KingsFan7824
Registered User
I like your posts often on these issues, so I'll ask you. Where did the big 4 go wrong with Florida expansion? People bring up the Lightning, but even they were in trouble. The complaints hockey fans having about southern teams apply to almost every florida in every major sport. The Bucs, Jags are always near the bottom of attendance. Dolphins had blackouts right before the rule was lifted. Both baseball teams are about to sink again, the Magic are ok, but there are time the Heat will not sell out. What gives, and why did California and Texas do so much better with pro sports?
What the specific cause could be, I don't know, but if it's something that crosses all pro sports, then maybe it's just a Florida thing. Maybe it's a place where you have to win, or at least be competitive, and not out of it year, after year, after year, after year. That's most places though. Not going to get too many Toronto's. The Panthers have been to the playoffs in 5 out of what will soon be 24 years. That's 21% of the time. The Lightning will be at 10 of 25 years. Not a lot, but it's doubles the Panthers %. And they have a Cup, and been to the Final twice, and to the 3rd round 4 times. Multiple stars as well. Lecavalier, St.Louis, Richards, Stamkos, Hedman. Who's the biggest star for the Panthers? Bure? You think of him as a Canuck, not a Panther. Jovanovski? The Beezer? Jagr? Nashville will be at 11 of 19 years, which is quite good, and now the atmosphere at home games can rival some very established teams.
Like was said, it's not a place that has generation after generation of loyalty to fall back on. Most of the teams in Florida are relatively new. If you were born when the Panthers showed up, you're barely out of college, and there's a lot of nothing from the franchise. Losing seasons, blown picks at the top of drafts, can't keep the guys you do draft.
Maybe if Florida had a team in the 21 team league, when 76% of the league made the playoffs, they couldn't have gone a decade without making the playoffs, and could've been somewhat relevant. What would it be like if you could find an old clip of a Panthers and, whoever, Capitals or Flyers playoff series from the high flying 80's, where they had some kind of line brawl or two? How would the Panthers be seen? Instead, what's their feather in the cap? They got swept in the Final, after hacking and whacking the Penguins out of the 3rd round, deprived people of a Colorado/Pittsburgh series in 1996, and they haven't done much of anything as a franchise since. Sakic/Forsberg vs. Lemieux/Jagr at the top of their games. Instead you got Dave Lowry at the start of the dead puck era. Didn't get Lemieux vs Gretzky in 1993, but you still had the legendary Montreal Canadiens franchise involved. The rat thing was cool for the Panthers though.
Or, as we can see with Tampa and Nashville, if you get your ownership and management right, you can get a lot done.