Does the NHL lockout seem way less relevant than last time?

I know people who quit following baseball because of the work stoppage almost 20 years, and STILL don't follow it to the same extent they once did. To me, personally, that was a long, long time ago, but to a somewhat more casual fan I guess it was a reason to stop buying partial season tickets and pretty much forget about the sport.

I think lost in the phenomenal, television-driven revenue growth in US/Canadian sports, is how much bigger things could or might have been without all the work stoppages. I am not casting aspersions on labo(u)r or whatever; "just saying."

At some point people (should) get tired of paying absurd amounts of money. Then again, I know someone who swore they would retire at 65, yet here they are working FT and OT and talking about how excited they are that because of their social security that they can now afford better NFL season tickets. It's very interesting.

 

My feelings exactly. When this lockout does end, my first question for Bettman will be, "How long 'til the next one?"

 

For anybody who can afford to buy NFL season tickets, Social Security is tip money.

 

They cost a hell of a lot less than hockey season tickets

 

Not only did the owners "win" the last lockout, they kicked the players' asses --- essentially they got every last god damn thing they wanted. The players ended up with a worse deal in the settlement than they would have gotten if they had simply punted on Day One of negotiations.

So here we are seven years later and the owners are locking out -- and crying crisis once again.

After they get everything they want this time, then what? Three years down the line, locking out again?

 

Don't be so sure, A-QB. MLS has made leaps and bounds in popularity and draws pretty well.

I'll bet in the American markets that have teams, the MLS is at least as popular, especially the further you go west.

 

Last I heard, the Seattle Sounders had more season ticket holders than the Seattle Mariners.

 

Soccer is a ridiculously flawed comparison as long as their talent pool consists of minor league players on minor league salaries.

 

What does that have to do with MLS popularity? That's all that was broached.

 

That's a big part of the problem. A lockout is the owners' - and, by extension, Bettman's - first resort instead of the absolute last resort. I suspect people are growing wise to Bettman's "tactics."

Donald Fehr is so much smarter than Bob Goodenow was that it's an insult to compare the two. Fehr appears to be working for the players. Goodenow just wanted to beat Bettman. Funny on two fronts - not only did the owners get everything they wanted, anyway, but Bettman's arrogance and smarm aren't helping matters.

As JR has pointed out, our friends to the North will find other avenues for their hockey fix. But in more non-traditional markets - like mine - interests will drift elsewhere. The NHL will slip into further irrelevance when college basketball season starts, particularly in the ACC (and here, that's not short for the Leafs' home rink).

 

I don't watch a lot of NHL games unless I know someone playing in the game so it doesn't affect me too much.

I don't see a whole lot of people missing it that much up here either. Was at a family Thanksgiving function Monday and was having a beer with my wife's cousin's husband who is a hockey fanatic. I asked him how he was surviving the lockout and he said since his 10-year-old son was in his first year of rep hockey he hadn't thought much about since he was so busy getting him to games and practices. He said he was fed up with lockouts and fights over money and said, "If hockey is losing guys like me that's not a good thing."

I have family in Southern California who cheer mightily for the Ducks and they don't like baseball or football (although they golf a lot) so I am sure they are missing the game but it's not like you can't find other things to do in the OC.

JR's right, up here there is still plenty of good hockey. Huggy Jr. still works for the local OHL team and I will be working with the communications department of the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs this season. My OC relatives are coming to town for a few days near the end of the month and what are we doing: going to an OHL and AHL game! They'll get their fix even if it means traveling out of the country!

 

I think it's simple. The owners know that hockey fans, true hockey fans, will always come back. You can pretend all you want that they might not, but they will. So the owners can continue this first-resort lockout charade.

The league is using its fans against the players. I can't see them blinking first. And while Fehr is certainly the smartest man in the room, even he may not hold up if this thing keeps going. T

he players want to play, and they would have played without a new deal. But the owners' greed made that irrelevant. They've canceled games without even TRYING to have talks about the real issues. That's some bullshit. But they know it doesn't matter.

Fuck. I love hockey, love the NHL, and this pisses me off to no end.