Ripping on Nashville Fans!

[Kp-Wings 3]

It's kind of hard to explain. It's like switching schools, or moving to a new town. You never like it at first, but the more you get to know the people, and the little nuances, the more you appreciate it.

That's kind of how I see fanbases of pro-sports teams. I hear how horrible Nashville fans are all the time, and what a classless organization we have, and I just don't see it. But before I started reading LGW, I really wasn't very fond of Wings fans either. I thought it was a bunch of bandwagoners, and I thought the Wings were the Yankees of the NHL. But with time, I realized that there are a lot of great Wings fans, and that you've got an awesome orginization.

If anyone who criticizes Nashville came and spent some time here, came in with an open mind (thats the key in most areas of life) and took a look at what's going on here, you might just find a bunch of great people who love their team in a wonderful city that hosts a pretty darned good franchise.

Sure our coach looks like a troll, and our color commentator seems to be drunk during every broadcast. We've got an inuit running around hitting everything that moves, a goalie who looks like a terrorist and another like a caveman. And we've got some chants in our arena that you won't find in too many pro sports venues... but that's who we are, and I don't think anyone who seriously takes the time and effort to find out what Predators hockey is about could possibly come away with so much criticism.

Ok. I understand.

I don't exactly have free money to spend to go to Nashville on a whim, but you do make a good point. It's hard to really judge an entire fanbase if you don't actually go the city and see any of the good fans. I've never actually been to Nashville before, so I can't say how it is down there. I gues I'll take your word for it for now.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Aww I was hoping he would mention the cute little "On The....POWERPLAY" the crowd chants when a penalty is called on the visiting team. Its nice to see those ten fans helping the rest of the 15,000 understand whats going on in the game

[Offsides 21]

I dunno. I get it. I've visited a lot of other cities though. I think the thing that annoys me most about Red Wing fans is that they are so elitist and think everything everyone else does is so dumb. Not ALL Red Wing fans, but you know what I mean.

And then we do things like boo Fedorov, and that's OKAY...and that's OKAY because WE decided to do it, so it's classy.

I heard all kinds of things about Blues fans and they were all really cool when I went there, and I met lots of nice people. And Toronto fans were supposedly bad, but other than getting accosted by one drunk person everyone else was really, really nice, and even appologized for the drunk guy (who they didn't know) and most of them were afraid of ME because I was from Detroit and they thought I was in a gang or something.

So, you see...other people think the same things about us that we think about them, but it's not true (though I have also been yelled at once or twice at the Joe by drunk fans too) and everyone has good and bad fans, and what is 'good' or 'bad' is just arbitrary anyway.

[hawkupaloogie 0]

nashville's fans remind me of a giant college student section. i can't really blame them for acting like they do, i do the same exact things at northern games all the time. for instance, when the announcer says "there's one minute left in the period," nearly the whole rink shouts back "and tech still sucks!" when "the wildcats are at full strength" we all shout "they always were!" then of course, there's dozens of "sieves" for whichever goalie is in net and "---- sucks!" randomly, just for posterity's sake. it's fun, especially when the whole section or rink is into it. it doesn't matter who's ahead, or who we're playing, it's the same stuff week after week (with some specialty chants like "oh how i hate ohio state," "tech: where the men are men, and the women are too!" and "lake state women are fishy!"), and we all love it. so, while i don't think i would ever act the same way in at an nhl game, i can understand why nashville fans do what they do.

[Legionnaire11 0]

if the chanting makes people upset, wait until tomorrow night. Tootoo coming off of suspension vs the Stars. Word is that the Tootoo whistles will be in full force. Usually there are 3-5 whistles at the games (you might have heard them), but tomorrow night there is supposedly going to be many, many more.

[Icteria virens 11]

I'm not particularly fond of it either. Every team's fans say the other team sucks, I don't care what name is on the sweater. That's what they're supposed to say. Nothing new there. What do they expect them to yell? "Red Wings Suck! Except for the Hall of Famers!?"

It's neither here nor there, but we do own the Preds this year, that's a fact.

esteef

BTW, the OJ comment is a little over the line.

for most of us it's the constant chanting that we suck, they spend more time jeering "red wings suck" than they do cheering their own team. All this from a franchise that's done nothing in the league.

They are right though, Detroit does suck... champagne from the Stanley Cup.

[eva unit zero 271]

nashville's fans remind me of a giant college student section. i can't really blame them for acting like they do, i do the same exact things at northern games all the time. for instance, when the announcer says "there's one minute left in the period," nearly the whole rink shouts back "and tech still sucks!"

At Yost, it's "THANK YOU!" with the occasional "You're Welcome" depending on the PA guy.

[Donaldjr2448 43]

Exactly. Although not defending Av's fans at all cause your right about that, but that was a heated, (perhaps the best in all of sports IMO) rivalry that lasted well over 5 seasons. Let alone a playoff series.

If I remember correctly, In Colorado a radio station made up t-shirts that said "RedWings Suck" and they gave them out to people in the front row so they would be on tv. I remember seeing some people wearing them behind Scotty Bowman on a number of occasions. I still think that the Avs fans are the worst of all because of some of the horror stories that I heard from Wings fans that have attended games in Denver, Everything from getting spit on, to food thrown at them and of course name calling. Heres the thing, Detroit fans are classy and we have a lot of respect other teams (unless your playing the Pistons), but we have a lot of sports history in Detroit, and with that history comes an image and I think Detroit sports fans are the most loyal in the world (ya know LIONS!!!) it just shows because the Lions always sell out and lose and lose and lose and lose but yet we still come back for more and we don't have to worry about a revenue sharing in Detroit because our rich history and great image will always prevail. What I'm trying to say is who cares what other fans say or do we know how we handle things and thats all that matters, sometimes you have to set an example and I think we do!!!

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Why are we wasting our time worrying about what Nashville fans do for thr 103242th time?

Who gives a flying f**k if they yell YOU SUCK or how they act? And what is so bad or offensive about it? They could definitely say a lot worse.

Let them cheer or act how they want to act, they aren't doing anything just grossly offending. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just what they do to cheer, get crowd involvement, and so forth. Let them go about their business gracefully...............

[Guest Ally6729]

Sorry to throw my hat in the ring...another Preds fan here.

I agree 100% with everything Legionnaire is saying about Nashville; I've been a season ticketholder since 1998 and don't understand all the hateful things people say about Nashville, especially when most of those people have never been there. Some people see all our chants as classless, but we're just having fun. I'm pretty knowledgable about hockey, and I can enjoy a nice loud "You suck!" chant as much as the guy sitting behind me who THINKS he knows about hockey and is explaining everything wrong to his girlfriend. It's all in good fun...I haven't been to any other NHL arena except the one in Columbus, but I'm grateful for the loud and rowdy atmosphere we have in our barn. It's a blast!

And you definitely can't judge an entire fanbase off one or two bad apples. For example, I was plodding dejectedly out of the arena last night (with my parents and little brother!) when a group of drunken male Wings fans poked me and yelled at me to "show some skin"...ew! As nasty as that was, I wouldn't go onto our boards and spout off about how all Wings fans are drunken, classless pervs. I'm sure some of y'all are very kind, gracious people....

[Kp-Wings 3]

Sorry to throw my hat in the ring...another Preds fan here.

I agree 100% with everything Legionnaire is saying about Nashville; I've been a season ticketholder since 1998 and don't understand all the hateful things people say about Nashville, especially when most of those people have never been there. Some people see all our chants as classless, but we're just having fun. I'm pretty knowledgable about hockey, and I can enjoy a nice loud "You suck!" chant as much as the guy sitting behind me who THINKS he knows about hockey and is explaining everything wrong to his girlfriend. It's all in good fun...I haven't been to any other NHL arena except the one in Columbus, but I'm grateful for the loud and rowdy atmosphere we have in our barn. It's a blast!

And you definitely can't judge an entire fanbase off one or two bad apples. For example, I was plodding dejectedly out of the arena last night (with my parents and little brother!) when a group of drunken male Wings fans poked me and yelled at me to "show some skin"...ew! As nasty as that was, I wouldn't go onto our boards and spout off about how all Wings fans are drunken, classless pervs. I'm sure some of y'all are very kind, gracious people....

Welcome to LGW.

Somehow your post hardly suprises me. There are a lot of stupid Wings fans, ask anyone here at this board. The degenerates you speak of are more than likely the bandwagon fans that are all for the Wings because they've been so good for the past few years. If the Wings were to slip, I don't think that kind of behavior would be quite as apparent (I could be wrong though, as I have before). Us Wings fans are not all that bad though. Just as not every Predators fan is a jerkoff. But, every fanbase does have a group of such people. It exists in every sport.

[FireCaptain 563]

Aww I was hoping he would mention the cute little "On The....POWERPLAY" the crowd chants when a penalty is called on the visiting team. Its nice to see those ten fans helping the rest of the 15,000 understand whats going on in the game

Don't forget the ***.. errr. FAnG FINGERS!

To whoever mentioned the ratio of red v. gold at the Nashville Arena (formerly known as the GEC). I've been attending Wings games there since I moved to Memphis in 1999. At first it was a sea of red and white - some nights it seemed damn near 90%. However, the ratio has steadily shrunk over the years. I was at the game on the 13th and it was probably 70/30 Pred fans (granted it was a Tuesday night). So, yes, Detroit does draw a ton of fans on the road, me included, but Nashville has come into their own a little bit with this rivalry. Yes people, it's not manufactured, it's become a rivalry. Don't let your blind hatred for Nashville cloud the fact that they put a good product on the ice.

Edited March 31, 2007 by FireCaptain

[FireCaptain 563]

for instance, when the announcer says "there's one minute left in the period," nearly the whole rink shouts back "and tech still sucks!"

Nashville's deal is similar.

PA announcer: " One minute left in the period."

Entire arena: "THANKS, PAUL!" (or whatever his name is)

They even flash it on the scoreboard to encourage participation.

when a group of drunken male Wings fans poked me and yelled at me to "show some skin"...ew!

wait, so does that mean you're not going to post some topless pictures?

i keeeed, i keeeeed...

[HOCKEY MATTERS 167]

Sorry to throw my hat in the ring...another Preds fan here.

but I'm grateful for the loud and rowdy atmosphere we have in our barn. It's a blast!

You are welcome here! It must be nice to have a loud barn, no matter what is being yelled. I remember when the Joe was loud. I have been to 4 games this season. The last game I went to the Wings played Boston. Grand and glorious O6 matchup, right? NOT ONE "LET'S GO WINGS" CHANT ENVELOPED THE ENTIRE ARENA!!! Several attempts but no rinkwide enthusiasm. Pathetic.

Anyway, as much as I hate em, I am developing a level of respect for the Preds. Just like Chelios and Bert, I will hate Poo-Poo until he is a Wing. I hope he is never a Wing cuz I really love hating him.

[FUUFNF 1]

...and most of them were afraid of ME because I was from Detroit and they thought I was in a gang or something...

because you look sooo gansta.

[OsGOD 3]

Why are we wasting our time worrying about what Nashville fans do for thr 103242th time?

Who gives a flying f**k if they yell YOU SUCK or how they act? And what is so bad or offensive about it? They could definitely say a lot worse.

Let them cheer or act how they want to act, they aren't doing anything just grossly offending. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just what they do to cheer, get crowd involvement, and so forth. Let them go about their business gracefully...............

There is some pretty s***ty stuff going on at the JLA each and every game of the season and playoffs.

Time to move along... and get over it!

[Zetter is Better 0]

if the chanting makes people upset, wait until tomorrow night. Tootoo coming off of suspension vs the Stars. Word is that the Tootoo whistles will be in full force. Usually there are 3-5 whistles at the games (you might have heard them), but tomorrow night there is supposedly going to be many, many more.

Somebody sohuld shove those whistles where the sun don`t shine . I know Tootoo would enjoy that

[LSSU Hockey 0]

nashville's fans remind me of a giant college student section. i can't really blame them for acting like they do, i do the same exact things at northern games all the time. for instance, when the announcer says "there's one minute left in the period," nearly the whole rink shouts back "and tech still sucks!" when "the wildcats are at full strength" we all shout "they always were!" then of course, there's dozens of "sieves" for whichever goalie is in net and "---- sucks!" randomly, just for posterity's sake. it's fun, especially when the whole section or rink is into it. it doesn't matter who's ahead, or who we're playing, it's the same stuff week after week (with some specialty chants like "oh how i hate ohio state," "tech: where the men are men, and the women are too!" and "lake state women are fishy!"), and we all love it. so, while i don't think i would ever act the same way in at an nhl game, i can understand why nashville fans do what they do.

One thing to remember NMU flunkie, at least we have women on our campus.

And who made it to the CCHA finals?

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

The whole you suck thing doesn't bother me really. If they threw a "Robert Lang" in before the "you suck" part, I would most likely participate.

lol

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

wings fans are the same way. just read a game day thread when we play nashville. you can't get by three or four posts without somebody making some juvenile comment about southern stupidity. just read this thread. a truly classy fanbase would realize that taunting and yelling out stupid stuff is all part of the game and treat it as much. maybe if the joe did some of this and actually got into the game a little it'd be a more threatening atmosphere and more fun to go see. a lot of the time you can hear crickets at the joe. anyway, just let fans be fans. why do red wings fans like to make themselves feel so superior all the time? that's not classy.

[Guest Crymson]

I thought it was pretty lame. But I wouldn't expect anyone here to actually understand anyway...

Oh, SNAP! A typically dazzling post by his august majesty. Once again, you've managed to present a spectacular argument with only the use of your superiority, in total lieu of any address of the facts or opinions in the opinion piece presented herein.

Congratulations once again, champ. Are these posts really worth your time?

[Guest Crymson]

I thought it was pretty lame. But I wouldn't expect anyone here to actually understand anyway...

Oh, SNAP! A typically dazzling post by his august majesty. Once again, you've managed to present a spectacular argument with only the use of your superiority, in total lieu of any address of the facts or opinions in the opinion piece presented herein.

Congratulations once again, champ. Are these posts really worth your time?

[Offsides 21]

because you look sooo gansta.

You know it

Oh, SNAP! A typically dazzling post by his august majesty. Once again, you've managed to present a spectacular argument with only the use of your superiority, in total lieu of any address of the facts or opinions in the opinion piece presented herein.

Congratulations once again, champ. Are these posts really worth your time?

I think he just meant we wouldn't get it because we were not part of it, not because we are stupid or something.

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

"Referees suck! Referees suck!"

What a bunch of turds.

[hawkupaloogie 0]

One thing to remember NMU flunkie, at least we have women on our campus.

And who made it to the CCHA finals?

first, you're thinking of tech. northern has women. second, lssu didn't make it to the finals, notre dame and michigan did. lssu made it to the joe, congrats, if you check the ccha thread in the water cooler, you'll see that i was rooting for some u.p. representation. besides, who made it to the joe last year, and the year before that, and the year before that? finally, it's all in good fun, lighten up.