Thrashers fans schedule event
Here are the details, as provided to me the Thrashers fan club, for an event to be held Saturday to support the Thrashers remaining in Atlanta. It will be held in the Gulch by Philips Arena.
Wear your team clothing and bring your signs for pictures. Bring your cameras and phones. During the final hour we will get everyone assembled for a group photo. Photos go to Gary Bettman, the AJC, on facebook, etc, for all to see that we love our team!
It is very important to show visible (and vocal) support for the Thrashers, so really try be there, at least for the last hour! We are thinking about trying to get people like Dan Kamal, Jay Bird, maybe Jeff Schultz to speak during the last hour. Don’t know if we can get anyone on such short notice.
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177 comments Add your comment
Kevin
May 19th, 2011
11:11 pm
Coldsoul, tauntsa by Wpg fans (and Canadian fans) and lies by it’s national papers start the negativity. “insane” comments about hte league wanting $60M to give to it’s other 29 teams aren’t as “insane” as the anti-Canada Bettman conspiracy we’ve been hearing for years.
As for the ASG group losing money, it’s funny because as we all know, Winnipeg grossed all of $17M in 1996 with 11, 391 in avg attendance.
The lack of buyer may have more to do with Philips Arena and the Hawks being sold to another group leaving out thwe Thrashers, scaring off other potential owners. Who wants to pay rent on a team on top of a bad group of owners which has damaged it’s own base of fans??
It’s no different that the fear that existed in Long Island when the Islanders couldn’t find an owner or the Penguins. Senators and Kings went into bankruptcy. At least if a team goes into bankruptcy a court may find a local owner at a reduced price.
Two Line Pass
May 19th, 2011
11:13 pm
By the time this rally occurs the moving trucks will be at the Ice Forum in Duluth packing up the staff’s items from their practice facility. If you do plan to attend the rally plan on cutting up or burning your Thrashers gear while you are there. After next Tuesday’s official announcement, if won’t have any value anyways and that is just sad!!!
coldsoul
May 19th, 2011
11:36 pm
Kevin I think you misread my vicious circle as I agree with your order Atl fans (just fans saying they want to keep the team) -> idiot WPG post -> hostile ATL posts -> more hostile WPG comments now those who were at some point semi-sympathetic have joined in -> more hostile ATL comments about WPG that now are all over the place. I am also obviously not just referring to comments in relation to this or any single story but the whole media process.
Comments like your 17M further add to the circle. I respond: It was a lame duck season, how many fans do you think would show up next year in ATL if they knew the team was moving to WPG in 2012-13? Somebody responds there is nothing to do in WPG and etc. and the circle continues. With someone who just logged in from WPG because of the Globe and Mail story seeing the comments which brings yet another angry WPGger to the fray.
There was NO BUYER BEFORE the deal on the hawks, no interested buyer just the invented Balkan. As I stated obviously the ownership group salted the earth (this has been ongoing) but the current theory that they could have had someone buy all three just isn’t plausible. But to answer you no one wants to buy the Thrashers to pay rent and no one could want to. Which is why it is not looking good for ATL.
The owners do not want the team to go into bankruptcy nor does the NHL so if you think the NHL is stupid for not letting the team go in bankruptcy I disagree but didn’t get the feeling that was what most ATL fans were arguing. Allowing teams to go bankrupt devalues all teams and the league obviously as a whole, how could they want that? (teams moving obviously does this as well but to a much smaller extent). The NHL wants teams in the South because it is a much bigger potential market that is why they put a team in ATL again (not because of the conspiracies you might see some other CDNs raise- yes we have ton of conspiracy theorists too). The NHL obviously does not want to own another NHL team look at the gong show in PHX.
The difference between PHX and ATL is that they had someone (the city) who was prepared to pay 25 mill in losses, ATL does not have anyone interested in paying its 20 mill in losses if they did the NHL would want the team to stay. If a similar situation happens in WPG you will see the exact same result.
Obligatory ....
May 20th, 2011
12:21 am
I bet it gets canceled due to low attendance
John
May 20th, 2011
12:46 am
sorry ATL
well you guys can jump on the Stars bandwagon now!
Crazy Diamond
May 20th, 2011
2:27 am
We are so screwed.
JDawg3DX-Thrasher Fan in Vegas
May 20th, 2011
3:34 am
Best of Luck with this Rally to my Fellow Thrasher Fans!! I would love to be there with you, but I’m in Vegas and am working Sat. I will have as much Thrasher gear on as possible though to support yall in spirit (no pun intended).. Lets show the NHL that we want this team!!!
ranallo10 (in AT)
May 20th, 2011
5:16 am
“I’ve never heard or seen anyone calling Atlanta fans ignorant” … really? Never? That’s amazing, you must not ever read the comments section of online articles (TSN for instance), nor the trolls on these boards. I know I might be a bit sensitive to the general disrespect our fan base gets from outsiders, but I find it hard to believe you’ve NEVER heard or even seen anyone say as such.
Seriously, I’ve come across people in Austria who have told me such things. It’s amazing to me how far the “non-traditional hockey market” bias goes…and you’ve NEVER experienced it in your 40 years of being an NHL fan. Simply astounding.
TMAC
May 20th, 2011
8:10 am
Say goodbye to your hockey team. As someone who’s lost one before any rally will do no good. The denials speak volumes. The Thrashers are gone.
@ Jimmy Parks - Reschedule Press Release
May 20th, 2011
8:11 am
NHL will use this event against us – We need to turn it back on them. Bettman is ready to use it in HIS favor. Do not give him the satisfaction.
“It will be interesting to see how many people show up at the rally on Saturday,” Bettman said.
The media is going to be all over the cookout. With a city of 5.5M people, no
matter how many people show up, it will look like “nobody cares”.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/atlanta-fans-take-twitter-beatdown-122218073.html
We should reschedule it. Issue a press release along these lines”
“Due to the lack of effort and transparency from the NHL office, we have decided to postpone our tailgating event until the NHL gives us a reason to believe in their “working behind the scenes” statements.”
This will turn it into a negative PR issue for them, not us. If the turnout is under 1,000, they NHL will say “see, nobody cares.”
@ Jimmy Parks - Reschedule Press Release
May 20th, 2011
8:13 am
Jimmy – in case you did not see this:
Save The Thrashers ‘Rally’ Needs Shocking Turnout To Avoid Ridicule:
http://atlanta.sbnation.com/atlanta-thrashers/2011/5/19/2178474/save-the-thrashers-rally-needs-shocking-turnout-to-avoid-ridicule
Mooseberg
May 20th, 2011
8:18 am
You idiots, now bettman is using this stupid rally as an excuse…cancel before you make a fool of yourself and atlanta
radeksmom
May 20th, 2011
9:38 am
Good this Chris Vilvamore wont have job anymore
radeksmom
May 20th, 2011
9:41 am
should of scheduled for Sunday ahole i got things to do on Saturday.
Erik
May 20th, 2011
9:50 am
Makes me sick I can’t be there. Our daughter has a dance recital we cannot miss. While I am a casual fan, it will break my 6 year old’s heart if we lose them. He lives, breathes and sleeps hockey, and even talks about playing for the Thrashers when he grows up.
PLEASE keep the Thrashers in ATL.
Billsen
May 20th, 2011
9:56 am
You know what would be foolish? To cancel the rally after all the press it has gotten. The reason we’re doing it tomorrow is in concert with the Select-a-seat event, which cold literally be the last “Thrashers Event” in Philips.
I’m tired of the nay-sayers suggesting we’ll look “stoooopid” or “foolish” for doing this.
“The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.” – Lloyd Jones
jd
May 20th, 2011
10:05 am
Random thoughts from comments about:
Actually in Milwaukee they do the “you suck” for Admiral games. And I wasn’t a fan of it at all. So many better cheers to do to a goalie. That at least are “clean” for kids under 10… Like “sieve” “sieve”… Wisconsin Badgers hockey fans do that.
The one thing I won’t miss about this… the fighting on twitter, blogs, facebook, and message boards between Canadians and Atlantans..and the in-fighting between all hockey fans. The hatred thrown at sportswriters and fans is beyond me. It’s immature bs to say the least. The “one up” stuff trying to show who’s the better fan is so lame.
It’s a done deal.. there’s so much smoke it’s not even funny. And it’s a sad day for hockey here in Atlanta. It’s so easy for someone to say this is “not a good hockey town”… Well that’s bs as well. The number of leagues/teams for both adults and kids is/was growing daily. Yes, it’s not Canada for hockey growth.. neither is Pittsburgh or San Jose. But with 5 rinks that have strong travel hockey programs, the 2nd largest adult hockey league in the country, and a ton of former NHL players living and coaching here; it’s a pretty good market. And anyone who really knows the situation realizes it’s the ownership and management that failed this city.
Greg
May 20th, 2011
10:37 am
pls save the thrashers. i enjoy hockey and attending games.
Gary Bettman + ASG = words cant describe how much you SUCK.
GutterClown
May 20th, 2011
10:44 am
I am so sick of people on here saying that Atlanta is not a hockey town. There are a lot of people that live here that are fans to other hockey teams as well. If we lose the Thrashers we will also lose the ability for other people to see their favorite teams play here when they are in town. This is a very diverse city unlike others with people that have moved here from a lot of different cities. Also ownership IS a bigger part then you think. Lowering ticket prices will get more of us fans in the seats. I don’t care how much of a hard core fan you are, if you don’t have the money you just don’t have it. Spirit doesn’t truly care about the team enough to do that, they only took the Thrashers because they came with the Hawks anyway. There was no intention to make this franchise work. We need someone to step up……it is possible!
Thomas
May 20th, 2011
11:17 am
I really wish I could be there , I would hire somebody to take my place , I just can’t make the trip to atl this weekend . I really hope we keep our team I can’t stand the thought of losing another team to the great white north and for the record Winnipeg attendance was not all that good in the first half of the 90’s before they moved so they didn’t support their team either. nor did they have a good arena
LemieuxFan66
May 20th, 2011
11:37 am
Why are we being hung out to dry so Bettman can save hockey in Phoenix? Hockey can work just fine in Atlanta if we have competent management. We need the chance to find out!
joffahelmut
May 20th, 2011
12:02 pm
What’s the point? Winnipeg had a rally attended by 35,000 people who donated $15 Million of their own cash in 1996, and they moved anyway. A one time rally on one afternoon will not change the many factors which has led to this point. Garry Bettman and the NHL will not be swayed by a photo of 1,000 people. This isn’t their decision now, it was decided by the fact that no credible local buyer came forward. The Thrashers have been rumored to be a candidate for relocation for a while, a rally of support should have happened much, much sooner.
Ryan
May 20th, 2011
1:14 pm
Rally to save the Trashers: 10 people showed up. Please get them out of here fast and tell the buyers for an extra five dollars they can also have the Silverbacks soccer team.
Steve
May 20th, 2011
1:18 pm
Nice idea but on a Friday afternoon down in the “Gulch,” no one will see you except homeless people.
Steve
May 20th, 2011
1:21 pm
Saturday afternoon, that is…
Soccer?
May 20th, 2011
2:06 pm
If the Thrashers leave, can we get a MLS team instead? Should be cheaper.
Boski
May 20th, 2011
3:45 pm
There is still hope! Keep the Thrashers in Atlanta!