vasabresfan

Nicely written article... right up until this point: "She has all of my jerseys — from the Blackhawks, to the Wild, to the Rangers, to the Sharks — and she wears them constantly." Umm... you forgot one, big boy.

I'm much more of a lurker/reader than a commenter, but I thought this was worth posting in the "Fan Appreciation" Section for those who are interested. In the past, I have been a Center Ice subscriber. Last year, I was a GameCenter Live subscriber (which incidentally, I prefer for mobility purposes). Nevertheless, I received the following in an email from the NHL yesterday: "The NHL season is set to start and once again you can follow the action live with NHL GameCenter LIVE™. For your convenience, your subscription will be automatically renewed on January 21, 2013 and the credit card on file will be charged a one-time price of $44.99USD—that's 10% off the standard renewal price..." I'm not going to lie to you-- I was going to subscribe again anyway because I love hockey and I'm a sucker for getting back into this abusive relationship (and I mean both with the NHL for the lockout and the Sabres in particular for breaking my heart for the last four decades). But I thought it was awfully presumptous of them to think it was okay to just automatically renew the subscription after the five month mess they just foisted upon the fans. I guess the purpose of this post is to: 1. Tell others what the cost is for GameCenter Live for this abbreviated season ($50).; 2. Tell others what they are doing as far as Fan Appreciation, since some thought/hoped for free Center Ice. The answer is, 'nothing in particular', unless you count the "reduced cost" for this season. BTW the 10% off was for using their preferred card, not a concession or gift); and 3. Gripe about the NHL thinking we're all happy to welcome them back with open arms and that they can go ahead and automatically charge us (even though I am and am not particular proud of it). I understand that I can say no. I'm not going to say no, but I still this it is a bit of a slap in the face by the league under these circumstances rather than apologizing for the nonsense and asking if I wanted to be renewed. Bad PR move in my opinion. Oh well, bring on the season! Go Sabres!