Cleveland Barons moving to Worcester

[betterREDthandead 58]

http://www.theahl.com/AHL/News/2006/01/09/1386129.html

I brought this up not because it's particularly newsworthy - the AHL, as with many minor leagues, is usually in flux, with teams frequently changing identities, logos, colors, and cities, as their affiliates change. It's the nature of the beast.

Which brings me to my point - does anyone else think it's a shame that AHL teams sometimes take on nearly the exact identity of their NHL affiliates? The Providence Bruins are an example. The Worcester Sharks will be another one, joining the Iowa Stars and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Other teams more subtly change their colors to match - the Norfolk Admirals, for example, were once blue and gold, a natural given the naval namesake and enormous Naval presence in the city. Now they wear Chicago Blackhawk uniforms with a new Admirals logo.

This is why I'm glad we have the Griffs. Other than adding red to their unis to represent the Wings, they more or less have kept their identity.

[Icer 0]

I think it's time to stop believing Cleveland will ever become a hockey town. They had an NHL team (76-78 Barons) fail, a WHA team (72-76 Crusaders) fail, a EHL team (49-50 Knights) fail, 3 IHL Teams (29-34 Indians, 34-36 Falcons, 92-01 Lumberjacks) fail, and now they've lost their second AHL team (40-72 Barons, 01-06 Barons). It's obvious that despite a long history of pro hockey, the fans there just don't support it.

[MediaCritic 0]

I dunno if I agree, based on the '40-'78 continuous run. I think what's going on is the hockey fans in Cleveland feel they should have an NHL team and are simply rejecting minor league hockey. That's what they'll tell you, anyway. KC is a another town that supported minor league hockey for many years, but recently lost their team due to lack of support, yet is being mentioned as the next hot NHL city. Houston is another town that wants NHL hockey, but the support for minor league hockey, while consistent, is mediocre attendance-wise. Amongst those cities, I'd rate Cleveland's chances as third.