Colorado Avalanche

Status
Not open for further replies.

likea

Registered User
Jul 9, 2004
599
0
Hasbro said:
Yeah the Avs don't suck. :joker:


actually, thats the point...comparing Cubs fans to Avs fans is insane...Cubs fans sell out their building no matter what kinda product is taking the diamond...the Avs have not been bad yet so noone knows what will happen.

also, the majority of those Canadian fans and fans across the sea will not be Avs fans once they start to lose and Forsberg and others retire

they are called bandwagon fans....you might keep less than half

how many fans do you think loved Lemieux and the Pens when the Pens were winning

hell, we all used to hear about how big Czechs loved the Pens cause of Jagr, Straka, Lang, Kraft...ect..ect

once those players go, so will the overseas following..at least most of them..not all, but most
 

Drury_Sakic

Registered User
Jul 25, 2003
4,917
795
www.avalanchedb.com
No doubt there will be a drop off in fan support...

but again..with Stan showing Avs games up and down the central-west US, there will always be a following...and the Core will be something to watch for years to come...
 

Hasbro

Family Friend
Sponsor
Apr 1, 2004
52,417
16,384
South Rectangle
likea said:
actually, thats the point...comparing Cubs fans to Avs fans is insane...Cubs fans sell out their building no matter what kinda product is taking the diamond...the Avs have not been bad yet so noone knows what will happen.
That's kind of the thing Wrigley is a theme park as much as it is a baseball park. Tribune is selling baseball nostalgia.

also, the majority of those Canadian fans and fans across the sea will not be Avs fans once they start to lose and Forsberg and others retire
Still that ain't bad.
 

likea

Registered User
Jul 9, 2004
599
0
I'm not saying that is bad

but don't compare the Avs to the Cubs

the Cub fans have been selling out with terrible teams for years and years and years

I'm not sure if Cubs fans are die hard, stupid or just ignorant....
 

Weary

Registered User
Jul 1, 2003
1,068
0
Hockee said:
And since we're talking about "the world," it should be mentioned that the Avs are BY FAR the most popular team throughout Sweden (because of Forsberg), as well as the Czech Republic.

Most NHL teams are regional at best. There are a handful of teams that are national. I can't think of more than two teams with an international following. And Colorado is one.
Do you have some data to back this up? In my travels outside North America it seems that I saw more Red Wing and Penguin gear by far with a decent number of Ranger sightings. But that's just me, of course.
 

demonic

Registered User
Mar 10, 2005
343
39
As a Canadian who has lived in Denver for the last 5 years, I am not so convinced. I'm surrounded by Avs fans, but very few people that I would really consider true hockey fans. Even after all this success, I don't think that Colorado has has developed the unconditional love for the game that you see in Canada and some northern States. There are almost no rinks, nobody plays, nobody watched the World Cup, nobody watched the WJC, nobody is even talking about hockey right now. I think the franchise will do OK, but it's day's as a real hockey power are numbered
 

Hasbro

Family Friend
Sponsor
Apr 1, 2004
52,417
16,384
South Rectangle
Weary said:
Do you have some data to back this up? In my travels outside North America it seems that I saw more Red Wing and Penguin gear by far with a decent number of Ranger sightings. But that's just me, of course.
When I was in Sweden I saw plenty of Avs gear. 2001 so I'm sure it was scewed a bit.
 

mooseOAK*

Guest
Drury_Sakic said:
You won't ever see the Avs tank under current managment/ownership... as they are the core of the new TV station for Kronke(sp)..


But, in another 1-3 seasons, you will see the team go through some rebuliding...

Any team with Alex Tanguay and Milan Hejduk is going to win games, at the very least contend each night...

Plus, Forsberg could have another 5-6 season with the franchise if he comes back from Europe.

They also have a coach that will win regular season with an OK team, as Coach Q. can turn the D up and play a LA Kings style of game...


The team will survive without Foote, Blake, and Sakic..

But it won't be the same..


They will kinda turn into the Atlanta Braves of hockey, in that they are rebuilding, but not folding as a club...

Hejduk is 29 now, unless he gets signed long term he could be a UFA soon.
 

Drury_Sakic

Registered User
Jul 25, 2003
4,917
795
www.avalanchedb.com
mooseOAK said:
Hejduk is 29 now, unless he gets signed long term he could be a UFA soon.

AND?

Hejduk will cash in(no mater what the system is) with the Avs..

In another 2-3 years MAX.. the Avs will have roughly 20 million or more off their books when Foote, Sakic, and Blake are gone..

Money is not an issue long term, even under a cap, as they could arrange Hejduks contract to build after the big 3 are done..

When have the Avs lost on an UFA of theirs that they wanted to keep?


:shakehead
 

Weary

Registered User
Jul 1, 2003
1,068
0
demonic said:
As a Canadian who has lived in Denver for the last 5 years, I am not so convinced. I'm surrounded by Avs fans, but very few people that I would really consider true hockey fans. Even after all this success, I don't think that Colorado has has developed the unconditional love for the game that you see in Canada and some northern States. There are almost no rinks, nobody plays, nobody watched the World Cup, nobody watched the WJC, nobody is even talking about hockey right now. I think the franchise will do OK, but it's day's as a real hockey power are numbered
Denver as a market pulled the best TV ratings for hockey in the last Olympic games (Olympic hockey rates about halfway down the page). But I'm still suspect as well. Denver has been twice tested. When they had an awful team, no one showed up. When they had a great team, people showed up in droves. Let's see what happens when they have a mediocre team. That tends to be the true test of support.
 

wazee

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
1,140
0
Visit site
likea said:
I'm not sure if Cubs fans are die hard, stupid or just ignorant....
Me neither. I have relatives that were born Cubs fans, lived long lives, and died Cubs fans without ever feeling the thrill of winning a championship.

I don't think the Avs fans are like the Cubs fans...which is probably not an all bad thing. When the Avs hit a stage where they are just plain awful for a few years, interest and attendance will drop...especially if they are seen as being in a downward spiral or in a rut. That happens in most cities and I consider it part of the natural cycle. The important thing is that the foundation of die-hard hockey fans is strong enough to get through this period. As others have pointed out, all indications are that the Avs have this firm foundation.
 

mooseOAK*

Guest
Drury_Sakic said:
AND?

Hejduk will cash in(no mater what the system is) with the Avs..

In another 2-3 years MAX.. the Avs will have roughly 20 million or more off their books when Foote, Sakic, and Blake are gone..

Money is not an issue long term, even under a cap, as they could arrange Hejduks contract to build after the big 3 are done..

When have the Avs lost on an UFA of theirs that they wanted to keep?


:shakehead
All I am saying is that Hejduk will have the option to go other places, a player in that situation isn't one that you can plan to build around is it?
 

Hasbro

Family Friend
Sponsor
Apr 1, 2004
52,417
16,384
South Rectangle
demonic said:
As a Canadian who has lived in Denver for the last 5 years, I am not so convinced. I'm surrounded by Avs fans, but very few people that I would really consider true hockey fans. Even after all this success, I don't think that Colorado has has developed the unconditional love for the game that you see in Canada and some northern States. There are almost no rinks, nobody plays, nobody watched the World Cup, nobody watched the WJC, nobody is even talking about hockey right now. I think the franchise will do OK, but it's day's as a real hockey power are numbered
I did some stat hunting off the registered players thread. We're 12th in registered players by state, 14th per capita, and 15th 0n rinks (the list of rinks I was going off of was woefully incomplete). States in our camp (Wyoming, Montana and Idaho) ranked high in these categories.

The year before the Avs came here the Grizzlies drew 12,000 per game.
 

ColoradoHockeyFan

Registered User
Feb 17, 2005
9,368
0
Denver area
demonic said:
There are almost no rinks, nobody plays, nobody watched the World Cup, nobody watched the WJC, nobody is even talking about hockey right now.

My God. Could there be a bigger misrepresentation of the market than this? Can you offer some actual data that illustrates how Denver was so relatively atrocious in World Cup or WJC ratings. I mean, I had no idea that the rest of the US was in an absolute frenzy over the WJC, with cities all over the nation buzzing about the tournament and sports talk radio lines jammed with callers. Please enlighten us. :shakehead And similarly for the incredible hockey buzz that envelops the US right now... it's a shame that the current lockout has only affected Denver... and too bad for you and the rest of us living here that we're not in one of the rest of the US markets where hockey talk is dominating life.

Almost no rinks, nobody plays... do you have an agenda, or are you just really, really unobservant?

By the way, there will be a deal done tomorrow. See, I can make stuff up too!
 

chiavsfan

Registered User
I am a Cubs fan, and the word "die hard" applies to me. However, most Cubs "fans" are casual fans who supported Sammy Sosa, and his juice up Home Runs. I would rather see the Cubs play real baseball. As for the sucking for so many years, they have indeed, but they have been playing better ball. But this is a hockey thread so I will stop
 

Drury_Sakic

Registered User
Jul 25, 2003
4,917
795
www.avalanchedb.com
mooseOAK said:
All I am saying is that Hejduk will have the option to go other places, a player in that situation isn't one that you can plan to build around is it?

Sure...

oh wait..

We built around Joe Sakic... I guess he was an UFA

We build around Patrick Roy... wow.. he too was an UFA

And that Rob Blake guy... gee.. him too?

Oh, the wings built around that slouch, think his last name started with a Y? Was he at one point an UFA?

How about that...

:amazed:
 

Drury_Sakic

Registered User
Jul 25, 2003
4,917
795
www.avalanchedb.com
ColoradoHockeyFan said:
My God. Could there be a bigger misrepresentation of the market than this? Can you offer some actual data that illustrates how Denver was so relatively atrocious in World Cup or WJC ratings. I mean, I had no idea that the rest of the US was in an absolute frenzy over the WJC, with cities all over the nation buzzing about the tournament and sports talk radio lines jammed with callers. Please enlighten us. :shakehead And similarly for the incredible hockey buzz that envelops the US right now... it's a shame that the current lockout has only affected Denver... and too bad for you and the rest of us living here that we're not in one of the rest of the US markets where hockey talk is dominating life.

Almost no rinks, nobody plays... do you have an agenda, or are you just really, really unobservant?

By the way, there will be a deal done tomorrow. See, I can make stuff up too!

I agree,


I fell alseep watching the WJC? And I am about as die hard as it gets..

Whats your point?

:lol
 

Hasbro

Family Friend
Sponsor
Apr 1, 2004
52,417
16,384
South Rectangle
Of course the lower tier hockey we pay attention to, is NCAA.

Reiterating my post from an Altitude thread
according to SI's 50th anniversary poll the Avs are the favorite team in colorado (duh), Wyoming (our local counterpart to Canada), Nebraska (still trails cow tipping though), Utah, New Mexico (hold on, there's a NEW Mexico?) , Idaho, Montana and runs second in Kansas. The Avs also have a radio affiliate in South Dakota. That's 13.6 million people total and about 9 million outside of Colorado.

I'm concerned lack of easy cable access will erode some of the team's fanbase. In ESPN's Sportsnation poll the Avs were the second most popular team in the states. THN's poll this year had us 3rd.
 

wazee

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
1,140
0
Visit site
demonic said:
As a Canadian who has lived in Denver for the last 5 years, I am not so convinced. I'm surrounded by Avs fans, but very few people that I would really consider true hockey fans. Even after all this success, I don't think that Colorado has has developed the unconditional love for the game that you see in Canada and some northern States. There are almost no rinks, nobody plays, nobody watched the World Cup, nobody watched the WJC, nobody is even talking about hockey right now. I think the franchise will do OK, but it's day's as a real hockey power are numbered
A few points.

1. Colorado is not Canada.
2. You are not hanging out with the right people. :)
3. There are a lot more rinks, more people playing the game, more people talking about hockey than there were before the Avs arrived.

Hockey will probably never be the number one professional sport in Colorado. That spot will probably always belong to the Broncos...at least as long as there are people around who remember the Broncos' vertical striped socks, door-to-door ticket drives, and the days when the ushers used to wrestle with the fans to retrieve the balls that went into the stands. That is the kind of history the older hockey franchises have that the Avs do not have.

Colorado does, however, have the base to support an NHL team through thick and thin. The support for college teams has already been noted in this thread. IIRR, the Denver Grizzlies averaged close to 13,000 the year before the Avs came to town. Even the Rockies, with the ownership deck stacked against them, averaged 9000 fans. Which doesn't sound to good until you realize the population of the metro area has doubled since 1980...

As far as watching the World Cup and the WJC on TV...for the most part, they have not been televised so it is no wonder they have not built up an audience.
 

ColoradoHockeyFan

Registered User
Feb 17, 2005
9,368
0
Denver area
Weary said:
Denver as a market pulled the best TV ratings for hockey in the last Olympic games (Olympic hockey rates about halfway down the page). But I'm still suspect as well. Denver has been twice tested. When they had an awful team, no one showed up. When they had a great team, people showed up in droves. Let's see what happens when they have a mediocre team. That tends to be the true test of support.
Agree with the last point, but basically I think we'll just see what we'd see with any good hockey market... even in good markets, attendance/enthusiasm is obviously going to be impacted by decreased success. It's true in any US market (and most Canadian markets as well).

Regarding the Rockies situation that you reference here, though, again, this was not just a case of having a bad team. (Incidentally, it wasn't just bad, it was a horrible joke of a mismanaged team.) But it went well beyond that. It's one thing to have an awful team. It's quite another to have an owner who right off the bat declares that his only intention is to move the team to another state. This was stated publicly, and basically said to the fans, don't even bother investing emotionally in this team because they're moving soon no matter what. It was a horrible situation that encompassed much, much more than just the quality of the team, and it was not a valid test of a hockey market.
 

ColoradoHockeyFan

Registered User
Feb 17, 2005
9,368
0
Denver area
Drury_Sakic said:
Err.. I was agreeing with you,

and asking the other guy what his point was..

;)
Sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was arguing with you. I wasn't sure whose point you were asking about. :) I did generally sense your agreement, and like you, I was essentially directing my comments at the other guy too. :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->