Bring Back the Jets....the Rally to End All Rallys

[Cawz]

And hockey existed in Florida long before the Lightning and the Panthers and in North Carolina long before the Hurricanes. Let's go through a few teams and their eras of activity:

Florida
THL:
Coral Gables Seminoles (1938-1939)
Miami Clippers (1938-1939)
Miami Beach Pirates (1938-1939)

EHL:
Jacksonville Rockets (1964-1972)
Florida Rockets (1966-1968)
St. Petersburg Suns (1971-1972)
Suncoast Suns (1972-1973)

AHL:
Jacksonville Barons (1973-1974)

North Carolina

EHL:
Charlotte Clippers (1956-1960)
Charlotte Checkers (1960-1973)
Greensboro Generals (1959-1973)

SHL:
Charlotte Checkers (1973-1977)
Greensboro Generals (1973-1977)
Winston-Salem Polar Twins (1973-1977)
Winston-Salem Mammoths (1995-1996)

ACHL:
Pinebridge Bucks (1983-1985)
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (1981-1982)
Carolina Thunderbirds (1982-1987)

AAHL:
Carolina Thunderbirds (1987-1988)

ECHL:
Carolina Thunderbirds (1988-1989)
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (1989-1992)
Charlotte Checkers (1993-present)
Greensboro Monarchs (1989-1995)
Raleigh IceCaps (1991-1998)

AHL:
Greensboro Monarchs (1995-1997)

Is there only one team that lasted till present? Of all the teams you listed in Florida, none are within the lifetime of most of the posters here. Is there anything more recent?

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

people in that city should've done enough to keep the team in the first place.....i'm sorry but winnipee had their chance and they blew it.....case closed......

so did Atlanta, Colorado, Minnesota yet they got a team back

this is a tired argument

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

And hockey existed in Florida long before the Lightning and the Panthers and in North Carolina long before the Hurricanes. Let's go through a few teams and their eras of activity:

Florida
THL:
Coral Gables Seminoles (1938-1939)
Miami Clippers (1938-1939)
Miami Beach Pirates (1938-1939)

EHL:
Jacksonville Rockets (1964-1972)
Florida Rockets (1966-1968)
St. Petersburg Suns (1971-1972)
Suncoast Suns (1972-1973)

AHL:
Jacksonville Barons (1973-1974)

North Carolina

EHL:
Charlotte Clippers (1956-1960)
Charlotte Checkers (1960-1973)
Greensboro Generals (1959-1973)

SHL:
Charlotte Checkers (1973-1977)
Greensboro Generals (1973-1977)
Winston-Salem Polar Twins (1973-1977)
Winston-Salem Mammoths (1995-1996)

ACHL:
Pinebridge Bucks (1983-1985)
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (1981-1982)
Carolina Thunderbirds (1982-1987)

AAHL:
Carolina Thunderbirds (1987-1988)

ECHL:
Carolina Thunderbirds (1988-1989)
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (1989-1992)
Charlotte Checkers (1993-present)
Greensboro Monarchs (1989-1995)
Raleigh IceCaps (1991-1998)

AHL:
Greensboro Monarchs (1995-1997)

how come most of these teams barely lasted 3 years?

and....mate

 

[Sotnos]

Is there only one team that lasted till present? Of all the teams you listed in Florida, none are within the lifetime of most of the posters here. Is there anything more recent?

There were probably too many others to list. There are currently several lower tier pro hockey teams in Florida now (including the ECHL) and one other league that operates out of I think Orlando and Jacksonville (don't have time to look up the league name). The "new WHA" is based in Florida, such as it is. There was the IHL Orlando Solar Bears. Suffice it to say, there's been pro hockey in Florida dating back to those early teams to the present day.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

There were probably too many others to list. There are currently several lower tier pro hockey teams in Florida now (including the ECHL) and one other league that operates out of I think Orlando and Jacksonville (don't have time to look up the league name). The "new WHA" is based in Florida, such as it is. There was the IHL Orlando Solar Bears. Suffice it to say, there's been pro hockey in Florida dating back to those early teams to the present day.

SOTNOS:

THE SPHL http://www.thesphl.com IS the league that rolled into Orlando but that team isn't based in Orlando (Kissimmee)

 

[Sotnos]

Interesting. I never went into the rink in Kissimmee when I lived there (very, very strange town) but it didn't look all that big. I dig that logo.

 

[Transported Upstater]

Interesting. I never went into the rink in Kissimmee when I lived there (very, very strange town)

 

[kenabnrmal]

Not to hijack the thread, but the SPHL is slowly developing itself into a strong, yet small, professional league. Doing everything the opposite that the WHA2 tried to do..keep small, low profile, but offering decent hockey to decent hockey markets. Attendance isn't high in some markets, but it doesn't need to be. Travel and player expenses are kept low, so the breakeven is low. The exception being Jacksonville, which plays out of a gorgeous, huge rink, which means rent is sky high. However, the potential in that market is huge. All the ownership groups in the league now are pretty stable, and the league is growing, and hockey is viable in the south.

Having only left Winnipeg less than a year ago, it pains me to see the entire market painted with the same brush as a few outspoken fools. Winning is a passionate hockey market, and my gut feeling is that most of us would rather not see a team in the south fail for Winnipeg's benefit. However, the desire for an NHL return is strong. I'd love nothing more than to see a team return there, but I'd hate to see a fan base go through the trauma that we went through in Winnipeg.

 

[GSC2k2*]

how come most of these teams barely lasted 3 years?

and....mate

Talk about your irrelevant points.

 

[GSC2k2*]

There were probably too many others to list. There are currently several lower tier pro hockey teams in Florida now (including the ECHL) and one other league that operates out of I think Orlando and Jacksonville (don't have time to look up the league name). The "new WHA" is based in Florida, such as it is. There was the IHL Orlando Solar Bears. Suffice it to say, there's been pro hockey in Florida dating back to those early teams to the present day.

I thought the new WHA was headquartered in the basement of Bucky's mom's house ...

 

[btn]

I just think it is interesting that many members of the jetsowner.com site who have posted here say they just want a team of their own, and not tear down other franchises. Meanwhile that very website has an inaccurate attack on the hockey fans in Atlanta on the very front page.



It is also pretty weak that you cannot even view the messageboards there without registering. If you have a baseless attack on another teams fanbase on the front page of the website, I wonder how many are located within.

 

[jamiebez]

I just think it is interesting that many members of the jetsowner.com site who have posted here say they just want a team of their own, and not tear down other franchises. Meanwhile that very website has an inaccurate attack on the hockey fans in Atlanta on the very front page.



It is also pretty weak that you cannot even view the messageboards there without registering. If you have a baseless attack on another teams fanbase on the front page of the website, I wonder how many are located within.

I'll just point out that there is a wide range of views expressed on that site - to be honest, much more so that on this one because the moderators over there are much more forgiving. You'll find people with rational views, people with extreme ones, and a wide spectrum in between. Naturally, at a site developed for people in favor of the idea of bringing a team back to Winnipeg, you'll get a higher percentage of one end of that spectrum than the other.

But why expect anything else? Would you expect a rational discusson about what a great power forward Todd Bertuzzi is on the message boards at coloradoavalanche.com?

 

[Gnashville]

I'll just point out that there is a wide range of views expressed on that site - to be honest, much more so that on this one because the moderators over there are much more forgiving. You'll find people with rational views, people with extreme ones, and a wide spectrum in between. Naturally, at a site developed for people in favor of the idea of bringing a team back to Winnipeg, you'll get a higher percentage of one end of that spectrum than the other.

But why expect anything else? Would you expect a rational discusson about what a great power forward Todd Bertuzzi is on the message boards at coloradoavalanche.com?

The problem with that website is they started "the Preds are moving to Winnipeg" rumor which was picked up by a Canadian press (the Sun tabloids) more than willing to help them out. It actually caused the fans here in Nashville to say "why go to see the Predators when they are moving to Winnipeg" and our owner had to buy commerical time to set the story strait. Very low class site attacking fans and cities they know nothing about. Spreading rumors is not the way to get a team back especially when you PO the owner and the Fans. I guess I should thank the site and Sun papers for making the Preds owner more determined to stay in Nashville.

 

[jamiebez]

The problem with that website is they started "the Preds are moving to Winnipeg" rumor which was picked up by a Canadian press (the Sun tabloids) more than willing to help them out. It actually caused the fans here in Nashville to say "why go to see the Predators when they are moving to Winnipeg" and our owner had to buy commerical time to set the story strait. Very low class site attacking fans and cities they know nothing about. Spreading rumors is not the way to get a team back especially when you PO the owner and the Fans. I guess I should thank the site and Sun papers for making the Preds owner more determined to stay in Nashville.

Just to clarify - you're blaming a message board for starting a rumor that caused fan uncertainty in Nashville?

I've got two problems with this argument:
1. There's no standard of objectivity or research or fact-checking that posters on a message board are obligated to live up to. They're basically a forum who whoever to spout off on whatever is on their mind to a large group of people - pretty much like you and I are doing right now. However, there certainly are such standards for legitimate media. If there's blame to be cast about spreading false rumors in the public forum at large, it's with the Sun media chain for low journalistic standards, which I totally agree with, BTW. That's long been a beef of mine about that particular chain of papers.

2. I think specifically blaming the jetsowner.com site for starting rumors about the Predators moving anywhere is specious at best. There have long been allegations about financial uncertainty in Nashville from a variety of news sources. I can recall articles in the Hockey News and the Globe and Mail, pre-lockout - never mind the beaten-to-death Forbes stories. I'm not commenting as to the veracity of these stories, but I read most of them, and they seemed pretty fact-based to me.

Blaming the jetsowner.com site for starting a rumor, when there are other legitimate media sites that have been barking up this tree for well over two years... I think you're being a touch on the spiteful side here.

 

[Squiddy*]

The Jetsowner site has to be one of the worst websites ever. The people who put that site together and the members all contradict themselves and they live in their own fantasy. They have this category in the message board for "Revenue ideas" and they have the dumbest ideas from Pay Per Views to Player bake sales... like c'mon... this is the fricken NHL not some highschool hockey team. If you are a fan of the follow teams: Thrashers, Predators, Panthers, Hurricanes, Ducks, or even the islanders don't go to that site. I knew about this rally 2 months ago and anyone who says it was just the jetsowner people doing it for fun please spare me! My cousin told me how the guy called up all the media in winnipeg because he thought it would be a big rally, but instead the media got pissed at him because 4 people showed up including Dancing gabe... It was worst than I thought because the 4 guys seemed to actually think they were making a difference.

 

[jamiebez]

The Jetsowner site has to be one of the worst websites ever. The people who put that site together and the members all contradict themselves and they live in their own fantasy. They have this category in the message board for "Revenue ideas" and they have the dumbest ideas from Pay Per Views to Player bake sales... like c'mon... this is the fricken NHL not some highschool hockey team. If you are a fan of the follow teams: Thrashers, Predators, Panthers, Hurricanes, Ducks, or even the islanders don't go to that site. I knew about this rally 2 months ago and anyone who says it was just the jetsowner people doing it for fun please spare me! My cousin told me how the guy called up all the media in winnipeg because he thought it would be a big rally, but instead the media got pissed at him because 4 people showed up including Dancing gabe... It was worst than I thought because the 4 guys seemed to actually think they were making a difference.

Per my above post about "taking the high road", I respectfully decline to comment...

 

[Gnashville]

Just to clarify - you're blaming a message board for starting a rumor that caused fan uncertainty in Nashville?

I've got two problems with this argument:
1. There's no standard of objectivity or research or fact-checking that posters on a message board are obligated to live up to. They're basically a forum who whoever to spout off on whatever is on their mind to a large group of people - pretty much like you and I are doing right now. However, there certainly are such standards for legitimate media. If there's blame to be cast about spreading false rumors in the public forum at large, it's with the Sun media chain for low journalistic standards, which I totally agree with, BTW. That's long been a beef of mine about that particular chain of papers.

2. I think specifically blaming the jetsowner.com site for starting rumors about the Predators moving anywhere is specious at best. There have long been allegations about financial uncertainty in Nashville from a variety of news sources. I can recall articles in the Hockey News and the Globe and Mail, pre-lockout - never mind the beaten-to-death Forbes stories. I'm not commenting as to the veracity of these stories, but I read most of them, and they seemed pretty fact-based to me.

Blaming the jetsowner.com site for starting a rumor, when there are other legitimate media sites that have been barking up this tree for well over two years... I think you're being a touch on the spiteful side here.

The rumor was not on the messageboard but the front page of the website and the Sun papers then Globe and Mail and others picked up the story and spread it. Those papers were willing to help the site smear Nashville. They (the site and media) flat out lied and continue to lie about the Preds to try to convince the League (not the owner) to force the Preds to move to Winnipeg. They continue to blame Bettman and the league for moving the Jets when he had very little to do with the demise of the Jets. Now they are attacking teams, fans, and cities that had nothing to do with the Move to Phoenix.

 

[Nich]

i say get a team out of florida and move it back to you guys

 

[Squiddy*]

i say get a team out of florida and move it back to you guys

Devils need to move first.

 

[Transported Upstater]

(thinks of something incredibly inflammatory to say, then retracts it, because it would be falling on a few deaf ears)

 

[deathbear]

i live in manitoba, and i don't think we can afford a team. we don't have the revenues here, and there's no way the public can afford to pay that much for tickets.

i mean honestly, do you think we could even consistantly pull 12,000 people? that's a very low number as it is, but i bet we'd have a hard time reaching even 10,000.

 

[Mr BLUEandWHITE]

Devils need to move first.

devils arent going anywhere they're getting a new building in newark

 

[Boilers*]

As I've said before...I'm there with you in wishing that Winnipeg could have a team again... but knowing how it feels to lose your team...how could you, in good conscience, wish that upon another fanbase?

Well for starters when a Nashville fan who doesn't have a clue what it's like to lose a team (and has craptacular attendance to boot, ironic) and said fan shows so little class as to belittle a fanbase that wants it's team back. Just seems arrogant and ignorant at the same time.

 

[Transported Upstater]

Well for starters when a Nashville fan who doesn't have a clue what it's like to lose a team (and has craptacular attendance to boot, and really deserves to be punted from the NHL but won't be) and said fan shows so little class as to belittle a fanbase that wants it's team back.

If I was a Nashville fan, you can be damn sure that I will belittle a select group of fans who slander my team like I've seen on this thread.

Most Winnipeg fans I've seen are among the best in the world. A select few (which comes with every city and every fanbase) have chosen to take the low route, and criticize a city that they have most likely never been to.

This is evidently the manner in which you believe Winnipeg will garner support for a new team. Bravo. Hurray for class and maturity! I'll give you a hint: It won't work.

I was pissed when Winnipeg relocated. VERY. That does not excuse the reaming that some people have given Nashville, among other teams, in this thread and on this board in general.





And before you run your mouth about my location...I've been south of the Mason-Dixon line for about 10 weeks, and am a Toronto fan.


Southern hockey fans have no problem with the statement "Bring back the Jets!" Most that I've met would love to see Winnipeg have a team and feel bad for the people of Manitoba.

They do, and rightfully so, have a problem with the statement "Bring back the Jets! Down with the sunburned, pig-humping inbred cowboys with the American flag tattooed between their legs!"

 

[Gnashville]

Well for starters when a Nashville fan who doesn't have a clue what it's like to lose a team (and has craptacular attendance to boot, ironic) and said fan shows so little class as to belittle a fanbase that wants it's team back. Just seems arrogant and ignorant at the same time.

I don't know what craptacular attendance is but I do know that Nashville's lowest average attendance for a season is more than Winninpeg's highest ever for a season. And the 15K number is a lie the MTS Centre has a capacity of under 14K http://www.mtscentre.com/seatingchart/hockey.php which is under Our average this season and that's not at 85 cents on the dollar.