My old roommate said the same thing last week at hockey. He was surprised how little he cared that the NHL wasn't going on. We ordered Center Ice every year and watched hockey every night.
If the hardcore fans are losing interest, it's going to be a disaster for the league.
Yup. I had Center Ice or Gamecenter Live each of the past 4 years, always bought a few hats and shirts every year, bought a few tickets to games each year. I run the emotional gambit with everyone else when the team wins and loses. I also had season tickets for 4 years, but I cancelled a few seasons ago because I couldn't afford them anymore.
But I just can't in good conscience devote that much fandom (dedicated time, money, and emotion) to a sport, team, or players that have shown they don't care about anything but dollar signs, especially when it's at the expense of everyone who supports them and allows for them to become filthy stinking rich.
When the NHL comes back, I'll watch the Wild on local television, but it will take a long, long time for me to actively spend money on them or the NHL again. And I will never again invest myself so emotionally in the league. Not after losing the North Stars, the '04-'05 season, and probably this year. Nope, not falling for it again.