Many of my friends will find this hard to believe, but I just
cancelled my season ticket for the Nashville Predators. This might seem especially odd in that
the 133 day lockout over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between
the National Hockey League and the players’ union has just been resolved, and
the shortened regular season is about to finally commence.
It takes a lot to shake the hockey out of my system. Even
before the NHL’s arrival, I had seen hundreds of major and minor league games
across the country, and wrote a monthly column on pro hockey marketing in a
national publication for years. As
a member of Mayor Phil Bredesen’s civic committee to research and recommend a
downtown arena, I was one of the few that lobbied hard for the facility to be
fitted for ice hockey. Other cam
around to realizing that the NHL was a much better possibility for an expansion
or relocated franchise than the NBA.
As some of you may know, I’ve been a staunch supporter of
the Preds as a season ticket holder since Day 1 in 1998. In the first ten seasons, I only missed
six games. I was on a first name basis friendship with then-owner Craig Leipold
and attended countless fan relation and marketing meetings. I interacted
regularly with many in the front office.
Along with a few other knuckleheads, I helped create the fan experience
known as Cellblock 303 that helped generate an energy at Preds’ games like none
other in the league. My vocal
histrionics and enthusiasm at the rink watching the Predators encircle
their quarry…their prey, have earned me the monikers of “The Warden,” “The Duke
of Rebuke,” and, most aptly, “Chief Goofball.” Heck, I was even at Bridgestone
a day and a half after heart surgery yelling my head off for the Predators’
Game 5 clincher over the hated Red Wings in Round One of the Stanley Cup
Playoffs last April. There has been little to compare with the fun and pride of
watching this young team develop into strong contenders. So, it is clear that
my loyalty to the Preds has been unwavering.
When the last lockout occurred, which wiped out the entire
2004-2005 season (a first for any major pro league in US sports history), I
kept my money invested in my tickets.
Like most fans, we realized that impasse was necessary for the well being
of the league’s future. Exorbitant
salaries, lack of a salary cap, no profit sharing, etc. needed to be addressed
or the whole system would implode.
In the next seven seasons, due to the positive changes that were
implemented, the NHL’s revenue’s tripled to $3 billion, even in the face of the
big recession. You would think that unprecedented growth would mean that when
the current contract came to a close this past September that there would just
need to be a few minor tweaks to the next CBA and the league could continue its
upward trajectory.
But no…greed reared its ugly head on both the owners and
players union sides, and there were no reasonable compromises brought to bear
on how these multi-millionaires were going to split $3,000,000,000. Hence,
another lengthy shutdown. All the
record-breaking growth of the Predators from last season, including a new
record of 25 sellouts, swelling corporate partnerships, and the highest TV
ratings in their history were put in jeopardy. Not to mention all the restaurateurs,
parking enterprises, and arena employees whose livelihoods were threatened with
all the cancelled games.
So, it is not without considerable consternation and sadness
that I’ve made this decision. I
certainly don’t want to see the Predators franchise fail, but SOMEBODY needs to
get the message that these selfish work stoppages are unacceptable, especially
to we fans who fill those millionaires coffers. And maybe it is just ME that needs to be reminded of
this. When I weigh everything out,
I still can’t get past the ungratefulness of the union and the owners. Nor can I stomach their presumption
that we will blindly return no matter what.
I know of other season ticket holders who are willing to
move forward, and I refuse to be critical of anyone else’s reasoning. If they are at peace with their
decision, that is fine by me. My frustration
is not with my fellow fans.
But I feel I need to make this statement. Perhaps I’ll have a change of heart
once the regular season is complete. Or maybe it will be late in the summer
before I’m ready. Or perhaps
never.
My hope is that the league sees a significant drop in
attendance and revenues this season.
Maybe a franchise or two closes shop due to significant downturns. Then, perhaps, some vows will be made
by the powers-that-be to NEVER put the fans through this again (I can dream,
can’t I?).
No doubt I will pine-away some evenings for the adrenaline
rush of a spirited contest against the Dead Things, Blackholes, or
Blosers. Going to a Predators’
game is a form of Primal Scream Therapy where I can pour it out in a way that
is good for my constitution. But more
than anything, I will miss the camaraderie of all my fellow inmates in the
Cellblock, and the rest of the NBP (North Balcony Posse). I hope to see you all again…and please
don’t hold this against me.
When I receive my refund from the Preds for my season
ticket, I’m signing it over to the Nashville Rescue Mission. Now there’s a downtown institution
that’s been staying open day in and day out for decades and actually doing what
they’re supposed to be doing.
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