zow2 Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 I'm not trying to pile on here (maybe a little?!)...but the whole pregame thing and the shots of people walking in just didn't seem like a Stanley Cup finals. People are wearing visors and golf shirts. Maybe it's the OLN presentation?.. but I just imagine this sterile suburban arena and nothing exciting leading up to it. I honestly feel that any other Eastern Conference city (not just Buffalo) would be so much more into it than mighty Raleigh-Durham. Those freaks wearing the Commodore robes were pretty funny though. Oh well, let's hope it goes to a 7th game OT to decide it and Carolina gets their hearts ripped out by a bad goal allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twolinepass Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Just do like PaSabres and get over it. It's Monday night - we lost Thursday. These are GREAAAAAT fans who deserve to win the Cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted June 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Eh, I'm over it believe me. It's actually kinda nice to watch a game without my stomach churning and having to pace the room to calm my nerves. The Oil look very impressive early. The 'Canes so far aren't able to force the action like they did against us on home ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Just do like PaSabres and get over it. It's Monday night - we lost Thursday. These are GREAAAAAT fans who deserve to win the Cup! I dont agree that canes fans are great fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBD Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 And I don't agree they deserve the cup. The DiverCanes will lose the series and validate that the Sabres even WITH all their injuries, were every bit as good, and would have dominated them if healthy. And while I realize injuries are part of the game, losing FOUR top defenseman and a top goal scorer is unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 I dont agree that canes fans are great fans. Right. And I don't think many of them know much about hockey, from what I can see of the crowd reaction during the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePolishSabre Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Canes have great fans??? say what :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 It has to be said. Fans are fans. People are people, wherever you go. Uhhh... you have good fans and schmucks everywhere. I remember half the lower bowl at HSBC Arena going crazy when one of the Flyers shot the puck into the face of Campbell (?). Arms in the air. I guess they wanted a penalty. In every building, fans are filing in five minutes into the period. Leaving with two minutes to go down by a goal. This is the most bogus discussion in the history of this board -- and that's saying a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twolinepass Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 And now that Roleson is out - the Canes will win. sigh I just can't believe how many breaks this teams gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad1 Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 It has to be said. Fans are fans. People are people, wherever you go. Uhhh... you have good fans and schmucks everywhere. I remember half the lower bowl at HSBC Arena going crazy when one of the Flyers shot the puck into the face of Campbell (?). Arms in the air. I guess they wanted a penalty. In every building, fans are filing in five minutes into the period. Leaving with two minutes to go down by a goal. This is the most bogus discussion in the history of this board -- and that's saying a lot. You and the goat seem to be the only ones who think this discussion is bogus. The NHL has spent almost 15 years trying to expand into non-traditional hockey markets, only to see poor attendance in those markets and diminishing TV ratings and revenues. Is that worth discussing? So the NHL decides to abandon hockey hotbeds like Winnepeg and Quebec, ignore smaller markets like Milwaukee and Portland in order to 'grow' the game in larger non-traditional markets. But those markets fail to grow the game as planned. Carolina is a prime example of this. I think it's worth discussing. Carolina and Nashville are experiencing great success on the ice, but are not drawing at the gate. Compare that to the Wild, a pre-existing NHL market, who have missed the playoffs, but are a top 10 draw. As the offseason moves on, we can leave the who-deserves-what talk to personal opinion, but with Pittsburgh rumored to be the next franchise to move, why shouldn't we discuss the possible new locations in this traditional/non-traditional market context? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 I admit it. I would give my a left nut (not necessarily my own) to switch places with Carolina. I am not sold on their fan base at all - but tonight was a hell of a game and it is a shame that Roloson is out. I did think that he was getting run earlier in the game, (the Marty Brodeur strategy, but I would like to see the play he got injured on again.) Either way, Carolina plays a hell of a third period of hockey. Cam Ward stood on his head. Even though 4 got past him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 jad, the way you frame the issue is certainly worth discussing. But you don't seem to have very many folks to talk about it with on this board. Almost everyone else just wants to poke a little fun at Carolina and convince themselves we're better fans and more deserving of being in the finals. Does franchise profitability enter into the equation? By all accounts, the southern franchises were making money when Buffalo and Ottawa were going bankrupt and Pittsburgh was nearing bankruptcy. Again, you can point out Carolina's mediocre attendance record over the past few years -- but don't forget Buffalo has nothing to brag about. It took a winning stretch almost unprecedented in team history to fill up the building in the second half of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twolinepass Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 I would look to move the Pens out west to Portland or Seattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 I admit it. I would give my a left nut (not necessarily my own) to switch places with Carolina. I am not sold on their fan base at all - but tonight was a hell of a game and it is a shame that Roloson is out. I did think that he was getting run earlier in the game, (the Marty Brodeur strategy, but I would like to see the play he got injured on again.) Either way, Carolina plays a hell of a third period of hockey. Cam Ward stood on his head. Even though 4 got past him. If Carolina wins it all, Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe last night. What a game he played. Rollie's injury is the fault of his own player. I think he twisted his knee, and probably has a sprained MCL from the look of it. I feel bad for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topshelfcookies Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 First off, I'm not sure that it's fair to say that any fan base "deserves" to win a Cup. How would you qualify this? People will use the argument that fans "deserving" of a Stanley Cup parade are fans that truly understand the game, support their team no matter what, sell out tickets, etc. Buffalo has great fans, but how many Sabres flags have you seen on cars over the past 3 years? Heck, how many Sabres flags have you seen on cars up until May? I'm not saying that Buffalo is filled with bandwagon fans...I think there is an outstanding core of hockey fans here. If anything, part of the excitement of the playoffs is seeing non-hockey fans (like my Mom and 12 year old sister) get really excited about the Sabres after ignoring them most of the season. Who really cares if Carolina fans haven't "suffered" enough? What sort of excuse is that? Sure, the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004 was alot sweeter for Sox fans that had waited their whole lives for it, but this still would be Carolina's first professional sports championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad1 Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 jad, the way you frame the issue is certainly worth discussing. But you don't seem to have very many folks to talk about it with on this board. Almost everyone else just wants to poke a little fun at Carolina and convince themselves we're better fans and more deserving of being in the finals. Does franchise profitability enter into the equation? By all accounts, the southern franchises were making money when Buffalo and Ottawa were going bankrupt and Pittsburgh was nearing bankruptcy. Again, you can point out Carolina's mediocre attendance record over the past few years -- but don't forget Buffalo has nothing to brag about. It took a winning stretch almost unprecedented in team history to fill up the building in the second half of the season. Actually PA, underneath the understandable frustration of losing the series, I believe that this is what many of us here are talking about. The banter going back and forth may be distracting, but there is the underlying feeling that the NHL, like other sports, is selling its soul to add large, non-traditional markets. And I have my doubts about Carolina's profitablity. Over the past five seasons, they've averaged less than 83% of their arena's capacity for attendance. And in total numbers, they've been in the bottom 10 of attendance, even after they won the Cup. Their TV numbers are low, and they don't draw from outside Raleigh. They've missed the playoffs the last two seasons, and have had some big contracts on their roster in Francis and Brind'Amour. If they're truly profitable under those circumstances, Golisano should steal their business plan. And when discussing the Sabres, let's not forget what drove the Sabres fans off the bandwagon in the first plays. In '00-'01, their last playoff year they were 9th in attendance. In '01-'02, they were 14th. It was only after the darkest days of the franchise did the attendance bottomed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 You and the goat seem to be the only ones who think this discussion is bogus. The NHL has spent almost 15 years trying to expand into non-traditional hockey markets, only to see poor attendance in those markets and diminishing TV ratings and revenues. Is that worth discussing? So the NHL decides to abandon hockey hotbeds like Winnepeg and Quebec, ignore smaller markets like Milwaukee and Portland in order to 'grow' the game in larger non-traditional markets. But those markets fail to grow the game as planned. Carolina is a prime example of this. I think it's worth discussing. Carolina and Nashville are experiencing great success on the ice, but are not drawing at the gate. Compare that to the Wild, a pre-existing NHL market, who have missed the playoffs, but are a top 10 draw. As the offseason moves on, we can leave the who-deserves-what talk to personal opinion, but with Pittsburgh rumored to be the next franchise to move, why shouldn't we discuss the possible new locations in this traditional/non-traditional market context? Couldn't have said it better. Then they still keep at it... Bring Cups to Tampa and Carolina and think that is gonna solve all the problems... It is corporate welfare at its finest... Keep on throwing money, PR, and championships at the idea... IMO, it is a major problem... Carolina fans complain about alienating their season tix, hardcore fans... The NHL is doing the same. Time to cut this silly project for what it is worth... Embrace the Canadian market and the NICHE American market and stop the bastardization of this BUSINESS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 I'd be curious to see the OLN ratings for the last nights game one, if more people were watching in Buffalo or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 jad, the way you frame the issue is certainly worth discussing. But you don't seem to have very many folks to talk about it with on this board. Almost everyone else just wants to poke a little fun at Carolina and convince themselves we're better fans and more deserving of being in the finals. Does franchise profitability enter into the equation? By all accounts, the southern franchises were making money when Buffalo and Ottawa were going bankrupt and Pittsburgh was nearing bankruptcy. Again, you can point out Carolina's mediocre attendance record over the past few years -- but don't forget Buffalo has nothing to brag about. It took a winning stretch almost unprecedented in team history to fill up the building in the second half of the season. That is because of the dynamics between the northern "rust belt" and the new southern economy. By your standards, Indonesia should have a club... <_< <_< I'd be curious to see the OLN ratings for the last nights game one, if more people were watching in Buffalo or not. I admit... I peaked with 5 minutes left and the scored tied 4-4... I turned in off after about 30 seconds... Outta shame... I turned it back out of weakness in 20 minutes seeing if it went to OT... I caught the gory details... Were they running at Rollie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Were they running at Rollie? I thought that would be the plan, like they did to Broduer. The incident when Rollie got injured however, the skater was hit by Bergeron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit151 Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 After the cup appearance against Detroit, a new loyal legion of Canes fans was born. Why, just look at how they stuck by their team in the following non-play-off years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Careful, Rabbit. The same thing happened in Buffalo. Again, fans are fans. There are some cities where the building is sold out year after year, no matter what, but in most places, you have to win. Places like Buffalo and Carolina, apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Careful, Rabbit. The same thing happened in Buffalo. Again, fans are fans. There are some cities where the building is sold out year after year, no matter what, but in most places, you have to win. Places like Buffalo and Carolina, apparently. So what you are saying is that when Carolina takes the Cup home this year, they will sell out next year? I doubt it... I will believe it when I see it. True, Buffalo isn't Toronto... Look at the crap they put on the ice and the place still sells out... Buffalo does reap some the "good" that comes with that, true. Fans are fans... I am not arguing that... I am arguing the business direction the league is taking by mortgaging its Canadian and core fans. The Carolina's, Tampa's are special interest in the league... They are the "tokens"... And you know about special interests groups? It pays to belong to one of them... They are a "priority team." And it will pay divivdends for their fans... The league will still very much struggle with its identity problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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