AtlantaWhaler
Thrash/Preds/Sabres
- Jul 3, 2009
- 19,713
- 2,935
Bam...well ****. There it is. Part of the rumblings was Seattle, but take that with a tiny grain of salt. Again...rumor.
Ya, I remember when the AJC published that story, stamping paid to the lies being told by Levenson & others. Publicly available court filings absolutely refuting his remonstrations to the opposite that ASG hadnt even thought about much less discussed the jettisoning of the Thrashers off-market. Not only had they done so and at length, they even had destinations in mind, that the 04/05 Lockout & CBA would result in a quick sale to a smaller one at that. But no, here you have this genius telling a reporter "we have no intention of selling the franchise for relocation as were not even allowed to do that as per our agreements with the NHL" yadda yadda yadda. What a Maroon. From what rock did these people slither out from under?
Congrats on the Mod position! Now, go delete everyone in the Business Forum!
Thanks, and I'm working on it
Yepp. Might wanna change that Location from Cary to the The Triangle in yer avy. Picture of 5 US Navy TBM Avengers and "Remember Flight 19?. December 1945? No?. Look it Up in Wiki.". Bermuda. Triangles a triangle. Gone Baby Gone.
For a clear picture of what the NHL thought of the team just go to the search box on the official site and type in Atlanta Thrashers.
If there are any old Thrashers fans on here, I'm wondering, what do you think was the main cause that this franchise couldn't make it? Was it poor ownership? Too many bad years? Not enough fan support? After two tries at the NHL, do you think that an NHL team could ever succeed there?
I wasn't a Thrashers fan, but here are my thoughts:
1) The overwhelming biggest factor was that they didn't have a committed ownership group. The Atlanta Spirit conglomeration always saw the team as a disposable asset, from Day 1. It's sad, really. Imagine someone buying your favorite team with the intent to get rid of them. Sucks.
That lack of commitment meant doom for the Thrashers, no matter what they or the fans did. The only reason it took so long to kill them off was that Atlanta Spirit couldn't sell the team as long as they were busy suing themselves, which they seemed to rather enjoy doing.
2) In some hypothetical world where the ownership was actually willing to cultivate the team long-term, it's still hard for a new team to make waves in a big market when they're just terrible all the time. Atlanta's a tough market for pro sports anyway, and the Thrashers didn't give their fans much to work with. Their diehards were as good as any, but there was just no bandwagon whatsoever because the team was never competing for anything.
Could the NHL succeed there? Absolutely. It could be a Dallas-like or San Jose-like story, never a marquee hockey market but certainly part of a solid foundation. There's nothing different about Atlanta that would prevent that. But it's hard to imagine the league ever going back, now that the well has been poisoned and the fields have been salted.
The Braves are moving from south Atlanta to north Atlanta because most of the people that go to games are from the northern suburbs and literally can't get to games on weekdays. Not to mention they are moving from a forsaken dump area the city has ignored for decades to one of the nicest parts of town.The traffic situation and drive to games regardless of where the arena is is worse than Arizona's. I'd much rather drive from Scottsdale to Glendale than get into downtown ATL from any of the decent locations in the Atlanta area.
I knew Levinsons kid in college a little bit they weren't hockey people from trying to talk hockey with him there was clearly little/no interest in the team.
Bad sports town and the hockey people living there likely already had a team and didn't want to change over to the Thrashers.
Mind you put a decent product on the ice and they do probably outdraw the Hawks but are still an NHL sick puppy. Its that bad a sports town. No clue what the Braves are thinking with their new stadium.
If there are any old Thrashers fans on here, I'm wondering, what do you think was the main cause that this franchise couldn't make it? Was it poor ownership? Too many bad years? Not enough fan support? After two tries at the NHL, do you think that an NHL team could ever succeed there?
I know there are those that disagree with this, but Atlanta is not a place for hockey, and it showed.
I don't think people that haven't experienced it really understand just how bad traffic is in Atlanta.
It's a hell of a lot harder to be a diehard Atlanta fan than, say, a Toronto fan
This is true. Atlanta traffic isn't just traffic, it's a daily civic disaster. It's hard to even describe. A city where you HAVE to drive, and driving even a short distance is a rage-inducing nightmare.
I've been stuck for 3+ hours in regular, non-event related traffic there. I've gotten off the highway and gone shopping as a way of waiting out traffic jams. I've seen people racing Fast & Furious style through bumper-to-bumper traffic jams. I've been tailgated by an 18-wheeler at 70mph in a rainstorm with ten feet of visibility.
It's insane.
After two tries at the NHL, do you think that an NHL team could ever succeed there?
I'm surprised that the NHL gave up so quickly on Atlanta. Now that Las Vegas has a team, it seems to me that Seattle, Houston and Atlanta would be the NHL's most desirable markets. With the right ownership and commitment from the NHL, I think Atlanta could work.
They got the flames and they got the thrashers...Fool me once...