Is Your Interest In Hockey Waning?

[dobiezeke*]

I am also a Bruins fan so I have a hockey fan side of me where i love entertaining hockey...

That being said...last year the Oilers were anything but entertaining. They were one of the most boring teams to watch. They were all around pathetic.

I found myself cheering for the flames because they played all out.

I support good entertaining competitive hockey.

Some people are addicted to a brand. I can dump the brand if it sucks. Its never the losing. I started being a die hard when i was a kid in the mid nineetys and experienced the high of CUJos first game where you could see we turned a corner. Losing is not going to make me lose interest, playing boring hockey will make me drop you in an instant.

You are definitely a fan of good hockey. That is commendable.

You definitely are not a diehard Bruins fan as they don't cheer for anyone else.

You are not an Oilers diehard fan if you began watching the Flames because "they played all out".

That is the same as saying you ogled the ugly chick at the end of the block when she put on a bikini because your wife wasn't satisfying you on a nightly basis. It's just wrong.

 

[Patch101]

Hell no its not waning. Love hockey and the Oilers, good or bad.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

Nah, but depending on how the Oilers start the season, my interest may wax or wane.

 

[Cold Dome Beers]

If you were raised with hockey and molded by it, it takes a lot more than this to stop cheering for them. My patience with the Oilers has absolutely grown short, but I'll still be a huge fan of hockey. Even if they suck, I'll watch the Oil Kings instead or something.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Used to be a diehard, but after the lockouts, I've lost interest. I still casually observe, but never go out of my way. I watched maybe 3 Oiler games on TV last year, but only parts of each, and have not been to a game for years. I would never buy a ticket as I refuse to give Katz and his team of rich spoiled millionaires my hard earned dollars. The entertainment value/$ spent does not compute.

 

[Oiltankjob Fail]

Still love hockey but the game itself is not as entertaining as it once was. Big dollars and video and trapping took a lot of fun away. Very few jaw dropping plays anymore creativity is shunned. A good example of this is Hemsky getting a standing ovation in Ottawa for a end to end rush and goal that we used to see 50 a week in earlier years around the league. Many will probably disagree with me but the game in my eyes has become way to methodical.

 

[CorpseFX]

my interest has waned heavily over the past 4 years with how terrible this team is. just don't have the time or energy to get sapped by an undead force this strong.

i could see if the team was showing signs of systematic progress but it's been very, very slow moving while dealing with huge organizational road blocks.

i'll check out the first few games and see how they are systematically/synergy wise. if it's as terrible as last year i'll be out by game 5 and catch parts of games every so often.

the idea of being a strict/rigid "fan" who can't withdraw their energy from teams/bands/etc when these things arent living up to their end of the bargain = corny.

 

[joestevens29]

I suspect most on here still care quite a bit even if they want to lie to themselves. You don't spend time on a hockey board unless you really care about the sport. Maybe people aren't the diehards they once were, but they still pay a lot more attention than the average joe.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I still love the game and I'm still a big fan of the team. I don't see that needing to change any time soon.

 

[Up the Irons]

My interest in the NHL is definitely waning and it comes as a direct result of the Oilers sucking to such an enormous degree. I just can't stand watching an AHL team get embarrassed by the NHL teams they play against. An Oilers management make me absolutely sick (tho, they seem to have woken up). I've tried to latch onto the Hawks, but it just doesn't seem to stick.

However, my interest in the Oilkings has increased. I am an Oilkings fan now. I intend to go to more Golden Bears games this year aswell. And on Saturday nites, if there is a UFC fight, or even an NBA game, if will often choose that over HNIC.

But, if (and I do mean if, not when) the Oilers ever get their sh-t together and actually compete like an average NHL, I'm sure I'll be back. I am nolonger a die-hard Oilers fan. I used to consider being a die-hard a badge of honour. Nolonger. I actually now think being a diehard is rather silly.

 

[CupofOil]

I'll be a die hard Oiler fan until the day i die hard. If i can survive the last 5 years and still be a die hard fan, then that will never waiver. Same goes for all sports.
Sports are my big passion in life. Playing, watching etc. so that will never change no matter how much my team sucks and i'm a die hard Detroit Lions fan also so there has been plenty of suck to go around.

I do have to say though that the Oilers really took some of that passion away last season. It was the first time since i've been an Oiler fan that i actually tuned out of games for long periods and actually got sleepy during some of the action that i did watch.

Despite all that and the lack of expectations that i have going into the season, my excitement level is starting to rise with Pentiction tomorrow night and preseason shortly thereafter. What can i say? I'm a sucker as i'm sure most of you who post on this board are.

@Up the Irons Why is being a diehard fan silly? What's wrong with being passionate about a team and living and dying so to speak with the team.

 

[Seachd]

I think after this amount of time and this amount of suck, if I'm still a hardcore fan I always will be. My interest is always the same, every year is a new year and despite our team sucking I am interested in just about every aspect of this organization. It gets hard near the end to watch a game straight through but I usually tune in to see Hall and RNH etc, I like to follow certain players development. This team could lose every year and I would still watch, just a huge fan I guess I don't even know. Some of my first memories in life are watching Oilers with family growing up.

This about sums it up for me too. Just love the sport, so I'm not going to lose interest in it.

 

[Insta]

My interest is definitely not what it used to be. I pretty much expect them to be bad every year until they show otherwise. At that point I suspect my interest will increase once-again.

 

[Up the Irons]

I'll be a die hard Oiler fan until the day i die hard. If i can survive the last 5 years and still be a die hard fan, then that will never waiver. Same goes for all sports.
Sports are my big passion in life. Playing, watching etc. so that will never change no matter how much my team sucks and i'm a die hard Detroit Lions fan also so there has been plenty of suck to go around.

I do have to say though that the Oilers really took some of that passion away last season. It was the first time since i've been an Oiler fan that i actually tuned out of games for long periods and actually got sleepy during some of the action that i did watch.

Despite all that and the lack of expectations that i have going into the season, my excitement level is starting to rise with Pentiction tomorrow night and preseason shortly thereafter. What can i say? I'm a sucker as i'm sure most of you who post on this board are.

@Up the Irons Why is being a diehard fan silly? What's wrong with being passionate about a team and living and dying so to speak with the team.

nothing wrong with it if it works for you. Last year really made me wonder why I even get so into sports. My nine year old daughter (whom the Oilers have already lost for life) would ask why I watch hockey if all it does is make me mad. And it is a very solid question. I intend to go to more plays at the Citadel and Varscona on Saturday nights. Maybe take up the drums. I took up cross country sking last winter and hope to really get into it this year. Anything to make watching sports not so important in my life.

Last year really took a toll on me. My own obssession in the Oilers/sports made me feel like a nerd. Isn't that what we all are on here? Sports nerds, not unlike comic book nerds?

 

[Juxta Position]

nothing wrong with it if it works for you. Last year really made me wonder why I even get so into sports. My nine year old daughter (whom the Oilers have already lost for life) would ask why I watch hockey if all it does is make me mad. And it is a very solid question. I intend to go to more plays at the Citadel and Varscona on Saturday nights. Maybe take up the drums. I took up cross country sking last winter and hope to really get into it this year. Anything to make watching sports not so important in my life.

Last year really took a toll on me. My own obssession in the Oilers/sports made me feel like a nerd. Isn't that what we all are on here? Sports nerds, not unlike comic book nerds?

And what's wrong with that? The oilers are a passion, just like comic books are to "nerds" as you put it. I've been a fan since their first season in the nhl, i have lived and died with this team for 30+ years, and disappointment is part of being such a passionate fan, but so is elation and that makes it worth it. I'm closing in on 40 and I'm just as big a fan as I was when I was 13 and the oilers had just won their 4th cup. Yes it's disappointing when they lose, but that just makes it that much more gratifying when they do win again.

Maturity and growing up have nothing do with it, you just reach an age when you realize that sports are nothing more than escapism at its finest, and you can still be a passionate fan all the while being cognizant of the of the important real world issues surrounding us. The oilers have been my team in the sport that I have loved since the first time I ever put on a pair of skates, and they will continue to be so until either, they're not around anymore, or I'm not.

 

[Cawz]

Yeah, a bit, due to a combo of:

-buying a PVR a few years ago
-Oilers poor record over the last few seasons
-overall NHL product worsening due to lack of calling obstruction

 

[Da McBomb]

I will always be a die hard Oiler fan until the day I die.. its just in my blood. I will admit though that the last few years have been difficult as a fan and I don't religously watch every game like I used to. Its just hard when you don't have any meaningful games to cheer for. But I know that once this team finally turns the corner and makes the playoffs, this city is gonna go nuts again.

 

[OttawaOilers]

If anything my interest has been the most ever. I will never get bored of the best sport in the world. If it wasn't for Hockey, I wouldn't be alive, I wouldn't have a place in this world.

 

[OilTastic]

my interest hasn't waned, but this is the first fall that i am not chomping at the bit for the Oilers season to start! i have been disappointed so many fall's in the past several years, that i basically know what to expect from this team, so the excitement level isn't there like it once was. i imagine that might change *if* we ever become a true contending team.

 

[McRpro]

Last year was the first time ever I started to lose interest. That start was just awful and sapped a good chunk of 'care-factor' out of me. I went to only one game, the Bruins game with my friend who's a die hard Bruins fan. Remember the weak blue line wrist shot that Dubby wiffed on? I had the pleasure of seeing it live!

Anyway I pray to the hockey Gods that the Oilers have a good start and play meaningful games most of the year because if they are out of it by January I may just shut hockey off entirely. Getting really sick of this ****...

 

[CupofOil]

nothing wrong with it if it works for you. Last year really made me wonder why I even get so into sports. My nine year old daughter (whom the Oilers have already lost for life) would ask why I watch hockey if all it does is make me mad. And it is a very solid question. I intend to go to more plays at the Citadel and Varscona on Saturday nights. Maybe take up the drums. I took up cross country sking last winter and hope to really get into it this year. Anything to make watching sports not so important in my life.

Last year really took a toll on me. My own obssession in the Oilers/sports made me feel like a nerd. Isn't that what we all are on here? Sports nerds, not unlike comic book nerds?

Different Strokes for Different Folks i suppose.
I can still have an active lifestyle outside of hockey, prioritize the important things in life like spending time with family and friends and still have plenty of time for sports and obssessively following my favorite sports teams.

I guess i don't understand when somebody says that they spend less time doing things that they were previously passionate about because they have "better things to do". More important priorities and other activities could always be balanced out with watching hockey if you really want to put in the effort. I don't understand why it has to be one or the other but that's just me.

However, i can understand why this recent stretch of Oilers hockey has turned off a lot of fans but my passion will always burn bright for the Oilers through good, bad or ugly. It's an abusive relationship at times and it certainly tests my patience but it's a relationship that will endure throughout the duration of my lifetime (man, that was deep )

 

[Eirhead*]

Is Your Interest In Hockey Waning?

Honestly, ya it is a little bit. A couple negative things happened to me regarding the Oilers organization, so I gave up my season tickets. This long rut of nearly a decade of defeat definitely isn't helping.

During the 2006 playoffs, I went to almost every game. It was such an emotional high for me that I became 10X the fan I ever was before. Now it's a distant memory. Lately I find myself being more excited to see the new arena than for the team. But we still have some decent prospects and I am a little amped to see them in action.

This will be the second time since the 2004-05 lockout that I have no plans to go to a regular season game. I also didn't go to a game for the last lockout shortened season. I suppose the lockout also didn't help with my feelings of the NHL.

All-in-all, it's not so much that my interest in hockey is waning. I like following the young players, I'll always cheer for the Oilers and Team Canada. I play hockey. But my interest in the NHL has been damaged. Maybe that's the off-season drought talking, but I hope the Oilers start fixing our relationship.

 

[ghostnights]

I love the sport regardless of how the Oilers are doing.

 

[CornKicker]

lets all be honest here....we are sticking with the team and suffering for the last 8 years because we know when this team turns it around and becomes perennial contenders we dont want to be stuck with a bandwagon label, the last thing we want is to be flames fans....

 

[DavidHasselhoffsFist]

Not a bit