I’ve been a hockey fan and Sabres fan for pretty much as long as there has been Sabres, so the end of the lockout, despite the NHL and NHLPA‘s mind boggingly dumb and prolonged foolishness to get the schedule for this truncated season announced, I’m looking forward to seeing the home team frustrate the bejesus out of me once more. It’s been a kick to read what the public relations “experts” decree to “win the fans back over.” Like we’d be in danger of not coming or something. The “Buy Me” this or that discussions that have been populating twitter are actually pretty funny.
Sure, the league and the players association were jerks, probably still are. Hard to feel sorry when both sides of the bargaining table are multimillionaires and they are squabbling over the next pot of money. And to get that resolved, the only way to get that completed, was to screw people who make 8 to 10 bucks an hour working the games. To deny those folks income was the only way to figure out how to divvy the millions between the millionaires. It almost sounds like Congress.
Hockey never went anyplace, goofs, you guys did.
My hockey fandom did other things, read books, took in films, watched the occasionally college game. The me that took a gig for extra income that involved a dozen games by this time last year, that guy however was not amused. But my losses were chump change. There is a movement afoot here called #hockeymob that I hope takes hold to get folks to go watch the games (cuz, we all will) in places that got hurt by the lack of the NHL. If you see it online, try it out. That makes more of a difference than discounted t shirts or free sodas.
Next time you got some issues there, NHL and NHLPA, it might behoove you to start working a little sooner. It would save on having to paint “Thank You Fans” or some other patronizing sentiment on the ice in each rink.
By the opening faceoff next sunday, all will be forgotten at the FNC and surrounding area. It would be good to spread the mirth. All the bloviating and obfuscating of the past four months will be in the past and we can start joking about how for the past few years, the Sabres didn’t really turn it on till this time of the year anyway.
I might still yell at Derek Roy out of habit anyway
Mike's Pub 