NHL shuts down again: Does Atlanta notice, care?
The Thashers moved to Winnipeg.
Hockey fans in 30 cities are about to get a taste of what Atlanta has gone through in the last 16 months — no hockey.
Unable to reach agreement on a new labor deal, the National Hockey League locked out its players this weekend. The lockout came one season after the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and became the Jets. Atlanta also lost an NHL team in 1980 when the Flames moved to Calgary.
The Flames moved to Calgary.
The lockout is the fourth shutdown for the NHL since 1992. As usual in pro sports, the issue is splitting money, in this case $3.3 billion in revenue. The owners want to decrease the amount that goes to players, while the union wants a guarantee that players get at least the $1.8 billion in salaries paid out last season.
The sides are so far apart that they didn’t even meet Sunday on the first day of the lockout. Here’s the latest news.
Do you still follow and miss hockey? Or are you bitter about Atlanta losing another team and fine if the NHL never plays another game — here or anywhere else?
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147 comments Add your comment
dale
September 16th, 2012
5:50 pm
first
tc
September 16th, 2012
5:50 pm
Bettman is a snake. I hope the league folds. Atlanta was robbed of it’s franchise. I followed the NHL and spent money doing so for over ten years. After Bettman behaved so smugly while our franchise was run into the ground by the ASG weasels I could care less. Down with the NHL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Billy
September 16th, 2012
5:55 pm
never been a hockey fan, so it doesn’t affect me.
thrash4ever
September 16th, 2012
5:57 pm
always supported the thrashers every year… im loving that everyone is finally seeing how bad bettman actually is. he f’d the thrashers i still haven’t (and probably never will) forgive anyone for the move. still a sour taste in my mouth.
AtlantaHockeyFan
September 16th, 2012
6:27 pm
I definitely miss having an NHL franchise in Atlanta. As far as sports go, I will only support hockey (Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, Gwinnett Gladiators, local college club teams) until the NHL is allowed (yes, allowed, ASG) to return. Heck, not having the NHL here discourages to spend money on non-sports related distractions in Atlanta. I recommend all local hockey fans to put their money where their hearts are.
And AJC, would it hurt you to have better coverage of the teams I mentioned above on your online sports page?
Down with the ASG!
Still bitter
September 16th, 2012
6:35 pm
Bettman did nothing to protect this city and it’s franchise from its lying backstabbing owners. In other words the owners of the Hawks. He fought for other cities including Phoenix, Nashville and Tampa. Columbus Florida new jersey Dallas have all had financial troubles but all still have teams. Bettman sacrificed atlanta to winnipeg when phoenix deal fell through It is a great sport but Bettman is driving it into ground and is the most hated commissioner in all sports. Hawks owners I believe are still most hated owners. Bettman and Atlanta Spirit do not care about Atlanta so why should we care about NHL
Glory between the Hedges
September 16th, 2012
7:14 pm
6 comments in 2 hours tells you all you need to know. I could care less. The NHL is horribly run. I havent watched a game since the thrashers left. They can’t even get games on a real channel.
Stewie
September 16th, 2012
7:14 pm
Yes, I miss hockey here in Atlanta, but still follow it (though not as closely) and root for the Jets in Winnipeg.
IF the NHL plays this season, I hope to attend a game in Nashville and, fingers crossed, attend the Winter Classic at the Big House in Michigan on New Year’s Day.
Truth is, hockey would probably struggle to succeed here even under the best of circumstances. The Thrashers instead were dealt the worst of hands, doomed from the start with an inept general manager in Don Waddell, then the purchase by the ASG which, as was revealed in court documents, never wanted the hockey team at all. Add an economic downturn that reduced available sports entertainment dollars, and bye-bye Thrashers.
And yes, as other posters noted, Gary Bettman has a fair degree of culpability as well.
Finchdawg
September 16th, 2012
7:28 pm
When the Thrashers left I totally gave up on following hockey. No personal connection. No point. If I ever moved somewhere with a team that would probably change, but the game is not compelling enough in itself.
Hockey Pucks???
September 16th, 2012
7:31 pm
What ever happened to THRASH, our beloved mascot?
Bob Smith
September 16th, 2012
7:31 pm
What’s hockey?
Sam
September 16th, 2012
7:42 pm
Atlanta doesn’t need or want hockey. If they never played another hockey game nobody here would care.
Max Sizemore
September 16th, 2012
7:47 pm
I was a hockey fan until that series in the 1980s between Canada and Russia. The Russians played such attractive, skillful hockey against that collection of thugs that I decided I was nuts to watch North
Americans play.
Darkhorse
September 16th, 2012
7:51 pm
Still very bitter about how Atlanta lost the Thrashers, how the franchise was poorly run from the beginning to end. Was a southern born hockey fan from the Flames till the Thrashers left last year. Supporting the team was a big part of my entertainment $$ the past decade. Just follow the NHL on a very casual basis now, mainly keeping up with top headlines online and how some of the former team is doing. Bettman and the ASG idiots thumbed there nose at the city and that pretty much took mine and my friends and family’s fan spirit for good. Of course the reality is the hard work and intelligence it was going to take to turn the Thrashers into some type of success here was not within Bettman and the ASG capabilities.
Don’t really care they are dumb enough as a league to have another lockout and agree there are big issues to address if they ever expect to build a larger fan base like other pro sports. How they handled Atlanta overall shows they never really cared or didn’t know how to. Oh well, life marches on….
Chicago Bob
September 16th, 2012
8:08 pm
Perfect storm, bad ownership, horrible commissioner and an average team. Unlikely that major league hockey will return to Atlanta. It is sad and I am still very unhappy about it. Hope Bettman has a long and happy lockout. He is doing what he is good at.
Gerard
September 16th, 2012
8:39 pm
I notice.
I’ve also noticed that none of he Atlanta Spirit Group has been man enough to apologize for mismanaging the Thrashers resulting in Atlanta not having an NHL team. Do you guys tell your kids to apologize when they make a mistake or blame someone else like you guys blamed the fans?
Mike Luck
September 16th, 2012
8:46 pm
Some really good posts here. Thanks for your thoughts.
No progress as Day 1 of NHL lockout comes, goes – Yahoo! Sports | South Sport
September 16th, 2012
8:59 pm
[...] ReportNHL Lockout: How Not to Build a Fan BaseBlogcritics.org (blog)Examiner.com -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 1,145 news [...]
Disgusted
September 16th, 2012
9:34 pm
Hey, I am still a fan of the game but this game is run like a joke.
I wish the Hawks would leave and the ATL Spirit would just go away. As far as I am concerned there are only two major league teams in ATL right now.
No one will take them memories away from me. We had some real good players walk through the doors in ATL, and Winnipeg got a nice nucleus to build something special. Too bad we cannot enjoy it here.
Disgusted
September 16th, 2012
9:36 pm
Atlanta doesn’t need or want hockey. If they never played another hockey game nobody here would care.
You are wrong Sam. You may not want hockey but there are people who do want it.
I despise NASCAR and motor sports,, does not mean no one wants it.
Roterhals
September 16th, 2012
9:45 pm
Grew up in Atl,therefore football comes first. That being said, Yankee flat ball might be the best live sport there is, and the players are down to earth, tough as nails, and not prima donnas. Drinking beer at CNN center was a blast before games. Now that the thrashers are gone, I pull for the Flames again.
Bluestreak
September 16th, 2012
10:00 pm
Yeah, I love hockey and think its a great sport. That being said, the NHL turned its back on Atlanta (while it didn’t in the Hockey Hotbeds of Nashville, when the team was horrible and had ownership as bad as the ASG, and Arizona). They took over a team with no ownership in AZ, but couldn’t do that here. Will never make sense to me, no matter how it is spun.
I would love nothing more than to see Hockey sit for a year or two. I feel bad for the people that are affected in the arenas that won’t be able to work, but the NHL is messed up from the top down. Any league with 4 stopages in 20 years should tell you something.
I would welcome hockey back in Atlanta, just not owned by ASG.
Steve
September 16th, 2012
10:02 pm
I really miss the Thrashers. More than any other sport I found hockey to be the one that’s the most exciting to see in person and most of the money I spent on sports tickets was for Blueland. I am still really pissed at both ASG and the NHL for taking them from me. I have kept my pledge not to spend another penny with ASG since the Thrashers departure. That means I refuse to attend a Hawks game.
Have no enthusiasm to watch another NHL game. Without a “team” in the fight I have no interest. I am sure the NHL will screw this up and once again a season will be cancelled. Who cares. Hockey is already dead to me. The only ones I feel sorry for is the players who give their blood and guts(literally) every night and deserve better.
Biff Pocoroba
September 16th, 2012
10:19 pm
Its about like arena football. The Georgia Force shut their doors and took down their website last week and no one really noticed.
Rimfire
September 16th, 2012
10:29 pm
The NHL punished ATLANTA for it’s Crappy owners… The fans were to one hurt. If the NHL folded, and went up in flames, nobody here would give a good piss to slow it down. Gary Bettmen is a scoundrel and an egg sucking dog! Winnepeg won’t last….
Smitty
September 16th, 2012
11:03 pm
I was a Thrasher STH from the beginning. Spent a lot of time in Canada as a kid and grew up with hockey as a big part of my life. My kids love hockey even though they grew up here in Atlanta. My son played youth football and football is as important to him as hockey is to every Canadian kid.
After what the ASG and the NHL did to the Thrashers I like many Thrasher fans had every reason to give up on hockey. But hockey is in my blood just as football is a way of life here in SEC country. I am just too big a fan not to care. I just hope Fehr and Bettman (why are 2 non-Canadians controlling this sport?) beat the hell out of each other for a couple of years before they get back to playing.
Not a Fan!
September 16th, 2012
11:27 pm
NO. We don’t miss it. I didn’t even read the article. Just skipped down here to post this. For all the hockey fans that want to lament over Atlanta not having a team, buy the hockey package on your cable or dish? We have football, then basketball until baseball season starts. Who misses a hockey season that goes until almost Summer? Not me.
James Andrew
September 16th, 2012
11:51 pm
Face it. We’re not a hockey town. When I went to Thrashers games, the place was at least half empty. If you want to see what life is like in a hockey town, go to a Blackhawks game in Chicago, or the Bruins in Boston.
NHL shuts down again: Does Atlanta notice, care? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | South Sport
September 17th, 2012
12:06 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
NHL shuts down again: Does Atlanta notice, care? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Sports News
September 17th, 2012
12:07 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
No progress as Day 1 of NHL lockout comes, goes – Yahoo! Sports | Myrun.asia
September 17th, 2012
12:22 am
[...] ReportNHL Lockout: How Not to Build a Fan BaseBlogcritics.org (blog)Examiner.com -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 1,169 news [...]
ET
September 17th, 2012
1:25 am
Was a season ticket holder to the Thrashers. My wife & I miss going to the games. Miss the fans. Miss the sport. Gary Bettman sold Atlanta out. Helped Nashville, Phoenix, but not Atlanta. The ASG sold Atlanta out. They did not give a damn about hockey. We will never buy a ticket to anything ASG owns or runs. No Hawks, no tickets to concerts in Philips Arena, nothing. If the ASG was running a lemonaide stand with girl scouts – we would walk right by.
Ths ASG – S**KS!!!!
Bob from Cobb
September 17th, 2012
1:49 am
I have not cared one whit about hockey since “De Flame” moved to Calgary in 1980. I miss Boomer and Jiggs and the Flames. I had a mild interest in the Knights. I could care less about the Thrashers. A buddy of mine from Detroit told me when they named Don Waddell as G.M. he was one of the biggest losers in the NHL. He was ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! And since the ASG did not care about hockey in the ATL,I don’t care about ANYTHING they do.
Class of '98
September 17th, 2012
1:53 am
I’m glad there is no hockey. It means more football coverage on SportsCenter.
I couldn’t care less about hockey.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
6:22 am
Unfortunately we are not getting another NHL team here, and once it comes back I will still get up to Nashville or Plantation Florida once a yr to get my NHL fix.
How much more football coverage do you want, I don’t think having the Thrashers around did anything to take away any football coverage.
ATL is more than just a college and HS football town. I like NFL and top 25 CF but there are other sports out there.
ASG did nothing but spit on its fans & the league stabbed us in the back in part because they wanted the opportunity to add True North to its fold, and when the city of Glendale came through to keep the Coyotes, that was opportune time for the league to pounce on us and get the deal done to more the Thrashers to WPG.
The league did stab us in the back but that was just hard cold business, they had a viable ownership group with a hockey hungry city and they helped broker a business more that benefited them. Us hockey fans were powerless and door mats .. truth is they owe us nothing and we really do not owe them anything.
Very bitter ending — the sport should have worked. I knew of even proud Southern born fans who took to the game. There was a place for the NHL but its probably blown here now.
I do not want the Hawks — but they are not leaving. The powers that be won’t let that happen.
tussin
September 17th, 2012
6:46 am
does anyone care
OmniFan
September 17th, 2012
6:50 am
Schadenfreude. Agree with previous posters, ATL is cooked as far as NHL hockey goes. The next cycle of moves will all be North of the Border or next to it. The Winnipeg papers are saying all they have to do is move struggling US/Southern franchises to Canada and there will be so much more income that any more strikes/lockouts won’t be “necessary”. The sad fact is, demonstrated by both the Flames and Thrashers, Atlanta has a passionate core of 13000 die hard NHL fans. That will not sustain an NHL franchise this or any other day. Unfortunately ASG did everything possible to poison the well and not grow that core to a critical mass. Best hope for this town is an eventual upgrade of Gwinnett from ECHL to AHL.
For those of us in that core, another lockout is another of a thousand cuts from a sport we love(d). The “I could care less” from the fringe we could have and should have grown is totally understandable.
Nate
September 17th, 2012
6:55 am
Still somewhat bitter about the move, but thanks to Bill Tiller, aka Rawhide, I adopted the Blackhawks as my secondary team since they’re in the West. I still follow them and to a lesser extent the former Thrashers. I went to Nashville last March for the Preds vs. Jets game. Very bittersweet, but it was nice seeing all the Thrashers jerseys/fans that came out. Maybe someday I’ll win the lottery and bring the NHL back to Atlanta.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
7:15 am
You know what to some of you posters ——-
THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT DO CARE —— IF YOU DO NOT CARE THEN GO STAY ON YOUR LITTLE HS OR COLLEGE FOOTBALL OR UR MOTOR SPOTS BLOGS AND LET THE HOCKEY CROWD HAVE A LITTLE RARE DISCUSSION ON THE BLOG AND LEAVE US ALONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Troll out.
Good posts to some of those who do care.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
7:20 am
I do think that our sports talk media did have a bias aganst hockey — they did not want to do the work to lear about another sport.
Some of them are too lazy to go beyond College Footballl and a little Braves talk.
The AJC did have decent Thrashers coverage — I hope the hockey stories will continue — that fan base is still here.
I do think we have a chance for an AHL team but that is a way off. ECHL is cheaper to run. The Glads are nice to see once or twice a yr but come on, its ECHL hokcey, but that is all we have.
I do hope the youth leagues will sustain in some form. If kids play, there is hope to expand this fan base.
Maybe in 50 yrs we might get another chance.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
7:31 am
To H with the Winnipeg papers — they are one of the most detestable fan bases in the league.
I will never forget how they treated us on the old Thrashers blog when we were in the process of losing our team — I do root for that team to lose.
And their announcers on their radio side stuck it to us in their first game, like they had to do that. Hey, you got the team, why dig it in to a fan base that missed its team.
Screw Winnipeg. I hope they have to stay in the SE division for some time to make life inconvenient for them.
Putting On The Foil
September 17th, 2012
7:38 am
Hell yea I miss it. I miss it like I missed the Flames when they left. It’s just a damn shame the way things went down here in Georgia. I also miss Rawhides hockey forum and all the folks on there that I conversed with. That being said, I can’t bring myself to root for the Jets, although I wish the ex-Thrasher players the best as individuals. I’ve tried tried going back to the Flames, but I’ve become too long and far removed from 30 years ago. As with the current situation with the lockout, I could care less if the league folds.
the number34
September 17th, 2012
7:57 am
Hell to the no I don’t miss hockey. It’s football season and the Braves are going to the playoffs. You can take the NBA and NHL and have more space for Macy’s ads for all I care.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
8:32 am
I miss the old Thrashers message boards — it was a fourm of regulars and a link to the game.
Wonder if any old message board regulars got to see this article.
Is the fan club still in operation is some shape of form?
What has been most detestable is that every vestage of them being here has been taken down. When they painted over the 2008 All-Star game logo that was classless.
I look for Thrashers stuff when I browse thrift stores.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
8:33 am
I see where Evander Kane signed a big 6 yr deal after a 30 goal season.
Not gonna be a Jets fan but good for him — I will root for him and a few others to be successful as individuals.
Remember when he KOed Matt Cooke on one punch — that was beautiful.
Vince
September 17th, 2012
9:45 am
NO !!!!!!!!!!
alex
September 17th, 2012
10:07 am
it been ploy between asg idiots, NHL bosses, Canadian friendly media, and our mayor did nothing to protect thrashers. real sport fans never forget this treason. one man never going get missed don waddell and need to ask current hawks owner levenson why he let this stupid men for decade to kill hockey. it’s a ploy.
Sanjeev
September 17th, 2012
10:10 am
No one cares because year after year the ASG put a poor product on the ice. Not only that they did nothing to promote youth hockey. The ASG is 100% to blame.
If the owners are so broke, why go and sign guys to 10 year $100M+ contracts? Gonna call BS on the owners.
Sage of Bluesland
September 17th, 2012
10:23 am
I care! I miss Donny W and the boys :’(
At least I get to see my hero Keith Brooking tonight. What a dreamboat <3
oldtimer
September 17th, 2012
10:33 am
I not only don’t care, I am happy about it. Now we won’t have to spend time on the talk sports shows in Atlanta to talk NHL when no more than 500 people in all of Atlanta even care a little bit. Please stay on strike.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
10:33 am
I do not care about the ASG or Donny W but I did care about the team and the game.
I never believed these clowns lost as much $$$$$$$$ as they said they did.
In the end, this thing was set up for failure and the ASG fot what they wanted — the rights to control the arena and the Hawks. They never wanted the hockey team.
I would laugh if the Hawks went back to 50+ lossesand attendance went back down to 12 K a game — I am rooting aganst them till we get new owners.
David
September 17th, 2012
10:37 am
It is sad that any major sports league goes on strike. Look how much it effects the NFL with these new officials calling the game. One official almost called offensive holding on the defensive in yesterday NFL game. As for the NHL, I like the NHL team to still be here because Atlanta is a major league city which has major media presents and an international airport that can transfer people almost everywhere. As for the fans and people of Atlanta, Atlanta has enough people to support hockey if the right group or corporation owns that team and knows how to make money on the team. The facilities are in place here. As for a strike in any sport, it is sad for players and the true fans of that sport.
Disgusted
September 17th, 2012
10:38 am
Oldtimer — No one ever talks hockey on the sports talk shows anyway — and that was when the Thrashers were here
I don’t even listen to the sports talk shows cause all they care about is college football and recruitin which I think recruitin is a waste of time. And I do not want to hear about anybody’s charity golf tournaments. Golf is not a sport.
Its not like they even talk much sports anyway—they are a bunch of schtick clowns in this city, especially 790.
And the Fan 680 hardly takes calls anymore so there is nothing to discuss with those defacto experts.
dandylions
September 17th, 2012
10:41 am
Remember when he KOed Matt Cooke on one punch — that was beautiful.
My best hockey memory!!!!!
lanier
September 17th, 2012
10:45 am
was season ticket holder for Thrashers first 3 years and hope never to see a hockey game again
Greg
September 17th, 2012
10:55 am
Hockey is an ice sport. I tried to like it, but without the childhood experiences as I had playing football here in Georgia, it just didn’t hold my interest – no emotion. It would be like having a water-skiing team in Finland or Iceland-just a curiosity. I was puzzled that hockey came to Atlanta, not that it left.
kbb
September 17th, 2012
11:02 am
the problem is that most people that are most vocal about sports dont even live in Atlanta. They live in Dacula and Dawsonville. Basically redneck outposts and all they care about is friggin college football 24/7. There are other sports. The CITY of atlanta will never be a real metro city that can respect and support 4 sports because of the influence and whims of the yokels that live 1 hour or more outside of the city. Actual cities like NY, Chicago, LA, etc have most of their residents that live within city limits not an hour and a half away. Most of those people are small minded beer bellied white people that wear jean shorts and have zero ability to think for themselves.
Puck Like A Porn Star
September 17th, 2012
11:03 am
I saw Kane clock Cooke, but my favorite Thrashers memories were the “Headless Moose,” and Eric Belanger knotching Atlanta’s first ever playoff power play goal vs. The Blue Skirts in 2007. I was sitting in row G and that building has never been that loud, even when the Hawks got to their first playoffs in 10 years the following season.
Still the most amazing gameday experience in Atlanta, and I loved watching it on TV too. Anyone still bashing hockey on this blog probably never comes downtown to see live sports anyway.
With all the people moving closer to downtown, competent marketing could have led to a sizable walk-up hockey crowd. I became a fan overnight because I gave it a shot the first game after the last lockout, and I was hooked the first time (8-1 Thrashers over the Crapitals). I wonder how many fans the NHL will lose this time?
What a shame
September 17th, 2012
11:24 am
I too am a Thrashers fan. I went to many games and enjoyed the sport with my children. But, as any scorned fan would say, I wish the NHL would go completly bankrupt and all of the owners and Bettman would lose everything thing they own over this. Bettman is a very dirty person and used Atlanta as his scapegoat for bad league management!
Dman
September 17th, 2012
11:26 am
The NHL Owners are so greedy its disheartening. I was a Thrashers fan but was openly welcome by the Nashville Predators fans. A lockout is purely disgusting. Guess it’s time to check out the Gwinnett Gladiators.
Elroy
September 17th, 2012
11:28 am
If you care about hockey…then go back north where the huskies roam and eat some yellow snow
Don Waddell
September 17th, 2012
11:38 am
Great news! I have a 5-year plan to get Atlanta another hockey club. See you in Blueland, suckers, I mean Thrashers fans!
follow the money
September 17th, 2012
11:50 am
kbb’s comments are petty and childish. I love that you cite L.A. in all of that, as if they didn’t lose 2 NFL franchises.
I am southern born and was a casual hockey fan. I did enjoy going to the games and looked forward to attending a few games every year. I went to the first ever playoff game and it was incredible. I will never forget that game. I had never been to a professional sporting event with so much energy outside of the Braves 1991 run to the playoffs. I was very impressed. Unfortunately, the Thrashers never won anything. If they would have had just a little success, the fanbase would have grown. No one likes supporting a loser.
gone baby gone
September 17th, 2012
11:51 am
I was done with hockey after the Thrashers left. I don’t miss it and I’m glad I gave up following it. I follow plenty of other sports.
Mike
September 17th, 2012
11:53 am
Doesn’t effect me or Atlanta …
Whatever
September 17th, 2012
12:09 pm
I care . LETS GO PENS! Hockey is great. Atlanta got a raw deal and hockey will never be back. I blame it all on WADDELL.
Sports Facts » NHL lockout: In hockey fight, players are right – Chicago Sun-Times
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clark kent
September 17th, 2012
1:02 pm
Real fans, and there are/were plenty here to support a team, don’t stop caring about a sport even it its stolen away from them by some second rate carney barkers. Make no mistake, the Thrashers were intentionally driven into the ground with the intent of flipping them for a buck by an ownership group so incompetant they had to sue themselves to try and pull their heads out of their collective asses. The only problem is the fans saw through their transparent shell game.
As for the league, which is run by spineless owners and even more inept executive management, it will get exactly what’s coming to it…and the sooner this Titanic sinks the better.
Miss The NHL - Big Time
September 17th, 2012
1:08 pm
I miss the NHL. I do not miss the MISMANAGED Thrashers. You have to put a winning team on the ice, or at least a competitive team. Flames/Thrashers NEVER WON a single playoff series. See Thrashers/Flames History Here:
http://www.keepthethrashers.com/
Atlanta Sports Fan
September 17th, 2012
1:13 pm
Absolutely I miss it. Atlanta deserves a better-run team. We are as good a place for hockey as anywhere else.
Blueland
September 17th, 2012
1:17 pm
I miss hockey so much. It was great to live in a city with an NHL team, an NFL team, a MLB team, a NBA team, a WNBA team, a professional women’s soccer team, and high caliber college sports too. Atlanta got a bad rap for not supporting hockey, when really it was terrible ownership and an inept NHL that lost hockey in Atlanta. When we were winning, we outdrew many NHL cities, including Boston! Ultimately, ATL fans got mocked for not acting like Leafs fans, and Leafs fans get mocked for not acting like Thrashers fans.
Brian
September 17th, 2012
1:17 pm
Miss it so much!! Would go 5-7 times a year with friends and/or family. I really miss my Thrashers in Blueland. We really had a good team and was fun cheering them on and going downtown Atlanta.
Matt
September 17th, 2012
1:18 pm
Yeah, what KBB said… word.
when the Thrash were here, I cared about hockey from October until the playoffs. However, now that the team’s gone, I usually just watch the playoffs.
To all the people that are happy hockey’s gone… I hope that thing that you love, but I don’t happen to care, about gets taken away from you. What kind of attitude is that? You don’t like hockey? Good for you. Watch something else, there are plenty of options. However, what kind of d-bag is happy that something that made someone else happy (but didn’t affect you in any way) is gone now?
Brian
September 17th, 2012
1:19 pm
Miss my Thrashers so much!! would go 5-7times a season! Really had fun cheering them on and going downtown Atlanta.
Jameson
September 17th, 2012
1:21 pm
I miss the Thrasher’s all the time, and will probably miss out on seeing a few NHL games this year. The lockout doesn’t impact me nearly as much as it would have, though. I’ll still be at Gladiators games all the time.
gategirl
September 17th, 2012
1:24 pm
I really do miss hockey here
I think the city could support an AHL team, granted with new owners, I hope no one in there right mind would allow the ASG idiots to have another team
ijustwanttowatchhockey
September 17th, 2012
1:25 pm
it’s a shame…because no matter what team you root for, we all just want to watch hockey. also I miss the Thrashers. and I care.
cpsman_atlanta
September 17th, 2012
1:27 pm
ASG is the reason why Bettman and the NHL gave up on Atlanta, not the fans, and not the future. Every individual in Canada claims it is because it can’t work here, but even most Canadian writers say it never had a chance with Atlanta $pirit Group.
I’ll come to see the Braves, I might come to see the Falcons, I’ll go to GT games, but I won’t step one foot into Philips Arena until that ownership group is gone.
As far as the strike goes, who cares? We’ve got our Gladiators here for our hockey fix, as well as UGA and GT hockey. Why isn’t the AJC showcasing those teams more?
Your Name Here
September 17th, 2012
1:32 pm
I miss the Thrashers and Blueland. Unfortunately, they never had a chance since their owners were the ASG clown car, who never wanted them from the beginning and who conspired with Waddell to run the team into the ground. Add to that Bettman’s need to get the NHL owners off his neck about the situation in Phoenix and you have what used to be our team as the Winnipeg Jets 2.0. Ever since the Thrashers left town, I have gotten my hockey fix by watching college hockey. As far as the lockout is concerned, I don’t care if the NHL never plays another game.
MTB
September 17th, 2012
1:34 pm
I still keep up with hockey through the Gwinnett Gladiators, who I’ve come to respect as a great organization with a lot to offer local sports fans. I also went to a handful of games in the SECHC (sechchockey.com), and saw lots of college kids playing hard to grow collegiate hockey here in the South. Just because the Thrashers left town, that doesn’t mean the hockey community went with them. We’re still here.
That being said, I am still quite sad that the team left. The Thrashers were my first in-road to discovering hockey and I’ll always be grateful for the games I saw at Phillips that taught me how awesome this game is. If the NHL sees fit to grant us a team again, I’ll give it a shot. But, despite the pain of losing the Thrashers, I’ve learned that hockey life can continue on.
richard
September 17th, 2012
1:44 pm
sigh.. yes i miss it, football makes it better though
Dawg Haus
September 17th, 2012
2:02 pm
This Thrasher fan says “oh well.” Hope the league folds.
Tom
September 17th, 2012
2:03 pm
I miss hockey so much I left Atlanta…
WeStillHaveHadTheGladiators
September 17th, 2012
2:06 pm
Yes many hockey fans in Atlanta still miss the Thrashers. I hope the NHL comes back to Atlanta one day and I do believe it will happen at some point.
A note to the author and others: we still have pro hockey in the Atlanta area in the Gwinnett Gladiators. Go check it out! Free parking!
AtlantaNative62
September 17th, 2012
2:08 pm
NHL – National wHocares League
Wil
September 17th, 2012
2:16 pm
I was a hockey fan before the Thrashers, was a seven year season ticket holder, and remain a hockey fan after the Thrashers left. I want to see a full season because the fact remains I have been a hockey fan for my whole life. The ASG was a joke and we did get the screw job, but I love hockey too much to be the type of fan to say oh the Thrashers left so screw hockey. Those were Thrashers fans, not hockey fans. I am a hockey fan.
Sarah
September 17th, 2012
2:16 pm
I, for one, am extremely upset by the current lockout. Not only did Gary Bettman steal the Thrashers, he’s now taken the entire league away. Words cannot describe my loathing for that man. Hockey is my life, and he seems hellbent on ruining it. F him. He should be removed as soon as possible. He is killing the game.
Still miss the Thrashers
September 17th, 2012
2:20 pm
I miss the team very much. There might not have been a large mass of hockey fans in Atlanta, but those of us who were are very passionate about the sport and the team. I feel personally betrayed to this day by the actions of Bettman and the ASG. I also have not attended a Hawks game since then. I support the Hawks, but the ASG can rot.I find the people who claim that no one is this city cares to be ludicrous. Did you know that at their lowest attendance peak the Thrashers averaged more fans in the building per home game than the Jets ever have?
Don Rickles
September 17th, 2012
2:25 pm
Send Levenson, Gearon Jr., and Bettman to the Middle East to negotiate with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Gwinnett Fred
September 17th, 2012
2:29 pm
Do I miss it – of course, you can’t just flip a switch to not caring because your ownership & the NHL brass are d-bags & you lose your team.
That said, let’s just say I am enjoying this lockout MUCH more than the last one!
Zavs
September 17th, 2012
2:32 pm
I am intensely disgusted with the whole situation. The players should have taken the 49% Hockey Related Revenue offer when they had it because if history is an indicator, future offers won’t meet that figure. On the other side, owners should let them report to camp while working on the deal – which the p
layers said they would do. Nobody, seriously NOBODY, wins in this situation. The lights are out in the arena, no beers, popcorn, soda, hot dogs etc. being sold and as much as 40% of our players move to Europe to dominate their leagues just so they can play.
I don’t think most players are too worried about not getting paid, they seem to be more fiscally conservative compared to some of the other major American sports athletes and don’t routinely “make it rain”, as far as I know (speculation).
I just find it incredulous that everybody is deciding to go the route of “Everyone Loses”.
That being said, hell yeah people in Atl (former Atlantan and friends with many hockey enthusiasts in the area) care. Atl is unique in that we have people from all over the place and many of them like hockey. Arguing about if the NHL should be there is a moot point now, they left and if they had ownership support and League support you might be watching Thrashy this year AND last year. The whole system is confounded and this time around I side with the players’ association. We finally got a foothold on being credible in the U.S. again as a sport and they are doing this again. I am disgusted.
ATL Observer
September 17th, 2012
2:41 pm
Here’s the thing, if you do what MLB did and stop a season midway through, you p#*! me off to no end.
Just not have a season to begin with, I’ll just find something else to do. You can hope that I can come back. And the more the NHL does that, the more it plays Russian Roulette with its fanbase.
The league is probably going to expand to Quebec and Seattle in five years or less. Watch.
Daniel
September 17th, 2012
2:48 pm
I love hockey but it’s so hard to watch with Bettman at the helm. He is the worst businessman alive. A station nobody has heard of and few have offered them the most money though they could eventually make more with more well-known stations, and he picks the small station. When the contract is up, it’s the same situation with the same result.
DonWaddellKilledHockeyAndDoesntLikePuppies
September 17th, 2012
2:55 pm
Yes, we care. Was a season ticket holder since Day 1. Have not set foot in Phillips Arena, and will not, until the ASG is gone. I tell everyone I know of who is planning to go to a concert or event there to not go and if they do, not to spend any money for those lying thieves.
Gary Bettman is doing the owner’s bidding, he doesn’t care about the sport, and the owners don’t either. They know what is true, and that is hockey is a niche sport with die hard fans that will come back whenever they are good and ready to put a product on the ice again. They had a great opportunity to make this a big time sport coming out of the last lockout with a faster game and HD TV exposure, but made the mind numbingly dumb decision to stick it on OLN instead of paying ESPN to show the games and promote the heck out of the sport.
Hockey’s death knell in Atlanta was hiring and retaining Don Waddell as the GM. Nice guy, but completely inept at building an NHL team. The fans who supported him during the whole mess are just as culpable, if a bigger outcry was made to rid ourselves of him, they could have built a winner and a following that would have made economic sense to keep the team here. Atlanta is a front runner town and a town full of northern transplants who gladly would have left behind their Ranger/RedWing/Pens/ etc. sweaters at home and jumped on our bandwagon. But instead of a bandwagon all we got was Don Waddell in a van down by the river . . .
Fletcher Keel
September 17th, 2012
2:59 pm
Just when I had picked a new favorite team, too!
Actually, last season I did fantasy hockey with a friend who lives in Montreal, and it was the most fun hockey season I’ve ever been alive for. The Thrashers leaving sucked, but it really is the people of Atlanta’s fault for not going to games. Yes, they were bad, but so were the Falcons, so were the Braves, so were the Hawks. I miss hockey dearly, but what do I know, I’m only a 19 year old college sophomore. (And, did anyone catch the WKU/UK game? GO TOPS)
Zlatan
September 17th, 2012
3:01 pm
I loved the Thrashers and still have not gotten over the painful loss of the team. I still hold venom towards Bettman and ASG and wish them everything but well. I feel for the employees of the NHL who are now looking for other ways to provide for
their families because the greedy players and billionaire owners along with the idiot commisioner ‘cannot’ come to an agreement.
Edward
September 17th, 2012
3:03 pm
we are not LOsing hockey…..we are LOSING the NHL, and its a GOOD thing, now maybe prices on everything will come down. i plan on watching a lot of AHL and ECHL and Wish Atlanta would get a team in one of those Leagues………..Augusta has a team and they are not as big as Atlanta
CSP
September 17th, 2012
3:03 pm
Love it, miss it and plan on being in Nashville on Thanksgiving for a Preds game, if Bettman can unscrew his head from his rectum….
Jamie
September 17th, 2012
3:15 pm
I think it’s time for a new league to be formed. I could easily come up with cities off the top of my head that have potential owners waiting to own a pro hockey team. The best part of this is the Stanley cup could technically be won by a non NHL team if we end up with no season due to a court ruling back in 2006.
Don Rickles
September 17th, 2012
3:16 pm
I’d like to share a nice, warm, recycled beer with Don Waddell, Bruce Levenson, Michael Gearon Jr., and Gary Bettman, by pouring a bottle of it over their heads.
It's Bush's fault
September 17th, 2012
3:17 pm
One of the Thrashers’ major problems was the location of Philips Arena.
Combine this with the ineptitude of the ASG ownership/Waddell/Bettman , et, al…. and Mayor Reed’s lack of concern (one has to wonder if it had the Hawks on the auction block how much political pressure the Mayor’s office would have used).
90% of Atlanta-area hockey fans live north of the city..i.e., Alpharetta, Suwanee, Roswell, Johns Creek, etc. If from the start an NHL-quality arena had been in place in the northern suburbs the Thrashers would more than likely have thrived.
Instead, after the initial interest of the expansion years wore off (99-00) only the true hockey fans were willing to consistently make to trek to Philips Arena (i.e. the ‘hood) during mediocre seasons.
The Thrash Man
September 17th, 2012
3:18 pm
Miss Thrashers hockey so much. Atlanta Spirit never gave us a chance, and Waddell ran the team into the ground. Dudley would have had us back in the playoffs in no time, too. We cant have NHL hockey, neither will Winnipeg. And at least we still have ECHL hockey with the Glads. I run my own Thrashers page to update on where the former players are now. http://www.facebook.com/NHLAtlantaThrashers
Former Thrashers Fan
September 17th, 2012
3:21 pm
I’m still p#^@ed about the way The Thrashers situation was handled! The league stood by and did nothing while they’ve kept Phoenix afloat for the last three years! While I do miss the Thrashers, I could careless that the league is locked out. Actually I like the fact the league is locked out and hope it last longer than the last one.
ATL_Hockey
September 17th, 2012
3:23 pm
There’s tons of people that still care and follow hockey in this city. I don’t understand why so many here are taking joy in the fact that the NHL is no longer here. How did having a team here affect you in the slightest? Did the Thrashers throw rocks at your kids or something? Get a grip.
Atlanta Knights
September 17th, 2012
3:30 pm
Seriously…It is a sad state for sure, but I don’t really care. I am still a Pens fan, but I do not go out of my way or pay anything extra to see games on TV. Haven’t been to an NHL game since the Thrashers lost to the Rangers in the playoffs a few years back. Gary…Gary…Gary ~ YOU SUCK!
Brett
September 17th, 2012
3:32 pm
I was a STH since day one and NEVER missed a game. The Thrashers leaving town was and still has left me heartbroken. We never had a shot with the lying, smug, inept, and incompetent ownership group. Mainly Bruce Levenson, Michael Gearon, and Rutherford Seydel. Notice the Hawks were tied to the arena but the Thrashers were NOT. Consequently they were able to pick up and leave anytime. That along with the NHL owning the Phoenix franchise and having promised a team to Chipman we never had a chance. Thus when it was apparent Phoenix wasn’t going anywhere it was in stone that the ASG buffoons were going to sell, evict, and move our beloved team. The lying ASG clowns spin that they couldn’t find a local owner is complete garbage and utter deceit. NO ONE would have bought the team and keep them in Atlanta as they wouldn’t have any rights to Philips arena. All they ever said was they were looking for “investors” and NOT selling OR moving the team. The NHL lost a lifelong fan forever. I have nothing but contempt for the ASG and Bettman for being complicit in this crime against this city and it’s loyal fans.
kracker
September 17th, 2012
3:38 pm
I sissed the Thrashers a lot last season, so muchso that I only watched a few NHL games, actually just parts of some games. This season I was ready to follow the game again and now they go and strike/lockout! Bah!
Lance
September 17th, 2012
3:50 pm
Who cares it is football season!!
DWTOO
September 17th, 2012
4:06 pm
Good to see a few of the Rawhide Bloggers out today. Feel bad for the fans of every city, but, the ‘Peg. They can go……well have relations with their families. The way most of them acted it’s hard to forget. Miss the Thrashers and the hockey people I met. The Glads are Ok, but, it’s not the same.
And Gary Butthead is a tool.
sage
September 17th, 2012
4:07 pm
I moved to Ottawa when the thrashers left to play at a hockey school up here. The thrashers leaving was by far the worst day of my life i gotta say though.
ZAvs
September 17th, 2012
4:27 pm
I am with DWTOO on this, Thrashy leaving was painful, exacerbated by the pricks from ‘Peg (yes, I know everybody from Winnepeg is bad) . I am fortunate to have a hockey team here in CO, but the lower leagues just don’t do it for me. GB just plain sucks as far as I am concerned.
Sure did meet some nice people on Rawhide’s forum……..
ylojkt
September 17th, 2012
4:48 pm
Hell yes I miss the Thrashers! And I echo what many others have said on here – screw ASG, Gary Bettman, and the NHL. After this happened, I decided that the NHL wasn’t going to get one more penny out of my pocket unless a team was brought back to Atlanta, and they haven’t! I won’t watch on TV or go to any of their games.
I have enjoyed a few Gladiators games, but it’s nowhere near the same.
Also, I hope ASG is reading this blog, because they will never see another penny from me either – events at Phillips are no longer part of any equation for me, and I used to attend Hawks games as well as Thrashers games. No more Hawks apparel for my sons and no more concerts or circuses at Phillips. I hope you all shrivel up and die lonely in a corner!
kissmythrash
September 17th, 2012
5:00 pm
Still heartbroken…went to several games last year to watch “our” team…not sure what our plans will be should the NHL get this mess sorted out. As for Phillips arena and A$G…they are dead to me.
Flagstaff
September 17th, 2012
5:02 pm
Yeah, I care. I’m glad we’re in a lockout… The more people who want Bettman dead, the better.
I have the Thrashers logo tattooed on my arm. I was livid when the team left and my wrath has yet to truly dissipate.
StormeeATL
September 17th, 2012
5:55 pm
I miss the Thrashers, but I was born and raised in a college hockey town (Madison, WI, UW has 7 NCAA hockey championships) – more college hockey games are being broadcast now on some of the Fox sports affiliates and Big 10 network, always thought college hockey was more fun anyway
SomaAtl95
September 17th, 2012
5:55 pm
Yes, miss the Thrashers. Miss Rawhides blog on the AJC. I don’t miss all of you chodes saying negative stuff like “Good” or “who cares?” You guys can get bent.
Luke
September 17th, 2012
6:32 pm
haha reading all these comments makes me see why Atlanta is known as a “fair weather” town. If you’re a hockey fan, you’re a hockey fan, you’re going to watch hockey even if your team moves cities. WTF do you think they did in Winnipeg when they lost the Jets the first time? The south only cares about football and baseball anyway. Bunch of rednecks..
T Money
September 17th, 2012
6:44 pm
I was a Thrashers season ticket holder since day one. After getting hosed by Waddell, ASG, and their Commander in Thievery, Bettman, I can safely say that I hope the NHL dies a quick death. College hockey is much more exciting, plus there’s no way the NHL will every come close to drawing the kind of revenue seen in the NFL anyway. The NHL is hands down the most ill-managed of the major league sports. And we used to thing MLB was bad…
The Duke of Flatbush
September 17th, 2012
6:59 pm
Who cares? Well, it’s obvious people in Atlanta don’t care about sports.
Braves’ games are half full
Hawks’ games are half full
Tech football games are half full
Most of you loser clowns that DON’T care about hockey obviously don’t care about anything! Start showing up at something, then you can criticize hockey.
Worst sports fans in the country
ATLhockeyGRL
September 17th, 2012
7:02 pm
I certainly miss my Boys In Blue and was proud to call Blueland my second home for over 10 years. My family were season ticket holders from the very beginning and had our hearts broken when our team was sold right out from under us. I wish the NHL players the best of luck in their endeavors and pray that hockey will someday return to Atlanta. Thrashers in my heart forever!!!
noGO
September 17th, 2012
7:17 pm
no hockey? no big deal—boring, not enough scoring, too many fights, overpaid players
Luke
September 17th, 2012
7:26 pm
how are the players overpaid? i dont even…
Badkittygothgirl
September 17th, 2012
7:26 pm
I miss live hockey more than you know!!! We may not have been season ticket holders, but we went any chance we could get and we subscribed to the Centre Ice Ticket so he could get his Buffalo Sabres fix. This is my first lockout and I know the shakes have not begun yet, but they will soon. The fantasy hockey league that we manage is still having a draft just in case we do get a season. It will be bittersweet, but what are we supposed to do, throw in the towel like Bettman did? I can’t believe he has participated in now 3 lockouts and still has job!!
cole
September 17th, 2012
7:48 pm
I know about 13000 people who care a heck of a lot, those people wh dont are just ignorent and never gave hockey a chance
SteveS
September 17th, 2012
8:18 pm
I do care; it’s my favorite sport! However, I will endorse Gwinnett Gladiators Hockey more since we have no team. Still don’t like Gary Bettman and the owners for pulling the publicity stunt trying to get sympathy from the fans. We haven’t fallen for it. Will probably go back when season starts anyway as will many fans. Just think the lockout is stupid. Think Levenson and Gearon are also buttholes too. Worst owners ever!!!!
Jon
September 17th, 2012
8:30 pm
I DEFINITELY miss hockey and still feel nauseous over the thought of how it was ripped from us here in Atlanta by the crappy owners and Bettman. When the Thrash made the playoffs against the Rangers, Phillips Arena was PACKED FULL and ROCKIN like i never saw before. That would’ve/could’ve been the catalyst for growing interest in Atlanta IF they had an ownership group that gave a crap and INVESTED in the time to keep the winning and the MOMENTUM from that playoff season GOING.
DJE
September 17th, 2012
8:40 pm
A big miss losing the Thrashers – so disappointed in our city for letting them go.
Duke
September 17th, 2012
8:49 pm
I think the Glads sure try hard and what a great hard working franchise with amazing staffing in their office…But…seriously an inferior product. This is the last year of their 3 year lease at Gwinnett. It’s time to up the ante and sell the franchise and get an AHL team. AHL in Gwinnett will work!
Rev Whitaker
September 17th, 2012
9:17 pm
Do I miss NHL Hockey here in Atlanta? Hell Yeah! Do I think it has/will hurt the economy here? Yes. Do I truly think a NHL Team can profit here? Yes, with ownership that wants the team (ASG did not want the Thrashers) and can manage the team properly (The Flames were not). Who ever heard of a GM saying he did not want his D-Men to fight and stand up for the forwards? Yep, that was Donny Boy.
Bettman is a snake but in this case since the ASG painted the league into a corner since they did not want to sell the Thrashers and the Arena rights together, they just wanted to sell the Thrashers which means the new owners would NOT get moneys from anything sold in the food court and fan shops.
I pray everyday that NHL Hockey will come back to Atlanta.
lilibeter
September 17th, 2012
9:45 pm
Wow, do I miss hockey! I was raised in a typical Southern family on football, baseball, basketball and occasionally tennis/track. When I learned the nuances of hockey, there was no turning back for me. I find myself unable to watch or engage in any other sport now…they are all too boring now that I have known and loved hockey. I am (eternally?) pissed as ASG, Bettman, Waddell, and the NHL as a whole.
The Duke of Flatbush
September 17th, 2012
10:46 pm
Once again, as I said before, Atlanta supposed sports fans need to step and and support their teams before they can pass judgement on hockey and hockey fans.
Hockey haters have their idiot NASCAR, tractor pulls and rodeo.
bobbyjones
September 17th, 2012
11:04 pm
I care. I miss the Thrashers more than anything. ASG never gave us a chance and were only in it for the money, I don’t think that there are many fan bases that can support a team after 10 years without a single playoff win. During their brief regular season success, Thrashers fans were there, and would have grown if there was any sustained success at all. True hockey fans would want hockey to spread to less traditional markets so that more people get a chance to discovery the game.
Atlanta Flames Fan
September 17th, 2012
11:54 pm
I went to almost every Flames game. Once they left, I continued to passionately follow the NHL. I was thrilled when the NHL returned to Atlanta, and went to almost every Thrasher game.
Since the Thrashers left, I have not watched an NHL game, and refuse to spend a dime at Philips Arena. The premeditated murder of the Thrashers by Gearon, Levenson, and Seydel should never be forgotten. Make no mistake about this. The did it on purpose because they could never afford what they had purchased. They only wanted the Hawks, and the Thrashers were only viewed as an asset to flip in order to increase their equity in the Hawks.
And as for Bettman, he is without a doubt the sleaziest slime ball of a commissioner in the history of the North American sports. The SOB stabbed us in the back for the $60M relocation fee in order to cover the league’s losses in Phoenix due to his atrocious business decisions. He screwed up in Phoenix; we got screwed in Atlanta.
I watch NCAA hockey and local hockey. The NHL is dead to me.
Sean
September 18th, 2012
1:48 am
Go Gladiators! Do I need to say more?
RFrancis
September 18th, 2012
7:39 am
The AJC didn’t care, you guys even let go the one guy on your staff who could write compentently on the subject, and let a basketball guy take over. In the end, the only articles you guys could write were about how the Thrashers had more black players than anyone else in the league. I find it odd that the NHL allowed a team to be moved to a city that had fewer people showing up to a AA league game in the playoffs than, what the Gladiators can pull in the middle of December.
Bongo
September 18th, 2012
9:30 am
If we still had a team I might care. Thanks to the Atlanta Spirit Group we’ll never see NHL hockey in this town again. Quite possibly the worst owners in the history of professional sports, These clowns systematically set out to sabotage the team, setting them up to fail thus driving away the casual fans. And you guys at the AJC were either totally blind to that fact or just didn’t care. Either way, you failed the fans in this town every bit as much as ASG and Gary Bettman did. So screw the ASG, the NHL and the AJC.
Garth
September 18th, 2012
10:01 am
Only big citites with class have hockey teams. Maybe Atlanta would qualify for roller-derby if that cranks up again.
ALK
September 18th, 2012
10:54 am
I care, I miss the Thrash, and I still follow hockey. I now have to treck to Nashville to support my new team, the Predators. I completely agree with all anti-ASG and Bettman posts above.
Mitch
September 18th, 2012
12:07 pm
I miss hockey terribly it has not been the same since the Thrashers left. I still keep up with hockey and subscribe to the NHL Gamecenter package for computer. Atlanta will at some point be a great hockey town again with a coimmitted ownership group. Our ECHL affiliate hockey team is number two league wide in attendance. according to a former NHL study the southeast was in the top 3 in youth related hockey growth in the nation all we need is owners that care and believe in it and treat it as there primary focus not the thing that came with the basketball team. Constant losing and no major changes ( keeping the same Gm mixed with ther tight pockets making the club unable to secure crucial free agents) will kill any club no matter the sport. Atlanta Spirit’s failures can be summed up by there own sound bites my favorite being “Were not Hockey people” that sums it all up everyone wonders why the fans stopped coming imagine Arthur Blank saying I am not a football person or Braves ownership saying were not baseball people and watch the ticket sales hit the floor.
Old_Time_Hockey
September 18th, 2012
4:18 pm
I’ve always said the difference between the fans love for the FLAMES versus the THRASHERS was the Flames had names we could pronounce … like Vail … and Plett … and Flett … and Lysiak and Manery (speaking of bad trades) … and Shand … and Marsh … and Kea … and Quinn … and Pekka Rautakallio!! I swear 3/4 of the Thrashers had ten letters in their names with no vowels!!
Old_Time_Hockey
September 18th, 2012
4:20 pm
… … and … for eight seasons we had the one and the same starting goalie (Mr. Daniel Bouchard!!) … … heck … the Thrashers couldn’t go eight days without naming a new starting goalie!
Winnipeg Dude
September 19th, 2012
4:19 am
Even with the lock out. I’ll still wear my Kane jersey with pride! Winnipeg Jets jersey that is!!!
Ps. If theres any hott single women from Altanta coming here to Winnipeg next season. Come check it out.
The Duke of Flatbush
September 19th, 2012
8:17 pm
been to Winnipig – you want our women cuz all Winnipig women are fat, ugly hogs dogs.
Disgusted
September 21st, 2012
6:47 am
Why does Atlanta support the ECHL Gladiators and did not support the inept NHL Thrashers.
Two resasone — The Glads have put together a good organization together that treats its fans fairly and is reasonably priced for the product.
The Thrashers were mismanaged by the incompetent Dom Waddell & had an ownership group with peolle like Bruce Levinson who pretty much told people to “Just Deal With It.”
Well, ASG, I am dealing with it by staying away from the Phillips Arena because there are better things to support.
Go Braves and Falcons, and as for the Hawks, I could care less if they left.
Odd Man Rush
September 21st, 2012
1:54 pm
Just finding this article. Stopped looking to the AJC for hockey coverage when the Thrashers left and Chris V. moved on to other topics. Lockout is another big void for every hockey fan in the metro. Second blow to the gut in two years. Thanks again ASG.
Remieray
September 22nd, 2012
10:44 pm
I grew up with hockey in Detroit and have lived on both sides of the country. I love the game. I know Don Waddell. There is not a harder worker, a more decent and dedicated guy in the game. He had to work with the worst owners ever in ATL. He did everything humanly possible to make the Thrashers successful. It is very ignorant and unfair to blame him for the loss of hockey in Atlanta. Those in the know, know.
Derek
September 23rd, 2012
8:33 pm
I’m from Winnipeg and a Jets season ticket holder and I apologize for all the crappy things that were said online between our two cities. I also totally understand Atlanta rooting against the Jets. I hate the Coyotes for the same reason. I’m posting here to tell you all we won’t squander the opportunity to support your boys. We have an 8000 person waiting list to get a ticket and only 100 spots got tickets for the second season. Bogosian, Buff, Wheeler and Ladd are local heroes here.
The only thing worse than losing a team is losing a team to a city that doesn’t appreciate them.
Winnipeg will do everything we can to make the Thrashers champions to pay tribute to their birthplace!