Rally around the team?

[YouGotAStuGoing]

You have obviously never run your own business.

Look, there's no denying that companies do this all the time without suffering significant drawbacks initially. The problem lies when they're this obvious about not giving a shit anymore.

 

[coladin]

The average fan is absolutely blameless in this ****show. Suggesting otherwise is more than disingenuous – it's insulting. The fish rots from the head.

We have tarps on the cheapest seats. It should be insulting. Don't you worry about the boxes, club seats, Club Bell, 2nd bowl seats. Corporations and small business are doing their part. How about those seats under the tarps? Karlsson couldn't move those f***ing seats yet everyone here laments his imminent departure. Myabe people in Ottawa were not aware of Karlsson who has been here for many years....but but but they didn't see the billboards?

Nothing is free, and 12m players with 6000 season tickets is not a sound financial plan.

I knew this clown of a city would cost us this player. I have been saying it for years. There is no way a city will sign a superstar to a superstar contract if the revenues are not there. This city is vulnerable to this repeating itself over and over, and forever actually. I feel bad for those who go and pay all these years to go through this . It is not fair to them.

 

[coladin]

It’s going to be great when attendance skyrockets with new ownership and the Melnyk defenders start with the excuses and bring up how it’s a honeymoon period and nothing more. I can see it now.

The Palladium was empty when it opened. Honeymoon was really short with a state of the art arena, coming from the Civic Centre. You obviously have more faith in this city than I do.

 

[coladin]

They'll just disappear. There was a huge crew of "Ottawa will never support a football team" people as well. Bring in competent ownership and bam, they no longer exist.

Why are they competent, do you know how many people and companies lost their shirts building Lansdowne? You think they are any different than Melnyk?

 

[Gil Gunderson]

We have tarps on the cheapest seats. It should be insulting. Don't you worry about the boxes, club seats, Club Bell, 2nd bowl seats. Corporations and small business are doing their part. How about those seats under the tarps? Karlsson couldn't move those ****ing seats yet everyone here laments his imminent departure. Myabe people in Ottawa were not aware of Karlsson who has been here for many years....but but but they didn't see the billboards?

Nothing is free, and 12m players with 6000 season tickets is not a sound financial plan.

I knew this clown of a city would cost us this player. I have been saying it for years. There is no way a city will sign a superstar to a superstar contract if the revenues are not there. This city is vulnerable to this repeating itself over and over, and forever actually. I feel bad for those who go and pay all these years to go through this . It is not fair to them.

Revenues have hovered around the 15-20 mark for the last few years.

At no point in those years did I see this team spend and commit, just empty promises about spending when the time is right. This is while teams that were on par or below the Sens did.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Revenues have hovered around the 15-20 mark for the last few years.

At no point in those years did I see this team spend and commit, just empty promises about spending when the time is right. This is while teams that were on par or below the Sens did.

To add to this, I'll point out that the revenues were there when Alfredsson wasn't re-signed. Between that fact and the repeated demonstration of a will to cut costs, I'm wondering why, @coladin, you expect fans to pay the same amount – if not more – for a product that's very visibly decreasing in quality. You're engaging in a pretty weak argument: that the fans should pay so the team can retain its talent. And yet, by most accounts and for most fans, the protests and upset is coming because the team is trading its talent. This isn't a "chicken or egg" argument, it's pretty cause-and-effect driven. But unfortunately for Mr. Melnyk, the damage has been done even if EK isn't traded now.

 

[Benjamin]

Im sorry for not shopping at Sears more often. I'm a bad customer for letting that greatly run business fail. If only I had kept buying more and more overpriced pants I don't need so that they could invest bringing their business model out of the 90's. I should never have bought the same quality of pants at Winners for significantly less.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Im sorry for not shopping at Sears more often. I'm a bad customer for letting that greatly run business fail. If only I had kept buying more and more overpriced pants I don't need so that they could invest bringing their business model out of the 90's. I should never have bought the same quality of pants at Winners for significantly less.

Are you saying you never went and saw the softer side of sears?

 

[Stylizer1]

It's unanimous, no rally for the Sens.

 

[coladin]

Revenues have hovered around the 15-20 mark for the last few years.

At no point in those years did I see this team spend and commit, just empty promises about spending when the time is right. This is while teams that were on par or below the Sens did.

And yet the debtload somehow inexplicably increases...

 

[Zorf]

Do I love having a NHL team in Ottawa? Yes.

Do I want to support an owner who has zero interest in having a competitive team? No.

You guys worrying that Euge will move the team are nuts. He's up to his nipples in debt. You think any lender will finance the hundreds of millions he'd need to relocate?

Plus, he makes his money owning the rink. You think he'd get even more financing to build a $500m rink?

C'mon guys. It's such an empty tnreat for him to move the team unless he's willing to absolutely destroy his wealth just to appease his ego.

 

[Zorf]

You want fans to rally around the team? I bet the STH base goes from a laughably bad 6,000 right now to 11,000 in the first month after the sale happens.

 

[coladin]

To add to this, I'll point out that the revenues were there when Alfredsson wasn't re-signed. Between that fact and the repeated demonstration of a will to cut costs, I'm wondering why, @coladin, you expect fans to pay the same amount – if not more – for a product that's very visibly decreasing in quality. You're engaging in a pretty weak argument: that the fans should pay so the team can retain its talent. And yet, by most accounts and for most fans, the protests and upset is coming because the team is trading its talent. This isn't a "chicken or egg" argument, it's pretty cause-and-effect driven. But unfortunately for Mr. Melnyk, the damage has been done even if EK isn't traded now.

Attendance has been decreasing even with Karlsson. Last year took it to a whole new level. He stated that he has cut everything to the bone and that at some point he will have to tie revenues to salaries, as that was the only place he didn't go. Well, he went there. And he will continue to do so. So , the "product" will have to rely on the youth movement. Stars will leave, always. So, no need to get attached to any player , oops, I mean these "products", just like your bananas and oranges, as they are the same category now, have a shelf life.

We are not fans in Ottawa, we are all customers. Let's stick with customers from now on as then it all makes more sense.

 

[Zorf]

It probably goes even higher if Alfredsson is the lead and they sign EK

 

[coladin]

Do I love having a NHL team in Ottawa? Yes.

Do I want to support an owner who has zero interest in having a competitive team? No.

You guys worrying that Euge will move the team are nuts. He's up to his nipples in debt. You think any lender will finance the hundreds of millions he'd need to relocate?

Plus, he makes his money owning the rink. You think he'd get even more financing to build a $500m rink?

C'mon guys. It's such an empty tnreat for him to move the team unless he's willing to absolutely destroy his wealth just to appease his ego.

He may not move the team, but what will be left of the team will not be very appealing, one would think. We will be the farm team for the other 30 teams. It will not be what fans want. Maybe customers will like it.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Give me ownership and management I have trust in and I’ll gladly pay more than the current price.

Even if tickets were $5 a piece, I wouldn’t give money to this tool.

He would only be getting $2.50 of that ticket, the players get the other $2.50.

So I guess you don't trust the players either?

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

It’s funny how Melnyk defenders are against talking about the team like a traditional business when Melnyk himself used the grocery store analogy.

What are you talking about ...... I've done it many times?

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Attendance has been decreasing even with Karlsson. Last year took it to a whole new level. He stated that he has cut everything to the bone and that at some point he will have to tie revenues to salaries, as that was the only place he didn't go. Well, he went there. And he will continue to do so. So , the "product" will have to rely on the youth movement. Stars will leave, always. So, no need to get attached to any player , oops, I mean these "products", just like your bananas and oranges, as they are the same category now, have a shelf life.

We are not fans in Ottawa, we are all customers. Let's stick with customers from now on as then it all makes more sense.

We ARE customers, though. I know you mean it in a disparaging kind of way, but that's the reality of the industry. It's an industry that relies on more than just brand loyalty, but more of a rabid die-hard fanaticism. It's how teams manage to keep drawing gate even when the product is less successful. It takes a special kind of skill to eliminate that rabid fanaticism from the equation. Even Cleveland Browns fans still show up to games, for crying out loud. But for better or worse, the Senators have done that with a reasonable portion of its fanbase.

Speaking for myself, I will forever be a fan of the Senators. I will not be a customer of Eugene Melnyk's.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

You make it seem like the anti-Melnyk people are in the minority here.

They are.

There was only 439 people who funded the Billboards ......... that's a minority.

 

[coladin]

We ARE customers, though. I know you mean it in a disparaging kind of way, but that's the reality of the industry. It's an industry that relies on more than just brand loyalty, but more of a rabid die-hard fanaticism. It's how teams manage to keep drawing gate even when the product is less successful. It takes a special kind of skill to eliminate that rabid fanaticism from the equation. Even Cleveland Browns fans still show up to games, for crying out loud. But for better or worse, the Senators have done that with a reasonable portion of its fanbase.

Speaking for myself, I will forever be a fan of the Senators. I will not be a customer of Eugene Melnyk's.

Yes, fanaticism. That is sorely lacking in this city and hope the next generation will be bring new energy and passion. Not a good start for kids to see Karlsson leave, though. Customers will never buy hockey tickets. If I acted as a customer, or treated hockey as being a customer, I wouldn't blame anyone for not going. Team gets shutout? I would be at the customer service counter getting a refund. But we know this is not reality, and therein lies the whole customer/product argument. This business model is not conducive to that model. It is a f***ed up model, for sure. But many are slaves to it because of the passion they have for the game.

Face it, the only product with a sports edge out there that everyone will like is the Harlem Globetrotters, because they always win.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

We ARE customers, though. I know you mean it in a disparaging kind of way, but that's the reality of the industry. It's an industry that relies on more than just brand loyalty, but more of a rabid die-hard fanaticism. It's how teams manage to keep drawing gate even when the product is less successful. It takes a special kind of skill to eliminate that rabid fanaticism from the equation. Even Cleveland Browns fans still show up to games, for crying out loud. But for better or worse, the Senators have done that with a reasonable portion of its fanbase.

Speaking for myself, I will forever be a fan of the Senators. I will not be a customer of Eugene Melnyk's.

Lets not compare a terrible NFL franchise to the Senators.
The Browns turn millions in profit, without having to sell one single ticket to any games.
The Senators depend heavily on ticket sales, as they are still the largest source of revenue for the team.

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Yes, fanaticism. That is sorely lacking in this city and hope the next generation will be bring new energy and passion. Not a good start for kids to see Karlsson leave, though. Customers will never buy hockey tickets. If I acted as a customer, or treated hockey as being a customer, I wouldn't blame anyone for not going. Team gets shutout? I would be at the customer service counter getting a refund. But we know this is not reality, and therein lies the whole customer/product argument. This business model is not conducive to that model. It is a ****ed up model, for sure. But many are slaves to it because of the passion they have for the game.

Face it, the only product with a sports edge out there that everyone will like is the Harlem Globetrotters, because they always win.

This generation has plenty of energy and passion. It's not being directed in the direction of the team for fairly self-evident reasons.

Let me paint you a picture: I've been a fan of the team for as long as I've been able to understand the word 'hockey.' I have vivid memories of my first ever live hockey game: December 23, 2002. 2-2 tie against the Flyers. I remember the really small details, like how huge the arena seemed, how deafening the roars were, how fast the players seemed... and I was hooked. I did school projects on Martin Havlat. The first website I built was a blue-text-on-neon-yellow monstrosity that also served as an ode to Patrick Lalime. My school notebooks were full of player names and numbers written from memory. And sketches of the team's logo (even though I was never a good drawer.) And as I grew up and had more money to spend on the team, I did. I went to every single playoff game in the Montreal series a few years back. I went to every home game in the most recent playoff run minus one, and made up for that one with a game in Pittsburgh. I've been to games in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montreal and Buffalo. I had a season ticket package last season that I shared with a friend.

Going to games and spending money doesn't make you a better or worse fan – it's not HOW you love something, but rather THAT you love something. But do you see any efforts from the team to build that fanaticism moving forward? Because I don't. If I were to look at the team through the lens of a child trying to get into hockey, I'd see a team that's routinely laughed at or whose decisions are constantly called dumb by people who seem to know what they're talking about. I'd see a game experience that, yeah, is probably still impressive and exciting for a first-timer – but one that gets old pretty quickly. I'd see all my favourite players being moved out repeatedly. And then I'd look across Ontario and I'd see a team that's got a lot of established young talent, that keeps trying to improve its roster, and that plays a fun and exciting brand of hockey.

As a kid who's really interested in hockey and wanting to cheer for a team I like, where's my motivation to cheer for the hometown team? Especially once Karlsson's gone?

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Owner claims he’s poor and can’t make any money, yet won’t rebrand the team with the old 2D logo and colors, which would be an instant cash cow influx to the team.

He’s a moron.

 

[Upgrayedd]

You want fans to rally around the team? I bet the STH base goes from a laughably bad 6,000 right now to 11,000 in the first month after the sale happens.

They managed another 1k STH's?

When I made what has quickly become one of the best decisions I have made in the last 5-10 years of cancelling my season seats in March they were at the 5k mark.

Appreciate the posts blaming the fans in here, I needed that long long long belly laugh today!

 

[Benjamin]

He may not move the team, but what will be left of the team will not be very appealing, one would think. We will be the farm team for the other 30 teams. It will not be what fans want. Maybe customers will like it.

Expand on the bold?