keeping the faith...
Posted 11:01 PM ET | Comments 1
I have struggled long and hard to write this. These guys, players and owners alike, are tugging at my heart strings. Amid the busi-ness my wife and I choose to live, hockey is still my passion, and she respects this. And so I am thankful, as there is no other game or sport that even comes close to to the great game of hockey, and there is no other wife for me as well, lol.
Please know that even though I hail from the great US hockey city of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania... WAY better than Pilly, by the way... my hesitation in finally writing what I'm about to write comes from my humble respect for the awesome citizens and fans of Canada, the bastien of the greatest game on planet Earth. I mean, after all, what does some guy in Pittsburgh know, right?? All I know is one of my all time favorite hockey moments was watching, and listening to the Edmonton Oilers fans sing from their hearts "Oh Canada' before a Stanley Cup finals game a few years back. Wow. Incredible anthem to begin with, but my goodness, what a stirring rendition that was. I will remember it always. And I think I speak for many crazed hockey fans here in Pittsburgh when I say, "we thank you for Mario, we thank you for Sid, and we thank you for all that your game has brought to our wonderful city." We are truly indebted to you.
But what I have to ultimately get off my shoulders is this... and please excuse me if someone has already written something similar... I do not mean to steal your thunder...
But these guys, owners and players alike, are NOT only tugging at my heart strings, but they're pissing me off, too. (hope I'm allowed to write that) While I am truly a free-markets kind of guy, I think if you can't somehow settle on dividing up about $3 billion dollars in revenue, then there is something seriously wrong. And I happen to believe that in not being able to divvy up so much cash, then these two groups of stubborn fellows need to begin to consider this is no longer a two-party battle. Actually, it HAS been a three-party battle all along... problem is, this third party has been completely ignored throughout the battle.
This unrecognized third party is the fans. Yes, the fans... remember US? And maybe this unnoticed position we, the third party... the fans... find ourselves in, is because we have stayed relatively quiet throughout this stupid debacle. Me and the guys at work? We don't even talk about it much any more. And I can tell you that any 'good' news that does come out is met with IMMEDIATE speculation, and then not much else.
But I want the other two parties to know something... I (we) will still get our hockey fix... NHL or no NHL. Living in Pittsburgh, we're less than two hours away from Wheeling WV, Erie and Johnstown PA, and Cleveland OH, where we can take in more AHL, ECHL and NAHL games this year to get our fix. And I myself am fortunate enough to have found an awesome bunch of guys to share the ice with on Friday nights here, to play our own game of hockey, which this group has been doing for almost 20 years.
Sure, we already miss the NHL, but we WILL move on without ya.
My plans are this... I will be stepping back my support of the NHL and its players by switching from watching games on tv, to listening to them on radio. This will be my protest. No, I don't get to go to many games, but I have watched every Penguins game on tv, and as many other NHL games as I can find time for. I am blessed by having the legendary Mike Lange call the games on radio, so all is not surely lost. And I would humbly ask the great fans of the game in the great country of Canada to join me.
I have considered reviewing my tv subscription, to save some cash by letting go of the NHL Network too, but in a strange sort of way, I kinda feel badly for them, as they are REALLY trying to fill time these days. By the way, what ever happened to 'The Tournament'? They could fill some time with that, and maybe even get us fans to chuckle a little... awesome show!
I appreciate the opportunity to vent here... please join me in stepping down your support of the NHL, as much as you can possibly stand. Please know that switching fro m tv to radio to follow my beloved Penguins will be VERY difficult for me. But I feel it is something I must do. We the fans have been hung out to dry, and there really is no other way to look at this entire mess.
My heart strings are about to break, but I will carry on.
Please know that even though I hail from the great US hockey city of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania... WAY better than Pilly, by the way... my hesitation in finally writing what I'm about to write comes from my humble respect for the awesome citizens and fans of Canada, the bastien of the greatest game on planet Earth. I mean, after all, what does some guy in Pittsburgh know, right?? All I know is one of my all time favorite hockey moments was watching, and listening to the Edmonton Oilers fans sing from their hearts "Oh Canada' before a Stanley Cup finals game a few years back. Wow. Incredible anthem to begin with, but my goodness, what a stirring rendition that was. I will remember it always. And I think I speak for many crazed hockey fans here in Pittsburgh when I say, "we thank you for Mario, we thank you for Sid, and we thank you for all that your game has brought to our wonderful city." We are truly indebted to you.
But what I have to ultimately get off my shoulders is this... and please excuse me if someone has already written something similar... I do not mean to steal your thunder...
But these guys, owners and players alike, are NOT only tugging at my heart strings, but they're pissing me off, too. (hope I'm allowed to write that) While I am truly a free-markets kind of guy, I think if you can't somehow settle on dividing up about $3 billion dollars in revenue, then there is something seriously wrong. And I happen to believe that in not being able to divvy up so much cash, then these two groups of stubborn fellows need to begin to consider this is no longer a two-party battle. Actually, it HAS been a three-party battle all along... problem is, this third party has been completely ignored throughout the battle.
This unrecognized third party is the fans. Yes, the fans... remember US? And maybe this unnoticed position we, the third party... the fans... find ourselves in, is because we have stayed relatively quiet throughout this stupid debacle. Me and the guys at work? We don't even talk about it much any more. And I can tell you that any 'good' news that does come out is met with IMMEDIATE speculation, and then not much else.
But I want the other two parties to know something... I (we) will still get our hockey fix... NHL or no NHL. Living in Pittsburgh, we're less than two hours away from Wheeling WV, Erie and Johnstown PA, and Cleveland OH, where we can take in more AHL, ECHL and NAHL games this year to get our fix. And I myself am fortunate enough to have found an awesome bunch of guys to share the ice with on Friday nights here, to play our own game of hockey, which this group has been doing for almost 20 years.
Sure, we already miss the NHL, but we WILL move on without ya.
My plans are this... I will be stepping back my support of the NHL and its players by switching from watching games on tv, to listening to them on radio. This will be my protest. No, I don't get to go to many games, but I have watched every Penguins game on tv, and as many other NHL games as I can find time for. I am blessed by having the legendary Mike Lange call the games on radio, so all is not surely lost. And I would humbly ask the great fans of the game in the great country of Canada to join me.
I have considered reviewing my tv subscription, to save some cash by letting go of the NHL Network too, but in a strange sort of way, I kinda feel badly for them, as they are REALLY trying to fill time these days. By the way, what ever happened to 'The Tournament'? They could fill some time with that, and maybe even get us fans to chuckle a little... awesome show!
I appreciate the opportunity to vent here... please join me in stepping down your support of the NHL, as much as you can possibly stand. Please know that switching fro m tv to radio to follow my beloved Penguins will be VERY difficult for me. But I feel it is something I must do. We the fans have been hung out to dry, and there really is no other way to look at this entire mess.
My heart strings are about to break, but I will carry on.
October 19, 2012 11:11 PM ET
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