was hard enough wanting to go to games when the team was close by why drive even further to feel the same exact way?
Rocko604 said:
I too don't go to nearly the amount of games as I used to either. Working shift work has a lot to do with that, but my friends, wife and I have become bigger football fans over the past 5 years, combined with the on-ice product. I've been to a few junior A games and felt the product was almost on par.
I can relate to most of that (including the shift work aspect). Ultimately my reasoning for giving up my season tickets weren't due to distance (although now if I still had tickets and they moved to Langley I would give them up). It had to do with entertainment, plain and simple. I don't find hockey nearly as entertaining as it once was at all levels. I know a few people that feel that way with Junior A. Personally, I definitely see a drop off in talent and pace between the two but you certainly aren't the first person I've heard say that.
On another note I heard a friend of mine *****ing about ticket prices. I haven't caught up on the days news yet but it sounds like Toigo has raised season ticket prices. Makes sense as Langley seats much less than the Coliseum and given he's lost a ton of money over the past four or five years. But man that is quite a ballsy (stupid, IMO) move. Uproot your teams' home, consistently a bottom dweller in the league over the past few years and have the audacity to raise prices?