The whole story: What Jeremy Roenick REALLY said

[Jarqui]

Well you can look at it this way: The NHL is getting some publicity. And any publicity is good publicity at this point.

In my opinion, this is bad publicity that the game is better off without.

 

[TexSen]

You've got to be kidding me!!! I am just as much of a fan as you are GKJ and I think they are spoiled rotten. Keep stupid "holier than thou" comments to yourself next time.

Completely agree here.

What a ridiculous argument to say someone who excercises their right to withold money for entertainment is less of a fan....what? We're supposed to be little lemmings and throw our dollars at a product no matter what?

Thanks for telling us who and what we are GKJ...but I think I know me better than you.

If we aren't to pass judgment on JR for his comments, who are you to pass judgment on those of us who disagree with your comments?

 

[littleD]

He's not telling people to stay away from rinks, he is telling people who think the players are spoiled (i.e. people who aren't real fans) to stay away.

The players are spoiled. And hey, guess what? I'm a "real" fan, whatever that means.

Roenick is, plain and simple, a dumbass.

 

[GKJ]

not when one of the players is lashing out at fans and telling everyone if they don't agree with him, don't ever come back.

No, that's not what he said. He said the ones who don't think the players are trying to improve the game to not come.

 

[Mothra]

He's not telling people to stay away from rinks, he is telling people who think the players are spoiled (i.e. people who aren't real fans) to stay away.

I think players are spoiled....does that mean I am not a real fan?

 

[HF2002]

JR doesn't bother me a bit. If you "know" the personality of the guy, I don't see how you can really be offended. He just speaks how he feels, whenever he feels it. I don't see why everyone is so insulted. He just speaks the truth. Most fans ARE jealous.

And you're going to compare a 95% paycut for a multi-millionaire to a 95% paycut for an average fan? What kind of argument is that?

If that's not the green eyed monster talking, then what is? boo freakin hoo, he makes more money than you do. Many of you people keep letting the dollar signs get in the way of reason. You're no different from "those greedy players" or "those greedy owners", you just THINK you are. And somehow you've managed to convince yourselves that it makes you 'better' than they are.

He made several points. Not just that fans are jealous of him, but that they can also kiss his rear end. Now he's crying about getting picked on, that he's being called spoiled, and he doesn't like it. Boo hoo JR. Boo hoo.

You think you're better than "them". Look at your name. And yes, I AM jealous of the money they make.

And JR has actually lived the life of letting those dollar signs get in the way of reality.

 

[Larionov]

Blaming the media for his woes is pretty weak. JR said what he said -- it's all there, on camera, and on the public record. OF COURSE the media is going to report on the more controversial things he said. That is what news is all about. Whenever you hear a politician or athlete whining about being, "taken out of context", it really means, "I wish I hadn't said that."

I'm actually not all that upset about what JR said. I understand that the players are angry, frustrated and bitter, and are going to vent at this stage. He should use his head and not spew out profanity in front of a camera, but I'll give him a pass on the rest of the stuff. The problem is that not everyone is as understanding as I am. I have been involved in plenty of labour and political disputes in my career, and I understand that emotions can run high, and often hard words can be spoken. People without rhino hide like mine, however, might be upset by hearing the words, "fan" and, "kiss my @$$" in the same sentence.

 

[Marshall]

I think players are spoiled....does that mean I am not a real fan?

According to some posters, and, apparently, Mr. Roenick, yes.

According to others, you have something called an 'opinion', and it does not reflect your fan status.

 

[chiavsfan]

I think his choice of words was pretty stupid. Still, I think he was expressing a personal frustration at being grouped as "selfish" and "arrogant" in spite of his risking the ire of his fellow nhlpa members by trying to get a season saving deal in violation of "Deadline Bob"'s tactics.

Again, Roenick would have been a hero, had he kept trying to go against the union. But after the season was cancelled, he stopped his noble crusade, and went right back to the party line. Hyp-o-crite

 

[GSC2k2*]

I honestly do not see his point. What he said is not affected in the slightest by whether he was simply saying it spontaneously or responding to a question about players being to blame. Not in the slightest. He still said what he said. They were not edited in even the slightest way to change what he said.

In one section, he spouted platitudes about how the fans are important.

In another breath, he told the fans they are jealous and to kiss his ***.

Nothing is overblown here.

Roenick is a candy-*** for not stepping up and admitting "yeah, I said it."

THe Philly reporter should be ashamed of himself for writing such a pandering article to suck up to Roenick and maintain his "access".

 

[Mothra]

According to some posters, and, apparently, Mr. Roenick, yes.

According to others, you have something called an 'opinion', and it does not reflect your fan status.

And I should add....I dont really care if they are spoiled and dont hold it against them, but if asked the question I definitely think they are

his comments, although they dont anger me in the least, are just stupid.....how does it help the NHL/PA at all. They need to work on getting fans back in seats....telling anyone to stay away is beyond foolish IMO

 

[davemess]

JR is media smart enough to know better than to do something like this, frustrated or not.

Does he really expect the US Sports Media to broadcast his whole 20 minute interview or how ever long it was? No chance.

They will either totally ignore it if he says nothing "shocking" or if he does they will go straight to that quote.

Its what the Media does..... and its how Roenick has gotten to be one of the better known Hockey players in the US mass market.

 

[bleedgreen]

icant stand jr, and im not a flyers fan....and i have no problem with what he said. i heard the whole report, not espn's snippits. he was more honest about how bad the players read the situation and made the wrong choices than any other player has been. it was a diatribe about the stupidity off the whole mess. i agree that if fans are going to be jerks to him - they should kiss his ass. he stood up for what he thought was right, and he tried to make things happen in feb. - im pro owner throughout this whole thing - so its very validating to hear jr say they as a whole chose wrong and should have settled before the season was cancelled - thats what the diatribe was about. he was right on in his comments.

 

[GSC2k2*]

icant stand jr, and im not a flyers fan....and i have no problem with what he said. i heard the whole report, not espn's snippits. he was more honest about how bad the players read the situation and made the wrong choices than any other player has been. it was a diatribe about the stupidity off the whole mess. i agree that if fans are going to be jerks to him - they should kiss his ass. he stood up for what he thought was right, and he tried to make things happen in feb. - im pro owner throughout this whole thing - so its very validating to hear jr say they as a whole chose wrong and should have settled before the season was cancelled - thats what the diatribe was about. he was right on in his comments.

Baloney. He didn't stand up for what he thought was right. He stood up for what was good for old JR. Till his injury healed and he was not getting paid, he didn't make a peep. After the season was cancelled he did not say boo either.

 

[thedjpd]

Baloney. He didn't stand up for what he thought was right. He stood up for what was good for old JR. Till his injury healed and he was not getting paid, he didn't make a peep. After the season was cancelled he did not say boo either.

If you've been paying attention to anything throughout this whole lockout, you'd likely realize that Roenick was likely the one who cared the most. He might have acted stupid, but don't you dare presume you know his character. You are assuming.

 

[GSC2k2*]

If you've been paying attention to anything throughout this whole lockout, you'd likely realize that Roenick was likely the one who cared the most. He might have acted stupid, but don't you dare presume you know his character. You are assuming.

Oh, I've been paying attention, i assure you.

Actions speak even louder than words in JR's case, and his words speak pretty loudly themselves.

As for "assuming", it appears you are doing a little assuming yourself about what Roenick cares about.

"Don't i dare"??!

 

[bleedgreen]

Baloney. He didn't stand up for what he thought was right. He stood up for what was good for old JR. Till his injury healed and he was not getting paid, he didn't make a peep. After the season was cancelled he did not say boo either.

it was the best thing ive heard out of a players mouth this year. i dont care if you take it some other way than how it was intended. he's right, if you dont like him - kiss his ass. every now and then its good to hear some honesty - even if it makes you look like a jerk. i cant stand jr, but not because of this. this is par for the course for him, at least he made some good points and admitted the players are getting beat bad in the cba, and its because they didnt settle earlier. those were the most meaningful words weve heard in any interview in a long time. if you want to talk about something about fans, fine. i just heard a superstar player call himself and all his brethren "idiots" for how this all went down - isnt that what weve all wanted? i dont understand why everyone is caught up in the fan stuff when he said what weve all been wanting to hear the whole time.

 

[AM]

because

If you're a real fan why would you care if they're spoiled? I watch hockey, unless they are directly affrecting my income or tax expenses I could care less. It's more about being jealous, which once again, Roenick is right about. There isn't one person on this message board who would say "You know what, I'll take a 95% paycut because I don't want people to think I'm spoiled." Please.

\greedy players are destroying my hockey team!

You do realize there was a reason for the lockout?

For once, try to take off the rich teams blinders that have been glued to your head.

 

[Epsilon]

I've never liked JR...UNTIL NOW. Kudos to him for telling it like it is. It's really about time athletes dropped all the politically correct talk in interviews. Hockey players in particular are trained to deliver the same stock answers over and over again, and anyone who deviates from the accepted norm (Roenick, Hull, Kovalchuk, etc.) gets blasted. Well I say good for them. If you want to tell fans to kiss your ass, do it.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

I'll take 1 Roenick or 1 Barkley over 50 of the smooth, slick, pre-packaged A-Rod's and Tiger Woods any day of the week. Nothing he said was incorrect. If every athlete was as passionate about his JOB, and that is what it is....a job.......sports would be a better product.

FYI...Dan Patrick will interview JR live on SportsCenter tonite.

 

[Resolute]

I wish I could use the phrase "taken out of context" to absolve myself of any wrongdoing like many of our arrogant and spoiled hockey players do.

 

[tantalum]

I'm sorry I have to shake my head at people who don't think they are spoiled. Of course they are. They make exceptional money, they get treated 99% of the time like royalty etc etc etc. They are spoiled as are star actors many wealthy offspring etc etc. But being spoiled doesn't make one a jerk...many of the same spoiled people are great individuals who know they are spoiled and put it upon themselves to make things better for those that aren't. To deny being spoiled and failing to recognize it is simply arrogant. To call any fan who pays a ticket to kiss his ass is a stupid stupid comment. Sure you can think it...I've wanted to tell many people the same thing but for the betterment of self or company you refrain from doing so. It's called self-control and maturity...two things Roenick lacks.

They are about to sign off on a linkage deal....If it offends just one fairweather fan and they don't come back that's one less ticket sold. 54% of $0 is zero.

 

[mmbt]

If Roenick actually believes that the players are doing the fans a favor by giving into owner demands, then I have to say that yes he is definitely spoiled. Or at least has lost perspective.

My life wasn't any worse this past year without hockey (in fact it's been one of the most fun years of my life), I just had one less choice as far as entertainment goes. When hockey comes back, I'll be happy, but I'll bet not nearly as happy as JR will be to collect his millions for playing a game he'd probably play for free anyway.

 

[Hasbro]

Give him a break he's probably distraut over his dogs starving!

 

[HockeyCritter]

In Roenick’s case, I think it might be stable fees for the wife’s horsey habit.