State of Acceptance

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A Good Flying Bird*

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Alright, I don't remember all the stages of grief, but I know that they include denial, anger and acceptance. Probably sadness too.

But with the demise of the NHL, somehow I never experienced much sadness.
Lots of anger, oh yeah. Even some denial (although the league made it very tough for me accept that the season was over, so maybe it wasn't true denial.)

But recently, in the last few days, I've stumbled upon something else.
Acceptance.

I come to the board here once or twice a day. I glance over the titles. And nothing interests me. I just cant muster the passion to keep getting into it with the pro-owner lunks. It's not because I don't disagree with them. It's because I just don't care.

After the last negotiating session fell apart, I angrily stated that the NHL could fold, for all I care.
When I posted such things, I knew that it was just my anger talking. That I really didn't mean it. That of course I'd return happily to my NHL when the owners and players came to their senses.

But now I'm not so sure. I live in Ann Arbor, the home of U of M and the USA NTDP teams. I can't go more than three nights without getting the chance to watch some quality hockey at an affordable price.
Besides, I'm the ironman of Dek hockey in my area of michigan, having played in 210 of 214 games on teams in four different divisions over the past year.

I realize that I didn't love the NHL. I love hockey. Yeah, I'll miss the Wings. Yeah, It would be nice to be watching Datsyuk and Zetterberg while giving Yzerman the sendoff he so much deserves.
But I can't do anything about that.
So I really don't care.
And I'm starting to wonder how much I will care if and when the NHL ever sorts out its mess.
 

BLONG7

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You are a true fan, and most of the guys n gals on this board feel much the same way...after sitting back and thinking about it, I came to realize that there are fans out there who care for the NHL more than the people who are on both sides of this dispute, players vs owners...For fans there is an emotional attachment to the game...for the owners there are a few that have that attachment, and players like JR have it, although guys like JR a few and far between(I am not a JR fan, just appreciate his emotion and honesty) Bob Goodenow has made these guys realize it is a business, and their emotions have to take a back seat, which is very unfortunate, because it their emotions that used to set them apart from other pro athletes...This whole mess is a real pi$$ off, and has tarnished the NHL forever, and the players and owners of this time have to share the blame...now if they could only figure out how to share the $$$$.
 

don

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Aug 31, 2002
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Agree

BLONG7 said:
the players and owners of this time have to share the blame...now if they could only figure out how to share the $$$$.

The owners created the mess but I hold the players responsible for letting things reach this point. The part that really burns my butt is that most of the high priced players are playing in other leagues for much less money than they probably would have made under the proposal made by the owners. They're not really suffering from the lost wages and really don't care about the domino effect they caused by taking a lesser skilled players spot on a roster. They have proven to me that (credit Gee Wally), "it's all about the money".
 

Injektilo

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I was thinking about this the other week, and I came to the conclusion that the only way I could ever return to following the game closely enough that I actually go to games would be if the NHL made some sort of effort improve the integrity of the game (for lack of a better term) or if it happened naturally.

I remember thinking a year ago or so that the NHL was so messed up as it is that maybe it needed to die a little in certain areas in order to give it the impeteus to improve in others, and this was probably the only way it was gonna happen.

Now I'm worried about what they'll do to keep trying to attract those markets where people seem to keep showing that they don't care about hockey, and in fact care even less than they did six or seven years ago....
 

Drury_Sakic

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Jul 25, 2003
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Yeah,

Being A SoCal located fan...

I can tell everyone not to worry about the Kings...

and the Ducks should do OK post lockout under new managment..

Point being, there is no other real form of alternative hockey for us.. and there are lots of hockey fans down here regardless of what the media spins...so when the NHL comes back, we will flock in droves to see the game we love, not so much the NHL.

:teach:

But I am starting to worry about the "traditional markets"..


I flew up to North Dakota last week... First night I was there I saw Denver vs. UMD on TV plus another College game(don't remember who). Each night after there was at least one hockey game on TV in some various form.

What happens when those markets get the game back. They won't
"miss" the game like non-hockey areas will have.

In the end I guess it depends on how the ticket prices are really... IMO, the NHL should almost give away tickets next season, even if alot of teams take pre-lockout like losses for just one more year... Fill the rinks every night, then increase the ticket prices the next season to what will be post-lockout normal levels.. Get people back to the game..
 

Gary Buttman

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Feb 21, 2005
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I agree...I love hockey. But living in Maryland, the only hockey we ever get are the Caps games locally and the ESPN/ABC/NBC games on nationally.

I'm just upset because I won't get to watch hockey at any level. The NHL is the only real level we have here, and that's gone.
 

Murphy*

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Newsguyone said:
Alright, I don't remember all the stages of grief, but I know that they include denial, anger and acceptance. Probably sadness too.

But with the demise of the NHL, somehow I never experienced much sadness.
Lots of anger, oh yeah. Even some denial (although the league made it very tough for me accept that the season was over, so maybe it wasn't true denial.)

But recently, in the last few days, I've stumbled upon something else.
Acceptance.

I come to the board here once or twice a day. I glance over the titles. And nothing interests me. I just cant muster the passion to keep getting into it with the pro-owner lunks. It's not because I don't disagree with them. It's because I just don't care.

After the last negotiating session fell apart, I angrily stated that the NHL could fold, for all I care.
When I posted such things, I knew that it was just my anger talking. That I really didn't mean it. That of course I'd return happily to my NHL when the owners and players came to their senses.

But now I'm not so sure. I live in Ann Arbor, the home of U of M and the USA NTDP teams. I can't go more than three nights without getting the chance to watch some quality hockey at an affordable price.
Besides, I'm the ironman of Dek hockey in my area of michigan, having played in 210 of 214 games on teams in four different divisions over the past year.

I realize that I didn't love the NHL. I love hockey. Yeah, I'll miss the Wings. Yeah, It would be nice to be watching Datsyuk and Zetterberg while giving Yzerman the sendoff he so much deserves.
But I can't do anything about that.
So I really don't care.
And I'm starting to wonder how much I will care if and when the NHL ever sorts out its mess.

And this is when we welcome you to The Lounge.
 

Meanashell11

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Newsguyone said:
Alright, I don't remember all the stages of grief, but I know that they include denial, anger and acceptance. Probably sadness too.

But with the demise of the NHL, somehow I never experienced much sadness.
Lots of anger, oh yeah. Even some denial (although the league made it very tough for me accept that the season was over, so maybe it wasn't true denial.)

But recently, in the last few days, I've stumbled upon something else.
Acceptance.

I come to the board here once or twice a day. I glance over the titles. And nothing interests me. I just cant muster the passion to keep getting into it with the pro-owner lunks. It's not because I don't disagree with them. It's because I just don't care.

After the last negotiating session fell apart, I angrily stated that the NHL could fold, for all I care.
When I posted such things, I knew that it was just my anger talking. That I really didn't mean it. That of course I'd return happily to my NHL when the owners and players came to their senses.

But now I'm not so sure. I live in Ann Arbor, the home of U of M and the USA NTDP teams. I can't go more than three nights without getting the chance to watch some quality hockey at an affordable price.
Besides, I'm the ironman of Dek hockey in my area of michigan, having played in 210 of 214 games on teams in four different divisions over the past year.

I realize that I didn't love the NHL. I love hockey. Yeah, I'll miss the Wings. Yeah, It would be nice to be watching Datsyuk and Zetterberg while giving Yzerman the sendoff he so much deserves.
But I can't do anything about that.
So I really don't care.
And I'm starting to wonder how much I will care if and when the NHL ever sorts out its mess.


Must have been when you were going through the anger phase that you blamed it on the small market teams and said you hope us small market fans lose our team...
:shakehead
 

Otter

Registered User
I totally agree with the original post on this thread. Acceptance is going well for me. I play hockey a couple times a week and I am plenty busy without the NHL.

Buttman, go check out a Junior Caps game sometime. I think they play homes games in Laurel or somewhere around there (I haven't been in a while). But those kids on that level play some intense hockey with some dramatic hitting. Defenitely worth the price. Did I mention it is free? =D (it may be a couple bucks. I don't recall)

Hockey good, NHL bad. ....especially when they come back dumbed down with a shootout so they can replace fans with simpletons.
 

Benji Frank

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Feb 27, 2002
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This is nothing. You should have seen the emotions when the Jets left several years ago. You'd think the city was going to die the way everyone here reacted ... by fall we had closure & the city was still alive. They're gone, but certainly not forgotten. Now we're the hottest hockey ticket in North America (this winter anyway ... AHL & World Juniors!!!!), and if you were to ask my 7 year old son, you'd think Jason King was on the verge of breaking all of Gretzky's records!!! :D
 

nyrmessier011

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Feb 9, 2005
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Gary Buttman said:
I agree...I love hockey. But living in Maryland, the only hockey we ever get are the Caps games locally and the ESPN/ABC/NBC games on nationally.

I'm just upset because I won't get to watch hockey at any level. The NHL is the only real level we have here, and that's gone.


same with new jersey where i live and the bronx, NY where i go to school (fordham)...there's just nothing...the only thing for me is college on FSNY which is very rare and hartford wolfpack on msg once a month to see some of my beloved rangers...i wish i lived some where that i could see some puck everyday...but for me and others in NJ/NY, it's just web-sites and HFBoards...both of which are ruining my life...im not sure what else to do :banghead: the story gets better.

the worst part is that i was going to go to school in New england, but at the last second i realized that the rangers were too big a part of my life (have seen almost every single game since i was 5--a family tradition), so i decided to stay near home so i could watch. Now look what happened, if i was in boston, chances are i would have been happier with my hockey situation (BU/BC/other college games). Maybe if Bettman was never commissioner I wouldn't have run into this problem...or maybe if i had a crystal ball to see this was going to happen for a long time i would have just went to new england...or maybe, if i just opened my eyes and faced reality last year, i wouldn't have wasted a year and maybe more, at my #2 choice school.
 

Icey

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Jan 23, 2005
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Benji Frank said:
This is nothing. You should have seen the emotions when the Jets left several years ago. You'd think the city was going to die the way everyone here reacted ... by fall we had closure & the city was still alive. They're gone, but certainly not forgotten. Now we're the hottest hockey ticket in North America (this winter anyway ... AHL & World Juniors!!!!), and if you were to ask my 7 year old son, you'd think Jason King was on the verge of breaking all of Gretzky's records!!! :D


Kind of funny you wrote about this because I was thinking about this exact thing today in the car. I grew up in Winnipeg and remember the Jets leaving town like it was yesterday. I remember it was the worst feeling I ever had. It was so sad because it didn't have to happen, and sorry to all you Bettman supporters, but it happened because Gary let it happen. But even sitting in the arena that last night and watching them all skate around, knowing we would never see them again as Jets. It's was sad. But as spring turned into fall, life somehow went on without the Jets. The boys had all sold their homes and moved to Phoenix.

But I never hated the NHL for it (I hated Bettman for doing nothing, but the league it self I never hated). I never felt like I do right now , which is I could give 2 craps if the NHL ever played again. I hate the NHL so much. And even if they do, I don't know if I'll have the interest in watching them.

Do I really want to hear 30 owners telling us fans how they had to lock the players out for us. Do I really want to hear them tell us how they had to stand their ground so they could fix the game once and for all, so all 30 team could compete and again this was done for us. I don't want to hear about the players who are forced into retirement because they refuse to play for the lower salaries. I don't want to hear about the players who will feel the need to tell everyone how right they were and how wrong the owners were. Because the bottom line is neither the owners, the league or the players give two craps about the fans. Both sides care only about themselves and winning and nothing more. If they did, we would be playing hockey right now. There is plenty of blame to go around on both sides.

I've since moved from Winnipeg to the States. I am a season ticket holder and a closet Coyote fan. I will always love the Jets and I treasure my Jets memorabilla, but nothing has given me greater pleasure than watching the city of Winnipeg embrace hockey again. It has sprung that city back to life. Most of my family still lives there and hear the excitment in their voices when they talk about hockey again, just makes me smile.

So if the NHL does return, they will need to show me a reason why I should also return. I have no interest in watching a bunch of NHL wannabe's play as replacement players. I have no interst watching a bunch of guys who aren't good enough to play in the NHL all the sudden make the team because the best players aren't there. I have no interest in paying NHL ticket prices to watch this.

The AHL is the top farm team for the NHL, but it is nowheres near the level the NHL is, but even many of those players would not be allowed as replacement players. I watch the NHL because I want to watch the BEST players in the world compete against each other in the BEST league in the world and I am not convinced the new NHL will be that.

So in the meantime, my life has gone on. Like the City of Winnipeg in 1996, I have had my closure. And if the NHL ceases to exist as we all knew it, then so be it. It was fun, but like everything else, I will find something to replace it.
 

nyrmessier011

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Feb 9, 2005
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Icey said:
Kind of funny you wrote about this because I was thinking about this exact thing today in the car. I grew up in Winnipeg and remember the Jets leaving town like it was yesterday. I remember it was the worst feeling I ever had. It was so sad because it didn't have to happen, and sorry to all you Bettman supporters, but it happened because Gary let it happen. But even sitting in the arena that last night and watching them all skate around, knowing we would never see them again as Jets. It's was sad. But as spring turned into fall, life somehow went on without the Jets. The boys had all sold their homes and moved to Phoenix.

But I never hated the NHL for it (I hated Bettman for doing nothing, but the league it self I never hated). I never felt like I do right now , which is I could give 2 craps if the NHL ever played again. I hate the NHL so much. And even if they do, I don't know if I'll have the interest in watching them.

Do I really want to hear 30 owners telling us fans how they had to lock the players out for us. Do I really want to hear them tell us how they had to stand their ground so they could fix the game once and for all, so all 30 team could compete and again this was done for us. I don't want to hear about the players who are forced into retirement because they refuse to play for the lower salaries. I don't want to hear about the players who will feel the need to tell everyone how right they were and how wrong the owners were. Because the bottom line is neither the owners, the league or the players give two craps about the fans. Both sides care only about themselves and winning and nothing more. If they did, we would be playing hockey right now. There is plenty of blame to go around on both sides.

I've since moved from Winnipeg to the States. I am a season ticket holder and a closet Coyote fan. I will always love the Jets and I treasure my Jets memorabilla, but nothing has given me greater pleasure than watching the city of Winnipeg embrace hockey again. It has sprung that city back to life. Most of my family still lives there and hear the excitment in their voices when they talk about hockey again, just makes me smile.

So if the NHL does return, they will need to show me a reason why I should also return. I have no interest in watching a bunch of NHL wannabe's play as replacement players. I have no interst watching a bunch of guys who aren't good enough to play in the NHL all the sudden make the team because the best players aren't there. I have no interest in paying NHL ticket prices to watch this.

The AHL is the top farm team for the NHL, but it is nowheres near the level the NHL is, but even many of those players would not be allowed as replacement players. I watch the NHL because I want to watch the BEST players in the world compete against each other in the BEST league in the world and I am not convinced the new NHL will be that.

So in the meantime, my life has gone on. Like the City of Winnipeg in 1996, I have had my closure. And if the NHL ceases to exist as we all knew it, then so be it. It was fun, but like everything else, I will find something to replace it.



well said, but a quick question...did you move to arizona because the jets moved there?
 

Injektilo

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Scugs said:
It's a flat out lie... Just like the players when they say "If the NHL runs a salary cap then I won't play."


I dunno.... I really worry about what the marketing heads will come up with to try to win back fans, and more specifically, which fans they're going to target. I already had trouble taking the NHL seriously because of the various payroll discrepencies and how some teams just couldn't compete simply because of money issues, and I know this is supposed to solve that, but I worry that if any of that remains AND the league goes out of it's way to embarass itself by selling itself to the people who have proven time and again that they just don't care about the game... well, i worry that the NHL could become a real joke to anyone who follows it because they respect what it is, that it's more than a professional sports league. Or was anyway. I can see myself falling away from it pretty easily, and I'm even more obsessed with hockey now than I was a year ago.


sorry about the structure of that, it just came out as I thought of it.
 

dvaske

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Newsguyone said:
I live in Ann Arbor, the home of U of M and the USA NTDP teams. I can't go more than three nights without getting the chance to watch some quality hockey at an affordable price.
This is what the PA needs to understand. Its the scoring, the hits, the fights, and most of all the PASSION we come to see. Now, the best in the world may do one of the first three mariginally better, or a half second faster, but the last item ussually comes from the 3rd & 4th line players who make 1/10 the salary. It's that infectious passion the game brings out that has the entire crowd chanting for 20 minutes of overtime, or pounding on the glass on a bad call.
I think its the best sport in the world to watch wether its college kids in the bean pot or seasoned pros so long as I see the passsion on the ice I could care less whether the shots are coming at 98 mph or 89 mph. So I'll take the "lesser" players at 1/2 the ticket price and have just as much fun, and have just as much love for my team and the game.
I realize that I didn't love the NHL. I love hockey.
Ditto
 

Icey

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nyrmessier011 said:
well said, but a quick question...did you move to arizona because the jets moved there?

I don't live in Arizona and that's why I'm a closet Coyote fan. But no, I moved 2 years after they left for Phoenix because I was offereda wonderful job opportunity that I couldn't turn down. It gives me a better way of life than I would ever have been able to have in Winnipeg.
 

Icey

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futurcorerock said:
now, i question those posters who say they'll never watch NHL again...

Never said I wouldn't watch again, rather I said the NHL will need to prove why I should come back. I have poured thousands and thousands of dollars into tickets over the last 15+, and what I received in return this year was a lock out. I understand why it happened, but it doesn't mean I like it or even support it.

Problem is the league think we are such devoted fans that we will all flock back to the arenas when the league is back, no matter who is on the ice. And at least in my case, that isn't going to happen. As a season ticket holder they had better be offering me a very sweet deal, considering my money has helped fund this lockout.

If the players who played last season are back, then so will I, but should they go the route of replacement players, sorry but don't count me in. I have no interest in seeing a bunch of NHL wannabes that couldn't make the league if the best players were there.
 

vanlady

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Icey said:
Never said I wouldn't watch again, rather I said the NHL will need to prove why I should come back. I have poured thousands and thousands of dollars into tickets over the last 15+, and what I received in return this year was a lock out. I understand why it happened, but it doesn't mean I like it or even support it.

Problem is the league think we are such devoted fans that we will all flock back to the arenas when the league is back, no matter who is on the ice. And at least in my case, that isn't going to happen. As a season ticket holder they had better be offering me a very sweet deal, considering my money has helped fund this lockout.

If the players who played last season are back, then so will I, but should they go the route of replacement players, sorry but don't count me in. I have no interest in seeing a bunch of NHL wannabes that couldn't make the league if the best players were there.

In completely agree. I will never pay $12,000cdn to watch replacements. If the league intends to use replacement players, I have already told our GM that he will lose a season ticket holder.
 

thinkwild

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I share your pain Newsguyone, but it seems more a state of Resignation than Acceptance yet. If Goodenow was right though, its only the end of the 1st period.
 

Pepper

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Aug 30, 2004
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thinkwild said:
I share your pain Newsguyone, but it seems more a state of Resignation than Acceptance yet. If Goodenow was right though, its only the end of the 1st period.

Yeah but Goodenow himself got a game misconduct at the end of 1st period for gross stupidity...
 
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