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Nightfall

NHL comes back stronger than ever

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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--nhl-emerges-from-lockout-gloom-in-record-breaking-fashion-211428976.html

Its a long article, but its well worth reading. It in fact shows that the NHL as emerged from the lockout stronger than it was before. For all the doom and gloom that was discussed, the NHL is looking like future growth is going to be a reality.

Bettman made a calculated business decision. He sacrificed a few months and ticked off a lot of people, but he secured a better labor agreement for the owners and could count on the fans and sponsors to come back, based on history and cold, hard data.

Personally, I think it is the shortened season. With a 48 game schedule, everything is magnified. Every game is important. With 82 games in the regular season, every game isn't as important. I know the ownership doesn't want to hear this, but having less games would keep this exciting.

From a pissed off fan point of view, I won't be going to see any games in the NHL for a couple years. No Winter Classic for me next year. The NHL and NHLPA have equally pissed me off, and I won't be investing in their product for a while. I am glad the NHL is back and they are strong, but I am still a little peeved.

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Now that says something to all the naysayers. It's pretty interesting around Detroit as far as hockey coverage goes. Very little substantial coverage is given to the red wings and much less to the NHL as a whole. I don't get it if were such a hotbed for hockey, which we are, why is hockey always getting shafted?

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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--nhl-emerges-from-lockout-gloom-in-record-breaking-fashion-211428976.html

Its a long article, but its well worth reading. It in fact shows that the NHL as emerged from the lockout stronger than it was before. For all the doom and gloom that was discussed, the NHL is looking like future growth is going to be a reality.

Personally, I think it is the shortened season. With a 48 game schedule, everything is magnified. Every game is important. With 82 games in the regular season, every game isn't as important. I know the ownership doesn't want to hear this, but having less games would keep this exciting.

From a pissed off fan point of view, I won't be going to see any games in the NHL for a couple years. No Winter Classic for me next year. The NHL and NHLPA have equally pissed me off, and I won't be investing in their product for a while. I am glad the NHL is back and they are strong, but I am still a little peeved.

While I will still be staying true to my goals (no money for anything NHL related for a long time), I also not jumping on the everything is great bandwagon. Never trust statistics you didn't fake on your own.

Of course the league and their relative sponsors will try everything to tweak things, till they are looking good for them but the truth of the matter is, as normal fans we will never see the important information because it might not be good as the league wants fans and sponsors to believe. From a personal stance this season has been the most boring one in a long while, I don't like it and I am not even ticked off when I don't have time to watch the games. At least to me the lockout showed, that both the NHL and NHLPA don't care about the fans, so why should I care or support them?

Also that a certain guy can survive 3 lockouts and continue to provide a watered down "product" is beyond ridiculous, statistics be damned show us the real data if you have the balls to do so NHL till then, get bent.

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I certainly wasn't going to support the NHL during the lockout, instead of Wings gear I was buying Tigers gear. However, I am not going to deprive myself of the WC in spite of the lockout. It's stronger than ever because the die hards couldn't stay away, and there appears to be a lot of them.

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I myself still hold onto somewhat of a grudge. Obviously, that's personal and because I was deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the Winter Classic with my father; but I've also made it a point not to buy anything and have honestly found myself much less interested in the sport as a whole.

Sounds like I'm in the minority, though.

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I didn't read all the numbers, but it sounds like they just took the numbers from late winter-early spring which they admit are the NHL's best time and compared them to full season numbers.

Of course this season avg. Numbers are going to be better.

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Guest Johnz96

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl--nhl-emerges-from-lockout-gloom-in-record-breaking-fashion-211428976.html

Its a long article, but its well worth reading. It in fact shows that the NHL as emerged from the lockout stronger than it was before. For all the doom and gloom that was discussed, the NHL is looking like future growth is going to be a reality.

Personally, I think it is the shortened season. With a 48 game schedule, everything is magnified. Every game is important. With 82 games in the regular season, every game isn't as important. I know the ownership doesn't want to hear this, but having less games would keep this exciting.

From a pissed off fan point of view, I won't be going to see any games in the NHL for a couple years. No Winter Classic for me next year. The NHL and NHLPA have equally pissed me off, and I won't be investing in their product for a while. I am glad the NHL is back and they are strong, but I am still a little peeved.

Pretty much guarantees Bettman will lock us all out again when the CBA expires, to get what he wants from the players then.

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I certainly wasn't going to support the NHL during the lockout, instead of Wings gear I was buying Tigers gear. However, I am not going to deprive myself of the WC in spite of the lockout. It's stronger than ever because the die hards couldn't stay away, and there appears to be a lot of them.

I just cannot stomach droping $400 on two tickets in prime seating (plus travel time, hotel, gas, food, etc) to see the Winter Classic. The lockout left a very bad taste in my mouth. I know that may people will be buying the tickets and it will sell out. but thats not the point. I have been to the first outdoor college hockey Cold War and then the second Cold War at Michigan last year. I enjoyed both of those games, and I am all about supporting college hockey because they didn't crap on their fanbase. The NHL and NHLPA crapped all over the fanbase over the summer with rhetoric and finger pointing. Both sides played the PR card hard, and as a result, turned me off as a fan. I love hockey. I watch hockey on TV. I won't invest a dime in the NHL until I am over this bad taste in my mouth. It may take a year or two, but I will be there.

I will take the $500+ that I save and have a big party at my place with friends in front of my 52 inch HDTV and enjoy the game just as much.

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The NHL is SO lucky they have all us die hard fans. I was on the net every day waiting for the lockout to end getting super pissed that I didn't get to watch 10 hockey games a week, and then getting pissed more than anything thinking about the sinking North American economy and the stress that small business owners were under cause of their lost revenue from no NHL. The whole thing was a disaster. We were waiting with so much anticipation of that s*** show ending that we geared up for the start of the season without blinking an eye at the numerous months of garbage we had just endured as hardcore fans. And I would never bail on the Wings. I watch hockey. I don't watch baseball cause I find it boring. Basketball is all hype and the only hitting sends wuss' to the free throw line. I used to watch football, but every play some dude celebrating a 2 yard run is aggrevating, so I've taken the past 4 years off aside from watching the Packers win the Super Bowl. Hockey is the sport I eat, sleep and breathe and I will never stop watching. I just hate the powers that run the NHL, on both sides. And I ran into a small amount of money this year and I spent probaly $250 on Wings clothing. I haven't been able to do that in about 10 years and as soon as I could, I bought wings stuff.

No matter what any of us say about the NHL and the lockouts and all that crap, we're all die hard Wings fans, we're never gonna stop paying for Red Wings and we're gonna keep coming back to watch them no matter where they are in the standings. I got Gamecentre for the sole purpose of watching EVERY Wings game this year, and I have yet to miss one, and I will not miss one.

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I just cannot stomach droping $400 on two tickets in prime seating (plus travel time, hotel, gas, food, etc) to see the Winter Classic. The lockout left a very bad taste in my mouth. I know that may people will be buying the tickets and it will sell out. but thats not the point. I have been to the first outdoor college hockey Cold War and then the second Cold War at Michigan last year. I enjoyed both of those games, and I am all about supporting college hockey because they didn't crap on their fanbase. The NHL and NHLPA crapped all over the fanbase over the summer with rhetoric and finger pointing. Both sides played the PR card hard, and as a result, turned me off as a fan. I love hockey. I watch hockey on TV. I won't invest a dime in the NHL until I am over this bad taste in my mouth. It may take a year or two, but I will be there.

I will take the $500+ that I save and have a big party at my place with friends in front of my 52 inch HDTV and enjoy the game just as much.

Even though I knew there was going to be a lockout, I bought WC tickets. They went on sale in August last year, before the lockout was official, and there was no way I was going to chance missing it. When I had the option after the game was officially canceled, I retained my tickets, because for me, this is a once in a life time opportunity. People in Michigan have substantially more opportunities to attend Wings' games than I do, so when I get the chance and the means to go...I go. I've been to 8-9 Wings' games and only one was at the Joe, so this is a big deal for me. I'm just hoping they release the Winter Festival schedule so I can plan my trip already.

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Guest Gary.Bettman

Also that a certain guy can survive 3 lockouts

frankgrimes, thank you so much for your concern about my career. As you can tell from the article, I'm not really worried about my prospects.

Pretty much guarantees Bettman will lock us all out again when the CBA expires, to get what he wants from the players then.

As long as the players and the NHLPA are willing to see reason, there will be no cause for another lockout.

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Guest Johnz96

frankgrimes, thank you so much for your concern about my career. As you can tell from the article, I'm not really worried about my prospects.

As long as the players and the NHLPA are willing to see reason, there will be no cause for another lockout.

I hope you have a terrible accident soon

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i think all professional leagues should shorten their regular season.

Yeah, I'm think the success is a bit of fool's gold in the following respects. First, the product wasn't "broken" to begin with, it was actually doing quite well. I think there's a number of reasons why people still enjoy live hockey, not the least of which is that, unlike football, hockey is still BETTER in person. They were turning $3.3 billion annual profits, supposedly, so there was considerable momentum behind the product.

Also, it's only a 48-game season. As @jeff48109 pointed out, if you have considerably shorter seasons in basketball, baseball, and hockey, attendance and the intensity of interest in any particular game would definitely go up. Many families have fixed budgets for that type of entertainment, or loose rules like "I try to got to 2 or 3 games each season". Well, if Family X, Y, and Z all intend on going to 3 games, but there's half as many games, you're going to fill those arenas more easily.

But the league is not going to shorten it's season, and next season will not be like this one. I don't think it's even reasonable to look at attendance figures and interest level from a 48-game season as if you could maintain that over 82 games. It's kind of the way I feel about my GameCenter Live subscription...yeah, I bought it for the first time this year, but it was only $49.99. It still has a problems with it, so I can't say for sure I'd pay $150 for it next season, once things are "back to normal"

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frankgrimes, thank you so much for your concern about my career. As you can tell from the article, I'm not really worried about my prospects.

As long as the players and the NHLPA are willing to see reason, there will be no cause for another lockout.

Turn blue, Bettman.

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Guest RedWingsDad

I certainly wasn't going to support the NHL during the lockout, instead of Wings gear I was buying Tigers gear. However, I am not going to deprive myself of the WC in spite of the lockout. It's stronger than ever because the die hards couldn't stay away, and there appears to be a lot of them.

Perhaps it less about die hards and more about people that realize it's just a sport that we watch for our enjoyment and therefore not a serious issue to be declaring boycotts about and such. :lol:

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Wonderful, just what they need validation for the lockout.

I have held true to my promise of spending no money on the NHL, lot of good it did.

I know many other people that have held true to the same promise, but there are just too many people willing to spend on it.

I too have found my interest waning sure I check scores now, and I log in to LGW, but at the start of the season I was watching every game on TV. I couldn't get enough hockey. Now the newness of it being back has warn off and I am back to feeling like the league and players don't give a crap about the fans.

While people struggle in this country to make ends meet and keep food on the table, these millionaires and billionaires play around with other's hard earned money.

Look at the lowest paid player in the NHL, and tell me that with that kind of pay the average American could not thrive. Hell, he makes $55,0000 more than the president of the US a year.


Yet these rich players and owners gave nothing back to the people who pay for them to do what they are doing.

What long term thank you did they give the fans when they came back?

The league is carrying itself like it doesn't need the fans, while fans are acting like they cannot live without the NHL.

Yet many of us have lined up expecting it to be different, that they won't Shart all over us again in 7 years.

Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results

The NHL and sports leagues in general are no better than EXXON, AT&T, HSBC or any other corporate entity that lives off of it's workers\customers and sticks it to them the first chance the execs have a chance to make more money.

Pro sports in general with all of these work stoppages and lockouts are wearing thin on me, I think the real problem is none of them expected us to throw so much money at them, and now they have no idea how to divvy it all up, who gets the bigger share.

But they are all giving us so much back, I can only imagine their PR meetings going something like this:

**Warning the following took place completely in my head, I know it seems real, but it was made up!**

"The fans, screw them.

Oh wait, I got an idea we should shoot twice as many T-shirts out to these fans that someone else paid for (because Bell Tire or Meyer's paid for the t-shirts not the Wings, or any other sport org.) and they will think we are giving them prizes.

The fans will think we love them, when really we love money generated by letting AMWAY put their logo all over the T-shirt before we have some half naked ice girl shoot it out of a cannon with a Miller Lite Sports Bra on!

We can let a farm equipment company pay us thousands of dollars a year to put a t-shirt cannon on a four-wheeler and launch them that way too.

The 40 fans out of 20,000 a night that get a T-shirt will love us, if they can put down the $8 beer and $5 hot dog to catch it!

Then when we ask them to help pay for new arenas we can say, well we gave you free stuff, why can't you help pay us back.

Sounds good right, all in favor?"

I should have bought more knock off jerseys from China, apparently the league doesn't need my money, I should use it in the manner that best suits me.

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I'm not going to lie, the lockout had it's effect on me. I still love this game and this team, but as I got used to no hockey, I got used to no hockey. I don't watch many games outside of Wings' games and my interest level has definitely waned a bit, but I'm not going anywhere. It's like I realized I'm almost too busy to watch hockey.

I should have bought more knock off jerseys from China, apparently the league doesn't need my money, I should use it in the manner that best suits me.

That's funny, because I remember numerous conversations here where people are talked down to for buying 'illegitimate' jerseys.

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Even though I knew there was going to be a lockout, I bought WC tickets. They went on sale in August last year, before the lockout was official, and there was no way I was going to chance missing it. When I had the option after the game was officially canceled, I retained my tickets, because for me, this is a once in a life time opportunity. People in Michigan have substantially more opportunities to attend Wings' games than I do, so when I get the chance and the means to go...I go. I've been to 8-9 Wings' games and only one was at the Joe, so this is a big deal for me. I'm just hoping they release the Winter Festival schedule so I can plan my trip already.

I would rather take the $400 I would spend on the NHL Winter Classic tickets, go downtown Detroit, and spend that money watching the game at a local restaurant or bar. I would spend about $100 there, and then go to the next bar or restaurant, watch the game and drop another $100. In the end, I would have given $400 to the people who were really affected by the lockout and not the NHL or NHLPA.

I know, it all comes down to personal preference and I don't disagree with what you are doing. I do hope you enjoy the Winter Classic. I am just venting at this point, and probably will be for a little bit longer. The wounds are still fresh.

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