Thrasherville will not soon forget what Atlanta Spirit did here
On October 5, 2007, opening night of the Thrashers 2007-8 season, Atlanta Spirit co-owner Rutherford Seydel stood by as the 2006-07 Southeast Division Championship banner was raised to the rafters of Philips Arena. He took control of the microphone as it was hoisted up and made a promise, a vow, to the 18,707 fans that had packed into the arena…and everyone else in the greater Thrasherville community. He assured us that night that he and the other co-owners would do everything in their power to bring a Stanley Cup championship to Atlanta.
I remember this event very well. My wife and I were sitting in section 319 along with our two sons. Just six months prior we were in 316 for the first playoff game in team history, feeling the upper deck shake when Eric Belanger scored the first ever post season goal for the Thrashers.
Rutherford Seydel stands by as the 2006-07 Southest Championship banner is raised to the rafters of Philips Arena. That night he promised the AS, LLC would do everything in their power to bring a winning team to Atlanta. It was a promise that went unfulfilled (AJC/Pouya Dianat)
Unfortunately, Seydel’s promise was not only to go unfulfilled but as we now painfully realize, icing a competitive NHL team was in fact never the intent of the Atlanta Spirit, LLC, (Lies, Lawsuits and Contempt). His pledge that night was nothing more than hollow words uttered by one-eighth of an ownership group that never planned to put forth any effort whatsoever to back them up.
Just a few days after that opening night, I posted my first “Ice Man” blog on this site. By then we had had already seen the team drop the first two games and were on their way to six straight defeats to start the season. But before game number seven was played they fired head coach Bob Hartley…the only coach ever to take them to the playoffs and the only one ever to lead them to beyond 83 points in a single season.
I wrote a blog that day saying “good-bye and thank you” to coach Hartley…a man I had gotten to know and respect while my oldest son attended a couple of his hockey camps. In that opine, I indicated that the only true measure to gauge whether or not the move was the correct one or not would me determined by how the team fared afterwards and by who he was replaced with.
Of course, the person that finished the season behind the bench was general manager Don Waddell, whom so many felt should have been the man departing Thrasherville instead of Hartley. The team finished that campaign with a record of 34-40-8 for 76 points. They followed that up with another 76 effort during John Anderson’s first year as head coach then 83 in his second and least season. Last year they posted 80 points with coach Craig Ramsay at the helm.
I’ll leave it to you to determine whether or not the move to replace Hartley was a success or not. I think you all know where I stand on that issue.
AS, LLC: The Roots That Caused The Tree To Rot
While I understood that there were serious issues facing this Thrashers organization the day Waddell announced Hartley’s departure, what I didn’t quite yet have a firm grip on back then…something every Thrashers fan should have now…was just how deep the roots of the true problem with this organization ran. It was easy to point a finger at the only GM the franchise had ever had…really easy… but the fact of the matter was that the tips of the root system that was rotting the Thrashers tree forked in eight other directions…one to each of the partners that made up the Atlanta Spirit, LLC.
Bob Hartley will be remembered as the only head coach to lead the Thrashers to a playoff berth. Thanks to the AS, LLC's lack of commitment to success, the team never came close to that level of play after he was released (AJC file photo)
From the day they took over the Thrashers, Hawks and Philips Arena, the AS, LCC members admitted they were not hockey people. But over the course of time we began to understand that they not only had no clue what they were doing as owners of an NHL franchise, they actually had a certain disdain for the them as well as their the fans. As such, they were treated as unwanted stepchildren.
The Spirit Boys took over at a time in the Thrashers history when the team was moving up in the hockey world. In the years leading up to that banner-raising night in the fall of ‘07, they had gone from 74 to 78 to 90 then to 97 points and a playoff spot. This team had no issues putting butts in seats on a regular basis back then…even to the point where there was talk on this blog about a “sellout jinx” as they had a habit of playing below par in front of a full Philips Arena.
It was a “jinx” the Spirit Clowns made certain we would not have to worry too much about in seasons to come.
A packed Philips Arena was not much of a worry here the past four years because Levenson, Seydel and the rest of the Great Octocluster choked off funds needed to keep top-tier talent, the main cause of the organization’s Player Retention Deficit Disorder. First it was Marion Hossa departing Atlanta at the trade deadline of 2008 along with Pascal Dupuis…who also scored for the Thrashers in their first playoff game…for such superstars as Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito and a draft pick. The revolving talent door continued to spin leading up to the departure of Ilya Kovalchuk two winters ago.
Ilya Kovalchuk departed Thrasherville in February of 2010. He was not alone in understanding the owners of the team he played for made playing here futile. It is they who should hang their heads in shame (AJC/Curtis Compton)
Hossa, Kovalchuk and others departed Thrasherville for pretty much the same reason…the owners lacked a commitment to do what was necessary to build a successful franchise here and so they decided to take their talents elsewhere.
All the while, the Octocluster remained distracted with their years-long legal battles amongst themselves.
As if this wasn’t enough to turn Atlanta area hockey fans sour to their product, co-owner Bruce Levenson…the person the rest of the Spiriteers deemed the most qualified to represent the hockey portion of their little investment…employed such PR skills as calling a season ticket holder a “smart ass” during a town hall meeting. Later in that gathering when he was asked by another paying customer about rising ticket prices at the same time the on-ice talent level was being lowered, Levenson said we would have to just “deal with it”.
Insulting the people who they expect to shell out major coin to enjoy their product…yup, Brucie boy, that’s an excellent way to endear yourself and your team to the local sports community.
The Atlanta Spirit ‘Disposes’ Of Its Unwanted Stepchild
But today, the most dysfunctional and pathetic ownership cluster flop ever to stain the fabric of professional sports delivered their final insult…final slap to the face…to those who supported and followed the Thrashers. After running the team straight into the ground…after running the team at bargain basement levels at or just over the league minimum…after lying to the fan base for six years about their desire to “dispose” of the team…after displaying a contemptuous demeanor towards you and I…the seven remaining co-owners collected their millions and spirited the Thrashers off to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Whether Don Waddell was coaching from the bench or performing GM duties, the team he was responsible for placing on the ice was often times simply too painful to watch...for the fans and the players (AJC/Curtis Compton)
They will say that they had no choice…that there was not enough fan support to attract buyers intending to keep the team here. They’ll once again point the same finger of blame that was wagged in our faces last winter when Michael Gearon, Jr announced their desperate attempts to unload the team. They’ll say and do all of this, that is, if and when they acquire the intestinal fortitude to publicly answer such questions.
But to the notion that the fans here are to blame for what the Atlanta Spirit did to hockey in Atlanta I have but two words:
Bravo Sierra.
The responsibility rest squarely on the shoulders of the giant steaming pile of EPIC FAIL known as the AS, LLC…and I will toss in their willing accomplice Don Waddell, who for seven years merely serviced this team at bare bone levels and met payroll.
Unfortunately, none of this does anything to heal the pain that is felt by Atlanta hockey fans…and sports fans in general. You know what happened here, although so many across the continent may not. Anger, frustration…these words do not do justice for what we feel towards the individuals who inflicted this upon us.
One day I’d like someone to ask them all if they felt any shame for the damage they inflicted here…damage that could not have been any worse if they deliberately intended to do so. But feeling shame is a quality reserved for souls that actually give a damn about anyone outside of their own personal spheres. So looking for such with this group would be a bit much to ask.
And Finally…A Vow To You, Atlanta Spirit Boys
And so on behalf of the good people of Thrasherville, I would like to address the following to those directly responsible for this disaster…Mr. Seydel, Mr. Levenson, Michael Gearon Sr., Michael Gearon Jr., Ed Peskowitz, Todd Foreman, Beau Turner and even Steve Belkin.
The beginning of the end of the Thrashers. The Atlanta Spirit, LLC take over as owners in 2004 (AJC Staff Photo)
In the spirit of that now-infamous “vow” from Rutherford Seydel to fans on October 5, 2007, I now make a solemn pledge to each and every one of you.
We will not forget you and we will not forget your names. But most importantly we will not forget what you collectively did to destroy NHL hockey in Atlanta, nor shall we forgive you for your actions.
It is a promise…a pledge…that I am quite certain will be kept far better than the one you made to us that night when the one-and-only Thrashers championship banner made it’s way up from the ice of Philips Arena.
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516 comments Add your comment
Jameson
May 31st, 2011
6:08 pm
This just in: Thrashers top story for the first time.
Joe
May 31st, 2011
6:08 pm
They should have never allowed another NHL team to come to Atlanta in the first place. The Flames left, that should have been all the proof to put a team in another city.
Rightshot
May 31st, 2011
6:09 pm
Bill – Thanks for all you have done and God bless.
The Rest – Thanks for the interesting reading and God bless to all
ASG – I hate you all. You couldn’t manage your way out of a wet paper bag.
Bettman – You are nothing short of a liar and a hypocrite and I hope you rot in Hell.
All my Thrashers gear has been put up for good. I will now close the book on hockey in Atlanta and try, in a year or two, to pick a team to root for, hopefully.
Good bye, so long and amen.
hockeymom92
May 31st, 2011
6:15 pm
Was it just a coindence that I was watching a show of Lee surrending to Grant this morning? I think not. It appears the south has lost yet again.
I will never believe this deal was not put together much earlier this year and they were just waiting for the right time and Phoenix to fall through before it was made public. Those buffons crying on the radios mean nothing to me – my kids can cry on command just as well as they can. Our high school will most likely lose a talented teacher as her husband works for the organization (and for the flames prior to that).
I never thought I would live to see 2 hockey teams (I was 20 when the last one left) leave our town. Did not believe that it was possible.
Rawhide – thank you so much for all you have done to keep us informed and allowing us a place to opine. Hopefully you will continue to write about the sport we all hold near and dear to our hearts.
kj
May 31st, 2011
6:20 pm
Rawhide, my thanks to you for keeping the hockey flame lit, especially for former ATL residents like me who remained loyal, desparately wanting the team and city to experience the thrill of a Stanley Cup.
And thanks to the AJC. You couldn’t find more ways to bury any Atlanta Thrasher news and should be ashamed of the way you handle a major league sport in the ATL.
screw you, ASG
May 31st, 2011
6:20 pm
Screw you ASG, NHL… I am switching to KHL.
John
May 31st, 2011
6:21 pm
ASG need to sell the Hawks next I’m glad the Thrashers are gone though that franchise wasn’t very popular anyway.
HookyBob
May 31st, 2011
6:24 pm
Tis all.
Rawhide many thanks. You’ve done an exemplary job with this blog.
Now that the glue that this blog is built around is moving it is my hope that the AJC will see it best to have an “NHL blog” or “h
HookyBob
May 31st, 2011
6:28 pm
big fingers today,..did not intend to send my last entry at that time.
To finish my thought,…. it would be just fine with me if Rawhide were to continue a hockey blog on the AJC.
Is that “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes I hear?
hockeymom92
May 31st, 2011
6:36 pm
Actually HookyBob, I think it is taps on bugle…..
The 27
May 31st, 2011
6:36 pm
All I can say right now is a big heartfelt Thank You to Rawhide and all the great posters on here (except SOB). Losing 2 teams is to much for me to handle right now and I’m pretty much speechless. I’m not done with hockey…but I’m done with the NHL forever.
injunjoe
May 31st, 2011
6:39 pm
Thanks Bill. I didn’t always comment because I didn’t feel I knew enough to make a meaningful comment to the conversations here. But you made reading it so much fun and I learned an enormous amount from you and the others who did comment. I thought about becoming a Nashville fan, but I can’t bring myself to do it because they’re not MY team. I guess we should still get the crew together every now and then to watch……..well………something. Maybe hockey.
Kaat
May 31st, 2011
6:43 pm
I didn’t comment often, but always read. Thanks for your hard work Rawhide.
Sad, sad day.
Hockeyfreak
May 31st, 2011
6:46 pm
Lets hope no Thrashers hockey fan ever attenda any event at the Spirit owned Phillips arena. A total boycott would be nice!
Dave
May 31st, 2011
6:47 pm
Atlanta does not deserve NHL Hockey. Actually Miami and Phoenix do not either. To watch games on TV from up here in Minnesota is a joke. There are so many empty seats it is silly. Minnesota and Manitoba is hockey country. Atlanta is basketball country. Winnipeg will pack the place every game. The excitement there right now is 1000 times greater than the few die hard fans in Atlanta that are sad. The players of course would tell the media in Atlanta they like Atlanta. But inside being the egomaniacs that they are they will tell the Winnipeg media the same thing and probably love being celebs in a town instead of a “who is that”? The 2,000 or 3,000 hockey fans in Atlanta will love the fact that they will have an AHL team next year. Knights will be back. I laughed every time hearing Blue Land. I wish it would have excelled in Atlanta. Your teams were better than the Wild every season with some of the NHL Greats. We in Minnesota have had slugs every year except for Gaborik. You should have went to the games. I know I will travel to Winnipeg to watch the Wild and the Thrashers/Jets game next year.
Puckhead
May 31st, 2011
6:50 pm
Hey – lay off the Mudbugs. Thank you Bill and Trixie. Darn.
Hockey Biltong
May 31st, 2011
6:52 pm
That why Bernie left!!!
To Dave
May 31st, 2011
6:54 pm
Dave, go and have yourself… you know nothing about blueland
Dave
May 31st, 2011
6:59 pm
Well you are blue today aren’t you. I never understood with the quality of players you have had you never have had good crowds. This is great news in Minnesota because they are now going to put us back against our true rivals in Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit and move Columbus out of the Central and put in your place in the southeast. The Wild getting out of the division with teams two time zones apart is a joke so we like the move up here.
Sean
May 31st, 2011
7:01 pm
If you guys are truly sad about the Thashers leaving, then support local hockey and continue to grow local hockey and someday it will come back. When the Jets left Winnipeg despite a rally of 35,000 to save the team and a season tickets drive that sold over 10,000 season tickets with 3 year commitments, the fans were devastated. However, they overcame their despair and the fan base remained passionate about NHL hockey for 15 years. Websites and blogs devoted to the Jets team were established, merchandise continued to be purchased for defunct franchise and the fans supported the hell out of their AHL team allowing a new arena to be built and setting the stage for the 15th richest man in the world and Winnipeg native to purchase a team from a bumbling ownership group and move the team back. If you guys truly love hockey then continue to support it and i’m sure someday the cards will be in place for another team to come back. Bettman won’t be around forever and 15 years is a long time. The fans of the of the Jets had their mourning period but did not let their love of hockey diminish. Atlanta hockey fans should continue to love the game, support and grow local hockey and i’m know for a fact in 15 years everything will be different and perhaps some 15 year old kid currently playing hockey in Atlanta will be the next dot com billionaire and bring a team back to Atlanta. And while it pains you to see Winnipeg going crazy for your team at least it is going somewhere where it is appreciated. The people of Winnipeg had to see their team moved to Phoenix where the fanbase was almost non existent. If someone is going to steal your team, its nice if they can at least appreciate it.
Tom Lysiak
May 31st, 2011
7:02 pm
Dave, saying this is basketball country shows your ignorance. You may have a team, but they will always suck. Oh yeah, your uniforms suck too.
Gary Bettman
May 31st, 2011
7:07 pm
Ahh! Big money! *sniffs dollar bills* Sixty million big ones!
To Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:08 pm
You’re an idiot… if you would at least read several articles here before trolling, you would understand that current ownership did everything to ruin the hockey in atlanta and it has nothing to do with people. That’s a reason I am telling you again – go and have… yourself. damn troll.
Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:09 pm
Boo hoo about the uniforms. They were the number one selling jersey in the NHL in the early 80’s. Look that up. I loved the North Stars Jerseys anyways. And at least we will have a team so why the shot there? You must do better than the Timberwolves for fans. They get no fans. I have a friend who bought two season tickets for $400 and included lunch with Kevin Love. I dont care if the Wolves leave. This is not basketball country. We have five division one hockey teams, 240 high schools with hockey. 300 youth hockey associations. 50 AAA hockey teams up here. We are the state of hockey!!! 250 players from Minnesota have played in the NHL. Dustin Byfuglien will be only an hour away from his high school in northern Minnesota so he is happy the team is moving.
spongebobthrashpants
May 31st, 2011
7:11 pm
Two NHL league teams gone? Atlanta Spirit, I hope you all get herpes. The NHL commish, you don’t see a team struggling, and do nothing about it? Carolina, Nashville, Tampa and Miami can support a team and Atlanta can’t? Pathetic ownership, pathetic commish!
Flagstaff
May 31st, 2011
7:13 pm
Re. Bettman…. and we thought Kovy was a money-grubbing whore.
Mike
May 31st, 2011
7:15 pm
AOL Time Warner were going to sell to David McDavid of TX. There was an agreement and at the last minute sold to the Spirit Group. Thanks Time Warner another fine business decision for the city. Does anyone watch CNN anymore?
Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:16 pm
I am sorry about the trolling. If it is the ownership group, someone in your community should have stepped up and took control. The NHL should definately be in Atlanta. Phoenix and Miami should have left before Atlanta!!! Gary Betteman is an idiot also!!!
Flames and Thrashers fan
May 31st, 2011
7:18 pm
Not much to say and less to do. Shame on AS.
Words can not express the disdain I have for the them and the %#£¥ I was put through as a season ticket holder. I was robbed.
Can we have some type of an annual gathering every 5/31 and read aloud the names of the 8 great thieves in the public square?!?!
Matt from MN
May 31st, 2011
7:28 pm
Wow, “Dave” way to spread that “Minnesota Nice” around.
Frankly, it’s surprising that the Thrashers had as many fans as they did at the end. This ownership group put some fairly putrid teams on the ice and expected the fans to line up and fork over the money. That’s after 10 seasons of only ONE playoff birth, minimum or near minimum payroll, no marketing, and losing every big name player, Hossa, Kovy, Savard, etc. And believe me, I know putrid hockey when I see it having grown up with the North Stars of the 70’s.
R. Stroz
May 31st, 2011
7:30 pm
Atlanta Spirit, I hope you all get herpes.
How about brain cancer.
Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:30 pm
Thats what I am saying Matt. If the Wild would have had Hossa, Kovalchuk, Savard, or Heatley it would have been great. Except year after year we have to watch defensive hockey. The people down there don’t know what they missed with the talent that they had. I know the ownership was crap for getting rid of Kovalchuk. Why would fans want to go to the games???? The owners probably were in collusion with Winnipeg. Another thing. Why isn’t the Coyotes moving to Winnipeg?? There crowds were even worse than Atlanta and they really don’t have any ownership group there. Isn’t the NHL still running that team? The NHL thinks Phoenix is better than Atlanta. NO WAY ON THAT!!!
Sean
May 31st, 2011
7:37 pm
This really sucks. Going to miss the Thrashers : (
Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:39 pm
And to the person who says the Wild jerseys suck….Did you ever take a look at that mess they gave you in Atlanta to wear in the bleachers? YUCK!!!
Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:41 pm
Go to the Winnipeg Free Press. They have 20 times as many articles about the move than the Atlanta newspaper.
Dave from Minnesota
May 31st, 2011
7:42 pm
As a big fan of a team that moved (North Stars), I know your pain. Several of us would take road trips to Chicago (our nearest NHL city) a few times a year to satisfy our NHL fix. Fortunately up here, we have lots of other hockey to satisfy the fix (High School and College Hockey in Minnesota is like football in Texas).
Fortunately you’ll still be able to follow most of the teams games on Center Ice if you wish. Back in 1993 when Norm Green took our team away that was not an option.
As a MN Wild fan, I hope we can move into the Central Division (Norris) when the league realigns.
We Were Bamboozled.....
May 31st, 2011
7:52 pm
I have been a hockey fan for about 20 years, getting into it right before the arrival of the IHL here in 1992. This is now the third professional hockey team Atlanta has lost to Canada. At least with the departure of the Knights, it was because the Omni was being torn down and there wasn’t an alternate venue. If this deal gets approved by the BoG, then the NHL is dead to me. I’ve already dropped the Sirius Premier package (former the Best Of XM package) since I have no need for the NHL coverage that package includes.
The Thrashers were the only Atlanta sports team I was a die hard fan of. I’ve got some Canadian friends (from Calgary no less) that were quite surprised how much of a hockey fan this guy from Atlanta was. Thrashers games were the only reason I went to Philips Arena in the first place, so a boycott of Philips Arena and ASG was essentially going to happen anyway. I’m definitely going to miss pregame dinners at Taco Mac or Dantanna’s (I hope they can survive if the Thrashers do leave.). Driving out to Duluth to watch the Gladiators is out of the question, as I’m not driving 45 minutes plus in traffic to go to a minor league hockey game.
What’s interesting is that some folks on the Internet have already started rumors of someone buying the Coyotes and moving them to Atlanta. I highly doubt the rumors, and would hate to see Phoenix suffer in the way the Thrashers fans are right now, although I would not be surprised if this upcoming season is their last in the desert (The deal with Matthew Hulsizer appears to be all but dead in the water, and it does not look like anyone else is lining up to keep them in Glendale and there’s no way the City Of Glendale subsidizes their losses past this upcoming season.).
Dave
May 31st, 2011
7:56 pm
Dave from Minnesota. I am Dave from Minnesota too. That is going to happen. I cant wait to hate the Black Hawks again like we did in the 80’s. That was arguably the best rivalry in the NHL. For Betteman to tell people in Minnesota that our rival is Vancouver in another country, 1745 miles away and two time zones apart is a joke. Now we can travel to Chicago, travel to St. Louis and other towns to cheer for the Wild. You can’t load up the car and say we are going to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Denver who are in our division.
Dave from Minnesota
May 31st, 2011
7:58 pm
Hi Dave (I’m from Andover), it will be like the good ole days when the North Stars, Twins, and the Vikes had the same (or similar) divisional rivals.
To the Atlanta fan(s), sorry this had to come at your expense.
Darkhorse
May 31st, 2011
8:01 pm
Rawhide-Thanks for all the hard work you put in over the years with the entertaining and insightful stories and blogs. I will truly miss reading and sometimes joining in on some great Thrasher/hockey discussions. Sad, sad day for the loyal fan base……
Tom Lysiak
May 31st, 2011
8:03 pm
Hey Dave (the troll), ever been to the Minnesota hockey blogs? Do they suck too? Is that why you are on an Atlanta hockey blog trolling? Taking shots and throwing out useless hockey facts about Minnesota hockey on the day we lose our team is Hall-of-Fame trolling. Be proud loser.
Andrew
May 31st, 2011
8:05 pm
Despite the fact that the ASL didn’t like the Thrashers and obviously preferred basketball and made unfulfilled promises and hated each other and shipped off every young talent and made terrible organizational decisions regarding staffing, they weren’t that bad….
Also, “small,” disadvantaged,” or “nontraditional” market teams (Pirates, Lightning, Rays, Arizona Cardinals, etc.) have managed to have success because of good ownership despite struggling with ticket sales, talent or whatever excuse you can come up with. Especially a team like the Pirates ( I know its MLB which is superiorly popular to the NHL). They play in a situation with low ticket sales, no talent, a declining tradition, and a history of getting rid of popular players, and the Pirates still remain out of the red every year. I know its baseball and a completely different situation, but good ownership shows nonetheless.
Dave
May 31st, 2011
8:13 pm
Hey Dave from Andover I am Dave from your neighboring town of Blaine. Was there a better arena ever than the Met? I was at game six when the Penguins destroyed the North Stars to win the Stanley Cup. As much as I didn’t like seeing the Stars lose I was happy as a hockey fan to get to witness the Stanly Cup Presentation to the Penguins after the game. Fletcher is ruining the Wild. I can’t believe people watch that mess in person.
Yougabsports.com
May 31st, 2011
8:17 pm
If you want to get a good feel for how the Thrashers fans feel and their sentiments about losing yet a 2nd franchise then this is a must read!!!!
http://yougabsports.com/pt/A-Letter-To-Thrasher-Fans/blog.htm
Dave
May 31st, 2011
8:17 pm
Hey Tom Lysiak. Talk about disapointments. We have the Super Bowl Favorite in numerous magazine Vikings who sucked. The World Series Champion in the Sporting News and I beleive Sports Illustrated who are the worst team in baseball. The Timberwolves who are the joke of all major sports teams in the Nation and the disappointing Minnesota Wild. All of our teams suck. At least you have a good baseball, football, and basketball team. Even the U of M teams are all terrible at hockey, football, and basketball. Worst sports town in the Nation is here. Can’t beleive 35,000 people each day go to Target Field to watch our AAA Twins.
Jim C. Max-V
May 31st, 2011
8:24 pm
I’ll go out of my way to be sure I don’t put another dime into the collective pockets of the AS.
Hockey Biltong
May 31st, 2011
8:29 pm
Bernie Mullins would probably have a thing or two to say….
This Gets Old!
May 31st, 2011
8:33 pm
You know “Dave” I lived in Minnesota too and you’re a prick. You don’t know anything about hockey in Atlanta so STFU. I used to go to the old Met too and there were plenty of empty green and gold seats up until the time that the North Stars were moved to Dallas. Even if you were right why would you come here to try and rub this in the face of Atlanta? You’re low class and I would say that you’re typical of Blaine, an ignorant, uninformed farm boy.
D3
May 31st, 2011
8:38 pm
Billl —- Amazingly perfect and spot on analysis. I am saddened as a homegrown Georgian, an Atlanta (and Metro) resident, and ultimately a sports fan. You couldn’t have said it any better my friend. Shame and betrayal don’t do this ridiculous garbage of an episode enough justice. I can’t say that I was a hardcore Thrashers fan all the time, but I always followed them and went to many, many games. It’s sickening that this group of cheating, lying dirtbag @ssholes are able to get away with this in broad daylight. They spit in our face and said it was the “fans fault” for not supporting this team. BS. Fans need to know that ownership is at least somewhat commited to winning or at least fielding a competitive team. The support was absolutely there when the Thrashers were winning and competitive. You are exactly right to point to the firing of Hartley as likely the climax of the Thrashers. Saddest yet of all is that I will have to explain to my two year old son and soon to be born second son what that “Atlanta Thrashers” pennant in their rooms is and the fact that they never got to see the Thrashers play, one of the funnest things to do in Atlanta EVER. Sad, sad day.
Bill — I hope the AJC keeps your blog up despite the fact that the scum got rid of this team. You do an amazing job with this blog and I want to personally thank you for your help when I was starting my own blog, the bird cage. You were extremely helpful, gracious, and very sincere and I deeply thank you for that. You’re a great blogger and an even better man!
Section-310
May 31st, 2011
8:44 pm
Have been a season ticket holder for several years and a fan for all 11 years. What a sad turn of events. To be stabbed in the back by the NHL & Atlanta Spirit Group. The NHL seems to want hockey to be a Canadian game. Did not lift a finger to help the Thrashers. Bent over backwards to help the Coyotes.
I am so mad & disappointed right now I could care less about the Stanley Cup games (Had watched all the playoff games).
So as a ringing endorsement of the NHL, Bettmann and the ASG All of Thrasherville should NOT WATCH THE STANLEY CUP GAMES EVER AGAIN UNTIL HOCKEY RETURNS TO ATLANTA!!!!