Bbug
Acrobat
The problem is, the NHL is an American league. It's headquarters are in New York, and the US is a much larger and potentially more profitable market for the sport. All you have to do is look at population numbers: US=300 million, Canada= 30 million. Any business is going to take that into account. The NHL could get MUCH more in revenue from US TV deals than from those in Canada. Cities like Winnipeg and Quebec really aren't big enough to sustain a franchise without some kind of revenue sharing between all 30 teams, and owners like Jeremy Jacobs (And I SWEAR I am never watching another B's game again, d'you hear me Jerry?) will never go for that. The way the owners' side is right now, a proposal can be blocked by Bettman and only 8 other owners-- it doesn't have to be a majority.
It would be great to see cities like Winnipeg and Quebec, and maybe even somewhere in the Maritimes, get teams. But the way the owners are looking at things, it just won't happen. The NFL and MLB, as I understand it, both have sort of redistribution policies that allow for greater parity among have and have-not teams. Assbags like Jacobs just want to get their couple million in extra revenue from the first round of the playoffs, and are content to go home. They don't care about winning, they don't care about the sport, and the last people they think about are the fans. The price of tickets, also, has NOTHING TO DO with the cost of paying players. It's simple supply and demand; in good markets for hockey, like Boston or Montreal, they KNOW that people will scrape together enough to see a couple games a year. They know that parents are going to spend a week's pay on tickets, parking, and programs for their hockey-loving kid's birthday or Christmas present.
Everyone's portraying this whole stupid mess as being the fault of the players, but it's not all on their shoulders. I feel that the irresponsibility and shortsightedness of many of the owners is going to continue holding hockey back for years to come, even if they do agree to something sometime next week.
ladywithspinninghead I think Don Cherry is letting his love for his country blind him a little, and maybe looking at this too simplistically. I've been in Canada off and on for the past 5 years (student) and I love it here and want to stay; I kind of have a handle on how important hockey is to Canadians, especially after listening to 90 billion lectures on the Summit Series and Canadian Identity. And I have to say, I wish more Canadians would support the hockey that goes on here exclusively. For example, before this season, the team at my university (we're kind of apathetic nerds here, but still) hadn't sold out a regular season game in years. I mean, okay, it's not exactly NHL caliber, but it's still good hockey. And until the lockout, no one but really old men, student politicians, and maybe 50 other people were showing up.
It would be great to see cities like Winnipeg and Quebec, and maybe even somewhere in the Maritimes, get teams. But the way the owners are looking at things, it just won't happen. The NFL and MLB, as I understand it, both have sort of redistribution policies that allow for greater parity among have and have-not teams. Assbags like Jacobs just want to get their couple million in extra revenue from the first round of the playoffs, and are content to go home. They don't care about winning, they don't care about the sport, and the last people they think about are the fans. The price of tickets, also, has NOTHING TO DO with the cost of paying players. It's simple supply and demand; in good markets for hockey, like Boston or Montreal, they KNOW that people will scrape together enough to see a couple games a year. They know that parents are going to spend a week's pay on tickets, parking, and programs for their hockey-loving kid's birthday or Christmas present.
Everyone's portraying this whole stupid mess as being the fault of the players, but it's not all on their shoulders. I feel that the irresponsibility and shortsightedness of many of the owners is going to continue holding hockey back for years to come, even if they do agree to something sometime next week.
ladywithspinninghead I think Don Cherry is letting his love for his country blind him a little, and maybe looking at this too simplistically. I've been in Canada off and on for the past 5 years (student) and I love it here and want to stay; I kind of have a handle on how important hockey is to Canadians, especially after listening to 90 billion lectures on the Summit Series and Canadian Identity. And I have to say, I wish more Canadians would support the hockey that goes on here exclusively. For example, before this season, the team at my university (we're kind of apathetic nerds here, but still) hadn't sold out a regular season game in years. I mean, okay, it's not exactly NHL caliber, but it's still good hockey. And until the lockout, no one but really old men, student politicians, and maybe 50 other people were showing up.
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I'm not saying that to be difficult, I was just getting a little confused there for a minute because I thought you were referring to the team, the Montreal Canadiens, not the people of Canada in general.
