Post-Game Talk: 6 December 2014 Your NASHVILLE PREDATORS vs. Chicago Blackhawks

[Paranoid Android]

It was interesting to see the refs deciding to call the game over with 4 seconds left. Never seen that happen. They usually just play through the faceoff to make it official.

I'm glad to see Fisher and Jarnkrok switch spots. It was only a matter of time anyway. Fisher can still play.

 

[Marty Party]

Tonight's loss should count as a road loss. Just saying.

 

[deanwormer]

For those of you who couldn't make it, it was indeed more red than gold. Several folks I talked to were leaving after the 1st - the obscenities etc from the so-called BH hockey fans (I would call them drunks) just too much.

Honestly, Preds Mgt. needs to figure this out. If they're going to sell tix in a way that makes this more red than gold then they are going to have to get more aggressive policing the place - toss them when the drunk behavior starts.

 

[Marty Party]

I didn't have any issues in my section or anywhere in the arena with their fans. Stayed until the empty netter.

On the other hand I talked to a few people, before warm-ups, who I hoped weren't driving tonight.

They called me a true fan since I showed up to the game.

It's crazy how much has changed in two years with the amount of Hawks fans that come to our games. Guess we're more than happy to oblige them though by either selling our tickets to them or not buying the game to begin with.

 

[hockey diva]

I won't go to those games because my friends and I had an altercation with drunks from Chicago two seasons ago. I make sure my tickets go to Preds fans though. People are willing to sell because the azzhats are willing to pay $150 a piece for 300 level seats. Unless the team wins the playoffs it will continue to happen.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

For those of you who couldn't make it, it was indeed more red than gold. Several folks I talked to were leaving after the 1st - the obscenities etc from the so-called BH hockey fans (I would call them drunks) just too much.

Honestly, Preds Mgt. needs to figure this out. If they're going to sell tix in a way that makes this more red than gold then they are going to have to get more aggressive policing the place - toss them when the drunk behavior starts.

On the TV it sounded like a home game for the Hawks, including the constant cheer as the game wound down. Sad, especially considering how well the team's been playing this season.

 

[CMDEADLY]

Two college girls had driven down from chicago to go to the last game when they were here. As tickets to a Chicago game would cost more than their entire trip down here. Including hotel room. It's just impossible to get a ticket up there.

 

[predfan98]

For those of you who couldn't make it, it was indeed more red than gold. Several folks I talked to were leaving after the 1st - the obscenities etc from the so-called BH hockey fans (I would call them drunks) just too much.

Honestly, Preds Mgt. needs to figure this out. If they're going to sell tix in a way that makes this more red than gold then they are going to have to get more aggressive policing the place - toss them when the drunk behavior starts.

I left early. I couldn't take the obscenities or the in your face yelling or the drunk pushing in the concourse. You should have heard the elevator operators talk about the drunk hawk fans.

Preds management does need to figure out the crowd control. But I don't believe they are the main ones selling the tickets. It is sth making $.
I do understand as a woman the people who don't want to subject themselves to these fans, either as women or with children. I don't understand the people who just give up for the $. Sorry , you're not a fan.

In fact, will be writing both my rep and sean henry and tell them my concerns and their failing in crowd and drunk control. It is out of control.

 

[Nashville Transplant]

There's a new word that sums up my experience at the game last night. "Illinoising" or "illannoying"
I sit in 207 surrounded by STH Preds fans, and none of them were there last night. I was absolutely alone in gold. The loudest, shrillest, beer swilling women I have ever endured in 50+ years of live hockey watching. A totally unpleasant (read: Illinoising) experience

 

[Dave is a killer]

I left early. I couldn't take the obscenities or the in your face yelling or the drunk pushing in the concourse. You should have heard the elevator operators talk about the drunk hawk fans.

Preds management does need to figure out the crowd control. But I don't believe they are the main ones selling the tickets. It is sth making $.
I do understand as a woman the people who don't want to subject themselves to these fans, either as women or with children. I don't understand the people who just give up for the $. Sorry , you're not a fan.

In fact, will be writing both my rep and sean henry and tell them my concerns and their failing in crowd and drunk control. It is out of control.

I have a feeling it won't make a difference ... Blackhawk fans spend money on beer, which means $ for the team and the visitors ... the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp more than likely enjoys the hotel tax $ as well

 

[predfan98]

I have a feeling it won't make a difference ... Blackhawk fans spend money on beer, which means $ for the team and the visitors ... the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp more than likely enjoys the hotel tax $ as well

I agree. I think to the Preds the bottom line is the most important thing.
But personally I generally don't complain on here (or wherever) without taking the time to write an email to whatever the organization or politician. LOL Yes, for the most part the little person is ignored.
But when someone is injured or hit because of selling so much alcohol, well, some lawyer will get rich.....

 

[NoFncyName]

I left early. I couldn't take the obscenities or the in your face yelling or the drunk pushing in the concourse. You should have heard the elevator operators talk about the drunk hawk fans.

Preds management does need to figure out the crowd control. But I don't believe they are the main ones selling the tickets. It is sth making $.
I do understand as a woman the people who don't want to subject themselves to these fans, either as women or with children. I don't understand the people who just give up for the $. Sorry , you're not a fan.

In fact, will be writing both my rep and sean henry and tell them my concerns and their failing in crowd and drunk control. It is out of control.

FST holder not fans hmm well that's hard to digest. How about the FST holder that refuses to go and does not sell the tickets because of the situation? I understand where your coming from but it would be better to place the blame for this situation where the problem is. The fan base here is not large enough to prevent this from happening. And Mgmt is going to sell those seats last night McDonalds 4 tickets for 99 bucks. On a sat night there was ample opportunity for our fans to purchase those tickets before the bandwagon Hawks fans. Might as well put some hate on the airlines as well 69 buck tickets from Midway to Nashville and we are surprised?????

Its not a situation now that Pred fans should put up with for sure. But bashing STH for sitting these games out??? Its not about not having thick skin or listening to obscene language from them. Its quite the opposite I prefer not to put myself into a environment that would likely lead to me being hauled out of the arena in handcuffs over a hockey game. On the ice actions are fine but a tussle in on our side of the glass is costly. I refuse to put my family thru this because the team is playing the Hawks or the Blues. Both of there fan bases are unruly the Hawks much more so the past few seasons but Blues fans prior to 2003 were just as bad and have left a permanent psychological impression.

Is Preds mgmt. going to do anything about it? doubtful I agree they should. At this point I don't see anything helping unless they want to sell tickets far below face value to people with a Tennessee residence.

 

[hockey diva]

If someone is obviously drunk, the concession people should be empowered to refuse to sell. If someone can't get to their seat without falling down, then they needed to be removed or taken somewhere to sober up. There are cops at the arena, arrest people for public intoxication for goodness sakes!

 

[deanwormer]

The 4 for $99 is one of my complaints about this - I get why they push those for a Sat night but for a Hawks (or Blues or Wings) game? Ought to be plenty of demand for those tix anytime.

Think about how easy it was for some ticket broker in Chitaco to grab a ton of tix at face value and then make a killing selling at less than what Hawks charge their own fans since we came off a crappy year, on the night of the SEC championship game. Plus stuff like the McDs 4pack. I'm sure Sean and Jeff have done the numbers and it makes sense cause of the concession sales but if the casual fan has a bad experience with some drunk cussing and pushing how likely is he/she and their children to be back?

Yes it's a business, yes Preds fans have to buy up the tix to keep it from happening - but I think there are practices the Preds are following (besides completely ineffective and way too limited crowd control) that make the situation way worse than it should be.

As for beer sales - no kidding. They ran the taps dry on several up behind 224 and kept carting up cases of tall Bud Light. Guy (BH fan) sitting middle of our row went and bought 7 during the game - no idea how many he had before. And he e was perfectly respectful, not even one of the idiots screaming over God Bless America. On the other hand, can't tell you how many little "crowds" of BH fans that basically were standing around blocking the walkways and the stairs on 2nd floor all night - and they apparently don't understand English - or maybe I shouldn't have used "excuse me" - their from Illinois afterall.

 

[Marty Party]

I think I may buy every unsold seat in my section next season when the STH sale begins at STH pricing. That is for any Saturday Chicago game. Then turn around and mark them up 3 fold for a nice little secondary market profit. Our fans aren't going to attend anyway so why not do it?

Of course I'd still have my seat and attend the game but win or lose I'll enjoy it that much more.

Eh, the Preds wouldn't let me do it anyway...

 

[adsfan]

I don't understand what is going on in Nashville!

The night before Thanksgiving (Wednesday Nov 26), Milwaukee had a $2 beer night to attract fans for a game against the Chicago Wolves. It was only for beers like Lite and Genuine Draft. The Admirals and or Bradley Center seemed to have double the usually amount of security for a game. The game had about 3500 fans with a smattering of Wolves fans. I didn't see or hear any problems and I walked around before the game and during the intermissions to stretch my legs. The BC has a limit of 2 beers that can be purchased at a time by one person and they don't sell those 24 ounce cans like I have seen at some places.

Why would Nashville sell discounted tickets to a Saturday night game?

Why wouldn't they have an increased security presence?

I went to some Cincinnati Reds opening day games when I was in college. A drunk guy came in 2 people ahead of me for the 1 PM game. They let him in, tore his ticket up into about 4 pieces and a security guard walked him out immediately with the warning of not to try and get back in. He never got more than 6 feet into Riverfront Stadium. It was a real lesson on how to handle people who aren't really coming to see the game and how to preserve a safe family atmosphere. That happened around 1980.

We have the same problems with some Cubs fans at Brewer games, drunk and blocking the aisles. I don't go to them any more because it takes away from my enjoyment of the game. You will see twice or three times as many Milwaukee Police and Sheriff's deputies at those games. A few years ago, an entire busload of Cubs fans were arrested by the cops in the parking lot for the garbage they pulled after the game. The tolerance level is pretty low here. Nashville needs to be the same or you will attract more people with this behavior.

 

[jstreet]

Goes to show you:

You can take the a-hole traveling Hawks fan out of Chicago but you cant take the a-hole out of the traveling Chicago Hawks fan.

 

[Adz]

My section was about 50-50. I have to say the opposing fans there were well behaved. When other sections started yelling during God Bless America*, they kept their mouths shut. When Chicago scored, they cheered, but did not jeer. They were drinking, but not drunk. They were polite, both children and adults. So I have no issue with the ones in 219. That said, I still left after the empty netter.

As for selling your tickets--I have never sold my tickets for profit anyway, and I certainly wouldn't begin by selling these to the opposition. But I can't fault someone who can literally pay for their season tickets or at least justify the expense for them by selling a pair of tickets to opposition fans. I know of people who made a killing by selling their voucher tickets in the past by reselling them on the open market--and their best price came from the opposition. Some will occasionally put their own finances ahead of their love for the team--that does not make them any less of a fan, in my opinion, but it certainly does contribute to the loss of home team advantage.

The important thing here is crowd control. I saw no issues in my area--not in the concourse, not in the restrooms. It's a small area, so security was sufficient. There is no AYCE option there--no "Adult" all you can drink option, either. Maybe that needs to be re-thought for certain games for the third tier sections.

Edit: I don't think the Preds would have any problem with you buying up all the tickets in your section when you have the ability to get extras. How would they know what you're going to use them for?

*Rats. They figured it out. Time to go back to the anthem. That quietness at the beginning when you know they're thinking, "Huh?" is priceless, though.

 

[predfan98]

I don't understand what is going on in Nashville!

The night before Thanksgiving (Wednesday Nov 26), Milwaukee had a $2 beer night to attract fans for a game against the Chicago Wolves. It was only for beers like Lite and Genuine Draft. The Admirals and or Bradley Center seemed to have double the usually amount of security for a game. The game had about 3500 fans with a smattering of Wolves fans. I didn't see or hear any problems and I walked around before the game and during the intermissions to stretch my legs. The BC has a limit of 2 beers that can be purchased at a time by one person and they don't sell those 24 ounce cans like I have seen at some places.

Why would Nashville sell discounted tickets to a Saturday night game?

Why wouldn't they have an increased security presence?

I went to some Cincinnati Reds opening day games when I was in college. A drunk guy came in 2 people ahead of me for the 1 PM game. They let him in, tore his ticket up into about 4 pieces and a security guard walked him out immediately with the warning of not to try and get back in. He never got more than 6 feet into Riverfront Stadium. It was a real lesson on how to handle people who aren't really coming to see the game and how to preserve a safe family atmosphere. That happened around 1980.

We have the same problems with some Cubs fans at Brewer games, drunk and blocking the aisles. I don't go to them any more because it takes away from my enjoyment of the game. You will see twice or three times as many Milwaukee Police and Sheriff's deputies at those games. A few years ago, an entire busload of Cubs fans were arrested by the cops in the parking lot for the garbage they pulled after the game. The tolerance level is pretty low here. Nashville needs to be the same or you will attract more people with this behavior.

These games are a big drunk fest now, and I'm afraid that the Metro police or the Preds security won't do anything.

I had 2 very drunk young Blues fans move into the seats next to mine this season (after the sth left in the third period) They literally couldn't stand without falling over. They weren't offensive, just blind stumbling drunk. We left with about 5 minutes left. I said something to the 2 cops standing in the concourse when we left, along the lines of "there are something severely drunk young men in the seats next to me. Do you ever do anything before they leave the arena?" Something along the lines of " Oh, we have people in the downtown area" was said in response.

The only time I have seen Metro police take anyone away it was for fighting. I really don't know what the issue is..........

 

[preds1]

You can take the a-hole traveling Hawks fan out of Chicago but you cant take the a-hole out of the traveling Chicago Hawks fan.

Yep.
They're as bad, if not worse at the bars post game.

 

[Adz]

Yep.
They're as bad, if not worse at the bars post game.

Last season after the final home game, my sister and I went down Broadway and we were literally the only fans wearing gold in Rippy's. We're middle aged, so we're not going to get the same hassles we might have in the past (sigh?) but I got called Grandma once.

I am, so that's kind of a non-jeer.

But that was after a Preds WIN--no way I'd go on Broadway after a Preds loss. They're so full of themselves. I remember when they'd come here wearing bags on their heads--I preferred that.

All in all, it's a GOOD thing for hockey that Chicago is following their team. They fill buildings, they promote rivalries and it's both an original 6 and a large market team. The more fans who like hockey, the more the game will spread in popularity. But security has to step up. Preds fans should not feel like they have to exclude themselves from their own barn and their own downtown because of a throng of unruly fans, but that is exactly what has happened with both Chicago and St. Louis.

 

[Montross]

Two college girls had driven down from chicago to go to the last game when they were here. As tickets to a Chicago game would cost more than their entire trip down here. Including hotel room. It's just impossible to get a ticket up there.

That's not true at all.

Go to stubhub. Lots of tickets around. Would be easy to go to a game there.

 

[Enjoy i24 Traffic]

Do what I do, get as drunk as them and annoy the hell out of them right back.

No reason to get upset with people getting blitzed on a saturday night.

There is one Det/Nsh PO game where I have no memory after the 1st intermission.

drink em if you got em and always make it home safe, brahs.

 

[Nothingman*]

I feel for you and the bad representation of Hawks fans you have seen there. Please note that not all are that way. And we had the same issue with Red Wings fans filling the UC up as you do. So it is not foreign to us. I take a yearly trip to CA to watch the Hawks but I live in Mn and you can understand the reasoning in January. The fans I saw out there were pretty cool and did not cheer during the anthem. If you read our boards you will know how much we hate that being done. It is disrespectful and a small sampling of a 'newer' fan base (I am an oldster and started seeing the Hawks at the old Chicago Stadium).

Hawks, Cubs, Bears, Bulls fans travel. Love to follow their team and take a weekend away. Very passionate fan base and a ton of transplants across the U.S. I guess, in short, it isn't going to stop unless the Hawks start sucking. And even then.....

 

[Adz]

Do what I do, get as drunk as them and annoy the hell out of them right back.

No reason to get upset with people getting blitzed on a saturday night.

There is one Det/Nsh PO game where I have no memory after the 1st intermission.

drink em if you got em and always make it home safe, brahs.

If only I could be like this. Alas, 2 drinks get me tipsy so I stop there, and while light hearted banter/ribbing is okay, being annoying and getting in their faces is just not part of my makeup.

I know, what kind of fan am I, anyway, right?

Atomic: Thanks for that. We know that all Chicago fans are not like that. And we can usually predict how long they've been fans by the crispness of the jersey.