Yes, but as you say, hockey is big in Denver. How much interest is there all across the US? Sometimes I wonder if the great Bettman dream of expansion into the Southern States was more of a pipe dream than anything. It's almost like they expanded into a market that simply didn't and doesn't exist. Look at all the attendance figures in places like Nashville, Columbus, and Tampa. It's rather depressing. The irony is that expansion drove up salaries, and now the places that truly are hockey hotbed markets are the ones suffering because of it. These problems never existed before expansion into the Southern States. Before 1990, we had "small market" teams like the Edmonton Oilers who could afford to pay several hall of famers. It was a time when the best player in the universe was making a million dollars per year, and everyone else no more than $500,000.
It seems to me the only people who have really benefited from expansion are the players. Even the owners make less now. The fans have to pay exponentially more for tickets, and many of the fans in expansion cities don't like hockey anyway. Bettman has helped create quite the mess. I guess I don't blame him, entirely. He had a vision. That vision - the philosophy of "if we build it, they will come" - might have been right on the mark, as hockey was a great sport at that time. Unfortunately, the steps (that he has been partly involved in) which have been untertaken since then (ie, bringing the nets out from the boards, the trap, etc, etc), have deteriorated the game so much so, that only the most vigilent, loyal, and dedicated fans are now watching the game. It has kind of slipped into a cult status, which is the exact opposite of what Gary Bettman wanted (and still wants, I'm sure). What a pity.
End of rant.
They're both coming off big wins, hoping to build on that momentum. I wonder which one will win? Stay tuned to find out!
Michael you haven't posted in my thread. *hands on hips. How dare you. hmpff
