Thrashers, Atlanta were never given a chance
Thrashers fans tried hard to keep hope, season after season. But the deck was stacked against them. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
(Updated: 12:30 p.m.)
This is how it ends: With the weasel of a commissioner not stepping foot in the city, with another season passing without a playoff game, with a lying ownership group maintaining it did all it could to save a franchise that in reality it spent most of seven years wrecking.
Atlanta has lost an NHL expansion team to a Canadian outpost for the second time. The Thrashers are going to Winnipeg just like the Flames went to Calgary in 1980. A press conference was held in Winnipeg, while the Thrashers sent out this warm-and-fuzzy news release: “The Atlanta Thrashers announced today that they have entered into an asset purchase agreement with True North Sports and Entertainment …”
This isn’t about the fans or the market or certainly Gary Bettman’s fictional “covenant” with fans, which I believe he left in the same sock drawer with his conscience. It’s about greed and abandonment, plain and simple. It’s about a disingenuous ownership group, which had long lost any semblance of credibility, serving up fans swill and gruel and then wondering why the turnstiles sleep at night.
They’ll tell you they care. They don’t. They’re walking away with a fat check. While you mourn the loss of a franchise, they’re waving goodbye with one middle finger.
The NHL is leaving a city that never really was given a chance. It’s going back to a city that it left 15 years ago and that has grown by about 60,000 people and a couple of doughnut shops since. They will be discussing this decision one day at business schools, right after the sections on Charles Ponzi and Enron.
Atlanta didn’t fail. The franchise failed. But the NHL doesn’t care about that. This is a league that survives on franchise fees and relocation fees. It collected $80 million from Ted Turner for an expansion fee in 1997. (He joked in the Board of Governors meeting that followed that he could’ve saved $70 million by purchasing the Flames from Tom Cousins for $10 million. Nobody laughed.) The league reportedly will collect another $60 million for permission to move the Thrashers to Manitoba.
In five years, when another failing franchise wants to move into Philips Arena, Bettman will be happy to collect another fat relocation fee, and he’ll deliver the same canned, phony speech about how he always believed in this market. The guy has told so many lies, it’s a wonder he’s not an Atlanta Spirit partner. (One postscript: Bettman referred to them as the “Atlantic” Spirit on Tuesday.)
Now living in Calgary.
There are hockey teams in Tampa and San Jose and Raleigh, and I could go on. There’s still one inexplicably in Phoenix, which the NHL is floating for another year, maybe because Bettman plans to retire and open up a pawn shop there one day. Is Atlanta an inferior market to any of those cities? Or does product have something to do with it?
There was no reason to do this now. When the Phoenix-to-Winnipeg deal fell apart, the NHL (which owns the Coyotes) was out $170 million. Bettman panicked. So he crossed out Phoenix and wrote in Atlanta. But why couldn’t he have waited a year to see if another owner for the team
Now living in Winnipeg.
emerged? Winnipeg wasn’t going anywhere. Was Bettman that desperate for the $60 million?
“I have absolutely no doubt that this market can support an NHL team,” said Bob Hartley, a native Canadian, a Stanley Cup winner in Colorado and the only coach to get the Thrashers to the playoffs. “It’s a huge disappointment to see the Atlanta franchise leave before so many other cities in the league. I loved it there. My last two years in Atlanta were as exciting as what I went through in Colorado. We had only two [home] playoffs games but it was a Stanley Cup atmosphere. But Hoss [Marian Hossa] left, Kovy [llya Kovalchuk] left, I was gone. It felt like the organization was drained of its energy.”
First player: Damian Rhodes. First draft pick: Patrik Stefan. First coach: Curt Fraser. First general manager: Don Waddell. That was only the beginning. Eleven seasons: one playoff berth, no wins.
Turner was followed by AOL/Time Warner, a bad marriage that was followed by an even worse one: Atlanta Spirit, LLC. Hossa saw no future here. Kovalchuk, given so many misdirections by part-owner Bruce Levenson in negotiations, wasn’t even sure the team would stay. Both wanted out.
There never was a commitment. There never was hope. There never was a plan — at least not one that worked.
A city just lost a franchise. While you mourn, they laugh. It’s nothing less than shameful.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,115 comments Add your comment
Relocationist
May 31st, 2011
2:19 pm
Saturday Sep 3rd Georgia vs Boise State, followed by South Carolina the next week.
Realsportsthanx
May 31st, 2011
2:19 pm
NOBODY GIVES A SH1T ABOUT SOCCER, SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING, OR HOCKEY!!!!
Miami Screaming Eagle
May 31st, 2011
2:20 pm
Habs fan in the Peg-
More than half the people that ive in the south are trans[plated Yankees.
Nashville, TB and Carolina are all successes.
It can be done with the right owners, not these clowns.
Southernhockeyfan
May 31st, 2011
2:21 pm
gopuckoff : If this is the happiest day of your life, you have a lot more serious issues. i guess you don’t care that there are people who work with the Thrashers that are now out of work. Nice guy. It’s not just about hockey. It’s like any industry that shuts its doors, people’s lives are radically changed. I hope you don’t have to ever sit down with your kid and explain why you have lost your job. Sleep well tonight pal.
Chuck
May 31st, 2011
2:21 pm
It’s real simple. Never spend another penny in Philips Arena. Don’t go to a Hawks game, a concert, circus, or any other event in that building. Run the ASG out of business and out of town.
mrj
May 31st, 2011
2:23 pm
Support the Gwinnett Gladiators.
Competitive teams, entertainment in the rink, pandering to the fans. Free parking, cheap(er) seats.
Ol’ Time Hockey!
Two Line Pass
May 31st, 2011
2:24 pm
I hope you FREEZE up there in HELL Waddell…. but hopefully you were given your walking papers too today.
Hey Big Buff, how do you feel about signing that contract now??? If I were guys like Ladd whose contract is up shortly and Boulton’s who is an unrestricted FA, I’d sign elsewhere!!!!
ryan
May 31st, 2011
2:24 pm
I think this puts huge black eye on the NHL and Bettman because they did not try to make it work and for these Canadians to come on here and say its the Atlanta fans fault is ridiculous it the bad ASG fault you people up in Winnipeg you are getting bad team anyway and your not a big media market like Atlanta so good luck .
TCFATL
May 31st, 2011
2:25 pm
Now this is personal – ASG made my nine year old son cry today …
As a season ticket holder, I took him to his first Thrasher game when he was two – he loved the sights, sounds and senations of the game and the venue, but asked why everyone shouted “Knights” during the Star Spangled Banner …
He got his first personalize sweater at age three, the same year he memorized all of the player names on the team, as well as the names of colors (home and away) of all the teams in the NHL – he got to sit in the penalty box during a season ticket selection event, always referring to being in “time out” at home as being “in the penalty box” – even asked his mom a few times if he was being charged with a minor or a major – he also really liked the “Guinness guy” who sat a few rows ahead of us and chugged a beer at critical moments …
At age four, he poured over the NHL standings, and followed every moment of the Standley Cup playoffs – he also convinced the organizers of a local roller hockey leagure to allow him to try out even though he was 12 months too young and had no skills – was skating backwards by season end …
At age five, we went to the first (and only) Thrasher playoff games – he was even featured in a Thrasher screen saver photo, a picture which frames the fire breathing Thrasher head with a young boy in the crowd, holding an inflatable Stanley Cup – the same inflatable cup he insisted on skating around the roller hockey rink when his team won their championship …
At age six, he insisted that we travel to Washington, DC, as his team’s alma mater was in the NCAA Froen Four, and hung out with coaches and players in the hotel lobby bar / restaurant for hours after the semi-final game, impressing them on his passion for the sport
At age seven, he didn’t understand why the Thrashers fired their coach after an 0-6 start, only two weeks after he met Bob Hartley at another season ticket event – “Dad, he took them to the playoffs just ten games ago!” – but began to understand when once of his heroes, Marion Hossa, left the team …
At age eight, Dad decided to go to a part-time package instead of season tickets, just because the tickets were expensive and the team wasn’t winning – “it’s still fun Dad, because it’s hockey, even if they aren’t winning as much” – but began to understand when Ilya Kovalchuk left the team …
For the past seven years, my son has hung a Thasher flag from his window balcony when they have won – he has dressed as a Thrasher during Halloween – he ran the Peachtree Jr. in Thrasher shirt and shorts – he bough Thrasher car flags using money he earned watching a neighbor’s pets – he glued himself to the NHL channels on DIRECTV – he had a birthday party in a suite at Phillips arena – he cheered the Blackhawks when they won the Stanley Cup last year because he respected the game and the traditions, even though the Thrashers weren’t even in the playoffs …
In others words, he was a fan – he was what the Thrashers or any other franchise in any other sport covets in any given market – a dyed in the wool fan, someone who cheers and follows his team because that is where he is from, that is who represents his town, that is who he respects, that is who he aspires to be …
He doesn’t understand the legal skirmish, doesn’t understand why the NHL team bailed out a team in the desert (channelling Sam Kinison here for a moment – this is Phoenix, this is sand, ice doesn’t form here, why didn’t you move move where the ice is!), and why they abandoned one of the top markets in the country – he questions why people in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas support hockey, but why Atlanta doesn’t – he doesn’t understand why NY / NJ has three hockey teams, and now we have none – he doesn’t understand why Atlanta has dropped to a secondary city because it now only has teams in three of the top four major sports …
So, thanks a lot ASG, thanks a lot Gary Bettman – you made my son cry today – he was one of a few kids in Atlanta who knew every line to “The Hockey Song” – he has a Goal Horn app on his iPhone – he played hockey against his sister (three years younger) in the basement ever since she could walk – this is who you hurt, this is who you disappointed, this is who you have now lost not as a lifelong Thrasher fan, but a lifelong hockey fan …
And for Atlanta, shame on you, too – yes, I am just as guilty, as I throttled my own support by lessening my investment in the team and tickets – but still, we were there – where were you? – shame on the AJC, who relegated the Thrashers to the back pages – shame on local sports radio, who relegated Thrasher hockey to a rung below pro wrestling on status ladder – and shame on all of us, for losing a precious piece of our community …
The Braves are no longer locally owned, and the Hawks remain in control of the ASG – the Falsons are the only major franchise which is locally owned – take heed, if we do not support teams with our hearts, minds and wallets, we can become a one franchise town in the blink of an eye – if nothing else, the Thrasher move to Winnipeg serves to illustrate that others often covet that which you take for granted …
And all of this the day after I had to explain to my son why Jim Tressell, coach of his beloved Buckeyes, resigned on Memorial Day – not sa good sports week in my household …
ynot
May 31st, 2011
2:26 pm
Atlanta Thrashers aren’t winners. In this City you have to win to get the fans interested. If you expect blind faith move the team to Chicago and call them The Cubs. ASG means what a mess. The Thrashers were an ASG.
GladFan123
May 31st, 2011
2:27 pm
@HandOvThrawn: Really appreciate you sharing your keen insight and brilliant observations about
Atlanta’s only remaining pro hockey team … can’t imagine why you decided to add disparaging and demeaning potshots aimed at the Gladiators in this forum.
I must admit that you are absolutely right about one thing – the ECHL ain’t the NHL. But then – I didn’t interpret any other comments in this blog as indicating or even hinting that the talent level of the two leagues was comparable.
Let’s see … they’ve only been playing “double-A at best” professional hockey at an 11,000+ capacity arena up in the NE suburbs for 8 seasons now … all they’ve done is to establish and maintain a winning tradition, developed a ton of talent, entertain a ton of fans, while also generating a ton of charitable contributions back to the community (I’ve heard to the tune of over a $1 million dollars) … not bad for “not even close”.
And heck, 15 minutes north of Spaghetti Junction is clearly “too far for most in Atlanta”, particularly when you consider that parking is free and ticket prices are under $20 bucks.
Any idea whatsoever how many Thrashers prospects have been assigned to Gwinnett? Any idea how many former Gladiators and/or ECHL players have advanced to the NHL?
Seems that neither the Atlanta Spirit ownership/management (excuse me, make that FORMER ownership/management) – nor the Atlanta sports media – has ever had any interest in promoting that a first-class, hard-working, and entertaining pro hockey affiliate of the Thrashers was located in the suburbs. Guess it’s only fitting that a disgruntled Thrashers fan would continue the appalling Atlanta tradition of demeaning and dismissing minor-league hockey.
Thanks for nothing, HandOvThrawn – your indignation is only exceeded by your ignorance.
no hockey love anymore
May 31st, 2011
2:27 pm
Enter your comments hereThe Spirit was and still is a corrupt and incompetent company, but we can’t completely blame them for this happening. This team wasn’t supported by the people of Atlanta just like every other professional team here. Go to most other cities and they actually go to the games to support their pro franchises.Let’s be honest here folks. Unless the next pro hockey team that somehow makes it here renames themselves the UGA bulldogs, they don’t stand a chance. Go to a Braves or Hawks game during a weekday and you’ll understand. Living in the Bay Area now, it’s refreshing to go to Giants and Sharks games where the fans actually sell out stadiums and arenas and the fans wear jerseys and hats of the Home team rather than being outnumbered by opposing fans or people wearing UGA football gear. I was born and raised in Atlanta but it is an absolute joke of a pro sports town filled with fair weather fans. Maybe if you guys actually went to the games, the owners could invest more into the team…?
HandOvThrawn
May 31st, 2011
2:27 pm
@BartenderBart I am not bashing the Gladiators by any means. To me it would be like replacing the falcons with lower division college football. Sure their heart is in the game and they are all trying to make ‘it’, but the talent level not even remotely comparable. On top of that, the arena (and its a very nice one) is in a terrible location for people who live near Marietta or Kennesaw. And i agree about moving anything to Philips, what a terrible location and no one wants to be there. Went to a preds and and when we left it was basically one huge party in the streets and no one wanted to leave. You felt safe and secure. Not in ATL, as soon as the game is over you bolt for your car and high tail it out of the city or you get barraged with bums and idiots surrounding you.
ATL Observer
May 31st, 2011
2:28 pm
Still waiting for someone, ANYONE, to explain to me how there are 41 music artists that are going to bring CONCERTS to Atlanta that WE DON’T ALREADY GET!!!!
Hate Hockey
May 31st, 2011
2:29 pm
No Big Loss – Now maybe all this hoopla will stop!!!!!!
OHL
May 31st, 2011
2:29 pm
Two Line Pass, you say that “If I were guys like Ladd whose contract is up shortly and Boulton’s who is an unrestricted FA, I’d sign elsewhere!!!!”
But are you aware that Ladd himself said that “I’m sure most guys are excited to go to a hockey-driven market”
DD
May 31st, 2011
2:30 pm
Who needs Philips Arena anyway? The Thrashers should have been located in Gwinnett. Nobody wants to go to downtown Atlanta. To have a winning franchise you have to have owners with deep pockets and monied people attending the games. Monied people do not go to downtown Atlanta. Cheap taxes for downtown Atlanta does not equate to a winning franchise.
TheAntiMe
May 31st, 2011
2:31 pm
Hey there, stupid, dumb, and fat (just thought that I would help you out and put your personal attributes in their proper order, your welcome), since you are all of the above I will once again help you by pointing out that we actually have won something with our sports teams. The Braves have won a World Championship to go along with 14 straight divisional titles, which just so happens to be a record for consecutive divisional titles.
The Falcons are very close to winning a Super Bowl title after having the best record in the NFC last year. And even the Hawks are a perennial playoff team being just a personnel move or two away from making it to the Finals.
Now, stupid, dumb, and fat, how many championship banners do all of your one ever Winnipeg pro sports team have at this current date? I’ll help you here too – zero, zilch, none, nada.
Sorry, but your minor league WHA teams don’t count. We’re talking about big boy teams in this discussion.
ricardo
May 31st, 2011
2:32 pm
please atlanta does not deserve the nhl!!..hahaha…you are a bunch of little cry babies!…please dont go to any hawks games…because then the hawks can move to tampa bay (where i live)….so all of you are just hurting yourselves for not going to hawks games…SO MORE TIME PLEASE DON’T SHOW UP TO HAWKS GAMES SO THEN THE HAWKS CAN LEAVE TOWN SINCE THERE IS NO FAN SUPPORT AND THEN THEY CAN BECOME THE TAMPA BAY HAWKS….HAHAHAHA
Relocationist
May 31st, 2011
2:32 pm
Sure Winnipeg may be a ‘hockey driven market’. With that said, if players wanted to play in a place like Winnipeg they could have gone to the KHL. At least the Russian girls are pretty.
krux
May 31st, 2011
2:33 pm
For the guy that says you will get the Coyotes next year……your a fool. The NHL will not if ever come back to Atlanta. The bottom line is pretty clear……..NOT ONE person or group stepped forward to even eyeball the team. The “Balkin” was a complete joke. So was Rollins. No one wanted a team in Atlanta.
InYurFace
May 31st, 2011
2:33 pm
The reason why the Expos left Montreal as your stadium is falling down around them along with your bridges. Toronto is the greatest hockey city in the world, home of Lord Stanley’s cup…..no go cry cuz your Habs didn’t make the playoffs…
PureEvil
May 31st, 2011
2:36 pm
Top 10 Hockey team names for next Atlanta team:
1. The Atlanta Leaf burners
2. The Atlanta Rebels
3. The Atlanta Listings
4. The Atlanta Ryderstrucks
5. The Atlanta Movers
6. The Atlanta Shortsales
7. The Atlanta Budget
8. The Atlanta Sold
9. The Atlanta Foreclosures
10. The Atlanta Carpetbaggers
Norm Maracle
May 31st, 2011
2:36 pm
Wonder if things would be different if David McDavid was not shoved to the curb to accomodate the ASG?
Hockey Comes Home
May 31st, 2011
2:38 pm
What a bunch of cry babies on this site. You’re taking out your frustration on Winnipeg instead of the people of Atlanta who didnt care enough to buy tickets. This isn’t a beach volleyball team we’re talking about – they play hockey — a sport that is played in the cold. The guys on the team won’t give a rats behind about Atlanta as soon as they hit the ice in an arena full of real fans. You whine about the team going to an “outpost”? From where real hockey fans sit, your city is the “outpost” in this sport. Winnipeg is far bigger than Green Bay WI, but somehow fans in other NFL cities come out to see the Packers play. As for the two new donut shops in Winnipeg, there are probably more real hockey fans in them than the entire city of Atlanta.
Southernhockeyfan
May 31st, 2011
2:38 pm
Hate Hockey:
Why do you hate it? Have you ever been to a game?
Southernhockeyfan
May 31st, 2011
2:39 pm
Hockey Comes Home: Enjoy it pal. I am sorry for those putting down your city, but don’t put down our’s either two wrongs don’t make a right. I hope it works for you guys this time, but remember there is a bulls-eye on your back too. You guys failed in your first attempt. Don’t mess it up this time. Also, don’t bitch and moan if you don’t win and ticket sales start to drop in your city too.
Favorite Son
May 31st, 2011
2:40 pm
The attendance at games was always way too low! Obviously putting a team there was a mistake in the first place. I’m sorry for all the few fans that are affected by it, but there obviously aren’t enough of you…
Joe Friday
May 31st, 2011
2:40 pm
I dare Gearon, Seydel and Turner to show their faces in public in this town again. They are pariahs now. Make sure you tell all the non-hockey fans what they’ve done, this guys are done in this town. Spend no money on the Hawks or Philips or their businesses.
These guys have given up their dignity, integrity, and their word. Pity them for that. They brought shame upon themselves and their families, I feel the worst for their children who now know what type of men they have as fathers.
Duston
May 31st, 2011
2:40 pm
Everyone!!! time to boycott the crappy Hawks and maybe they will move away too!! It will make Atlanta a better place for us all!!
hosshumard
May 31st, 2011
2:41 pm
“…Atlanta didn’t fail….”
Yeah, you did. Again. Deal with it.
HandOvThrawn
May 31st, 2011
2:43 pm
GladFan123 – My intent was not to disparage the Gladiators by any means. They are a viable option for folks who want that entertainment. My comments are derived from the ASG and are spewing over to anything NHL related at the moment.
ricardo
May 31st, 2011
2:44 pm
YOU GUYS DON’T CARE….YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OR CRY-BABIES
NikkiFree
May 31st, 2011
2:44 pm
Can we as a city “pass the hat” and buy the Hawks from ASG before those guys completely destroy what’s left of them? We couldn’t rescue the Thrashers.
no hockey love anymore
May 31st, 2011
2:44 pm
I guess no one wants to address the fact that Georgia will always and forever be a college football state first and a professional team state dead last. If I was a pro athlete or wealthy billionaire, I would never get involved with a pro team in Atlanta. Fan support of the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and Thrashers is/was pathetic compared to other professional sports cities around the country. You can’t always blame the lack of pro team success on management given that the Thrashers aren’t the only pro team in Atlanta to not win a championship. Go to a flippin’ weekday game and buy a shirt or hat of your hometown team for goodness sake instead of wearing your UGA shirt from 1980.
Baronsforever
May 31st, 2011
2:45 pm
To the person on page 1 who called Atlanta, in capital letters, the Cleveland of the south just know that this die hard hockey fan in Cleveland is feeling sick for the hockey fans in Atlanta, no matter their numbers. In the 1970’s, while the NHL was trying the Flames experiment, we watched money grubbing owners take a city that had one of the greatest hockey heritages in the USA and turn it into a city with a reputation of not supporting hockey by a list of stupid maneuvers. We never got our NHL team back, just minor league teams playing in NHL-sized buildings. The decision-makers transformed Cleveland into an NBA city that sold its soul to a boy from Akron named LeBron who slapped them all in the face on national tv. This foolishness gets old, but the game itself is the greatest of all sports and so most of us are hockey-lovers. Look at what happened in Chicago. The old miser died and all of a sudden the Blackhawks were the biggest thing in town and Michael Jordan’s statue was wearing a Blackhawks sweater. I’m rambling because it would take a book to say everything that needs to be said about this league. So, I’m sorry for Atlanta having to go through this again. The person in Toronto who wrote about how they fill the place for the Leafs is just one of these “hockey is OUR game” Canadians. They look down on the US hockey fans, except when they can get our money. At least Americans have enough sense not to sell out every game for a terrible team. It’s just beginning in Columbus. Maybe the Blue Jackets will be your next team. How ironic would that be? Finally, I am happy for Winnipeg. Those Manitoba Moose fans who traveled all the way to Cleveland in April for the playoff games will have a team in the league they never did anything to lose. Oh for the days of the Jets, Oilers, Whalers, Nordiques and Crusaders. Good luck to all. Turn your TV to NBC for the 5 of the 7 games of the finals they are showing and tell me it isn’t a great sport. The rest of you enjoy your warm weather. It’s in the 90’s here today. So, I’m leaving this laptop and heading outside to enjoy the sunshine before it leaves!!! I think I’ve succeeded in writing a post that’s as messed up as this NHL checkerboard franchises situation. Till next time….farewell Atlanta.
jay
May 31st, 2011
2:46 pm
So similar to what happened with the Grizz in Vancouver. Well said: “Atlanta didn’t fail, the league did.” All of the other owners share the responsibility in this failure.
enrique palazzo
May 31st, 2011
2:46 pm
Schultzie: Not to underscore the happenings of today, but I am personally not a hockey fan. HOWEVER..what are the chances that this could happen to the Hawks???? Very concerned about where the Spirit are…
Southernhockeyfan
May 31st, 2011
2:46 pm
Favorite Son: You are entitled to your opinion, but you are in correct. There are more than a FEW hockey fans. If Atlanta is guilty of anything, it’s is demanding a winner. When the Braves were not winning, attendance was low. When the Falcons weren’t winning, attendance was low. When the Hawks struggled attendance was low. When don’t know what it would have been like to have a winner, because the ownership didn’t care enough to put the team in position to win.
luangtom
May 31st, 2011
2:47 pm
How did ATL not see this? Phillips arena had half-filled seats for most of the past few seasons with the Thrashers on the ice. Where were all of thes fans that ATL says it has? Economically, ASG made a wise move. Fans have to support a team in good and in bad. One did not see this in ATL. How come NO ONE with money in ATL did not come forward and avoid the sell-off? Where were the big-money people that ATL boasts it has? Yes, ASG made the final decision to move. But, the ATL fans put them in the position that they had to make this decision. Life will go on……………
TheAntiMe
May 31st, 2011
2:48 pm
You whine about the team going to an “outpost”? From where real hockey fans sit, your city is the “outpost” in this sport.
Well, Hockey Comes Home,better to be an “outpost” than an “outhouse” like the small-time hamlet of Winnipeg. By the way, you seem to be doing more than your share of whining and crying for everyone on this blog. “We are too a big boy city! We are too! Mommy!”
OK, it appears that the trolls are descending so I’m out. Peace to all Thrashers fans and all of the Winnipeg fans who aren’t trolls which I do know is most of you.
Relocationist
May 31st, 2011
2:48 pm
So, a Thrasher player calls his wife and says ‘honey, we’ve just been transferred to Winnipeg.’
Okay, so I’m open to your thoughts. What do you think she said?
Bonk
May 31st, 2011
2:50 pm
how many championship banners do all of your one ever Winnipeg pro sports team have at this current date? I’ll help you here too – zero, zilch, none, nada.
Sorry, but your minor league WHA teams don’t count. We’re talking about big boy teams in this discussion.
Well if you look back at the winners of the Stanley Cup Winnipeg won it in the 1901 & 1902 seasons, yeah you can say what have they done since then but Atlanta has never won one and unfortunately they lost a team who may have been a contender eventually.
Miami Screaming Eagle
May 31st, 2011
2:51 pm
Favorite son and Hoss///the fans didn’t fail, ASG failed. This team would have failed in any city but Tronna. can’t seel off stars and expect your fans to stay motivated. ASG took the money and cried poor every year.
Cousin Curtis
May 31st, 2011
2:51 pm
Zzzzzz…
Wha? Something happened?
Oh.
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The Joker...
May 31st, 2011
2:52 pm
Screw the ASG, Billy Knight, Waddell, and whoever else that is and has ever been affiliated with the ASG!!!! Wasn’t a huge hockey fan, but I will honestly say that the experience at a hockey game in Atlanta was the most electric atmosphere of any city and any sport that I’ve ever attended!!! And I have attended quite a few in various cities.
gratistenant36
May 31st, 2011
2:53 pm
I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff, http://GoGetBids.com
Hillbilly D
May 31st, 2011
2:53 pm
Living in the Bay Area now, it’s refreshing to go to Giants and Sharks games where the fans actually sell out stadiums
Both those teams are contenders. I can remember seeing many games televised from old Candlestick, where there were more seagulls than spectators but they weren’t contenders back then. A lot of people point to the support that the Cubs get but if you follow them, you know that their attendence is down this year and the natives are getting restless. The Expos were a good draw when they were a contending team; they were run into the ground by poor ownership. As the great Alex Hawkins said, any problem with a sports team can always be traced back to the owner(s).
Andrew
May 31st, 2011
2:53 pm
Well everyone deserves a second chance, Atlanta definatley got a fair chance there in the state of georgia that right there says it all, people just dont care about hockey, the other sunset strip teams are barley cutting it, aside from tampa(they win), La&San Jose(win) and Dallas(want it all), there all in trouble Betman the prick he is didn’t want to admit he was wrong that moving winnipeg to phenoix, so Atlana gets the boot instead. Jets will fly forever a true hockey cit that always deserved to have a team(also has a fan base outselling mechandise of other teams since 97)
Billsen
May 31st, 2011
2:54 pm
I get a bit weary of the suburbanites suggesting that the location of Philips is why the Thrashers failed. Does the city suddenly get safer when it is a Falcons game in the same effing location? How is it that 75,000 people can make it downtown for a Falcons game? Try using some logic instead of your fears.