If the Thrashers left Atlanta, would anyone care? Oh, yes.
The Hamilton Spectator reported last week that a Vancouver-based group wanted to buy the Thrashers and move them to Ontario. Don Waddell, the team’s general manager, insists that cannot and will not happen, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t believe him.
Still, that got me to thinking: If the Thrashers left, would anybody miss them? (They ranked next-to-last among NHL teams in attendance, averaging 14,626 per home date.) So, via Twitter, I asked. And of 50 respondents, only four said they wouldn’t care if the Thrash went the way of the migratory Flames. A selected sampling:
John Bragg: “Aside from family, friends, and the basic necessities in life, there’s not much I wouldn’t trade to see Ilya [Kovalchuk] hoist the Cup in Philips.”
Chad Bryant: “This is like asking, ‘Would you miss your dog if it ran away?’ – except in this case, the dog is being stolen from you from rich and crazy Canadians.”
Catherine Olson: “I was born at Georgia Baptist Hospital in 1964. The myth that Southerners could not possibly like hockey kills me. I am so tired of every one assuming that all the hockey fans in Atlanta are transplants from up north. I am Southern and a hockey fan and better yet a Thrasher fan!”
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.Lance Blair: “Following them is my second religion and going to Philips is my second church. I’d miss the fans, the excitement, and the promise of the team’s bright future … If they left now I might consider moving to their new home.”
Pat DeSilva: “It takes character to be a Thrashers fan. It is not for everyone, but we Thrashers fans would like to see the base group grow and it will as the team continues to improve. There is currently plenty of room on the bandwagon.”
Barry Tennihan: “I hate to admit it but I would not really lose any sleep if they left town. It would be a negative for the city since we try show that Atlanta is a ‘major league town.’ Unfortunately, most of the blame would have to go on the backs of the owners (or the Seven Stooges).”
Jeffrey T. Cape: “I wouldn’t miss the Thrashers a bit if they moved. I will admit that attending a Thrashers game in person is a lot of fun – even if I don’t fully grasp all the rules and nuances of hockey – but outside the arena I have no interest in them. I can’t explain why this is so, but I don’t follow them, wouldn’t miss them.”
Debbie Ott: “My kids are getting older but the one thing we all still enjoy is getting together and attending Thrasher games … I definitely would not be going downtown and spending a trainload of my discretionary income any more if the guys weren’t there.”
Brett Williams: “I’d be furious and empty. As a native Minnesotan and huge hockey fan and player, it was hard to survive prior to the Thrashers’ arrival. If they left, I’d be like a fish out of water – flipping and flopping and trying to figure out how to survive.”
Billy Lindahl: “I’m willing to cheer for the fourth-worst team in the league every year just to see them every season.”
Chris Bennett: “I wear the Michael Myers mask [at home games]. I would be very disappointed if the Thrashers left. I am a born and raised Atlantan, third generation in fact … Thrasher wins make my days a little better as much as losses make them a little worse.”
Yes, the Thrashers qualify as a niche sport, but it’s a vibrant niche that makes our city that much nicer. We would be diminished if they weren’t around. I mean, you don’t have to go to the High Museum 41 times a year, but isn’t it nice to know it’s there?
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230 comments Add your comment
wise ass
May 14th, 2009
11:57 pm
Isn’t there another former Thrasher playing for Detroit?
Ex-Thrashers 1， Thrashers 0.
Gravy Train
May 14th, 2009
11:59 pm
I would be fine with discarding the Thrashers in favor of focusing on the Hawks. Atlanta will never be a hockey town and it seems rather pointless to force the issue. It has been proven time and again that this city can be a basketball town. I say let the Canadians and snow birds have the Thrashers. I bet if all of the snow birds left, our traffic situation would clear up immediately.
So, Go Thrashers…and take the traffic with you.
James
May 14th, 2009
11:59 pm
Atlanta is not a hockey city therefore a city that embraces hockey more should get the team especially in Canada where hockey is king. I would suggest if the thrashers were to move to another American city they should move to Seattle.
Dude!
May 15th, 2009
12:00 am
Do they need any help packing? They take up way too much of the media time/space so good riddance!
Mouth Breather
May 15th, 2009
12:00 am
Hockey can’t survive in the South!!
Thrashers to Houston LOLOLOL!!!
Suckers.
Bane Shattier
May 15th, 2009
12:01 am
Thrashers take up TOO MUCH media time?
Seriously??
Kevin
May 15th, 2009
12:04 am
Instead of writing an article debating the effect of the team leaving, why don’t you try covering the team in a consistent manner. The attendance and W-L record are not the paper’s fault but the second rate coverage is your responsibility. Atlanta is a fair weather town, attendance for all sports is subpar, look at the empty seats at Turner Field on a nightly basis!
Don
May 15th, 2009
12:16 am
They are Thugs on ice and no one cares about hockey thats why you dont see it on a real sports station!
PHIL
May 15th, 2009
12:30 am
I enjoy the Thrashers. But if they go, I’d be more than willing to help every single Thrashers fan from North of KY to pack up and move to somewhere they had a hockey team. As a public service, of course.
John Locke
May 15th, 2009
12:32 am
Don-Don’t forget your skirt when you leave for work in the morning.
diego
May 15th, 2009
12:39 am
The Penguins were on life support with 1 beat left until the NHL officially declared them dead. A few years later and they’ve been to the Stanely Cup and are now 1 series away from going back. Why are the Thrashers still so far away?! Every off-season I find myself saying the same thing… we need a solid defense!!
Our scorer is lazy and doesn’t play both sides of the ice but still thinks he should be included in talks with Sid the Kid and the Russian Assassin. Our goalie is suppose to be a phenom but not even Patrick Roy in his prime could last in the net on this team. The defense is so craptastic I’m thinking I could score against the Thrashers. (I don’t even know how to ice skate)
We’ve been picking in the top of the draft for years… where’s the minor league help? We couldn’t have traded all of them away. Or are we selecting busts year after year?
I really… REALLY want the Thrashers to stay here in the ATL because I look forward to an incredible night of looting Stanely Cup style, but I’m thinking my beloved Saints have a better chance of winning a Super Bowl before anyone sips from Lord Stanley’s Cup in Hotlanta.
scottbravesfan
May 15th, 2009
12:56 am
I would be so pissed if they moved away from Atlanta. I wouldn’t watch the NHL ever again. Simple as that. This city has not had a fair shake at hockey with the Thrashers and this town has shown in the 70s that they could support hockey with the Flames. It’s not our fault that douche bag who owned the team couldn’t handle his private finances. The Thrashers have been ran into the ground by the teflon Don Waddell and that joke of an ownership group.
FIRE THE ATLANTA SPIRIT!!!!!
IlliniBrave
May 15th, 2009
1:22 am
What?! Did I just read you right? “Only three out of 50 responses…?”
The very fact that you had so few responses to your Twitter and so few posts here and so few votes re. your question are all the evidence you need. If you asked a similar question about the Falcons, Braves, or even Hawks, you would have 100s if not 1000s of responses. Heck, DOB easily gets over a 1000 postings EVERY SINGLE NIGHT that he blogs on the Braves. Here you are posing a provocative debate about the future of the franchise and you can only muster a few dozen reactions.
The cold reality is that most of us don’t give a crap about hockey to begin with – and we wouldn’t be too sentimental about losing the most pathetic franchise in professional sports.
scottbravesfan
May 15th, 2009
1:42 am
BA,
Atlanta supported the NHL for years in the 1970s way before all of the Northern transplants moved here and screwed up our traffic so you can take your stupid theory back to Pitt where it belongs.
Seriously why the hell do so many of you move here? GO BACK HOME!!!! All you do is complain about how crappy a sports town Atlanta is and yet you don’t even bother supporting the Atlanta teams even though you yourself lives in Atlanta and are a sports fan so you should be the ones that are going to the games. Not for the stupid penguins, who the Canes are going to destroy, but for the actual Atlanta teams. If not you really need to move back home. When in Rome
scottbravesfan
May 15th, 2009
1:52 am
Illini,
You can’t compare the Thrashers, who are an expansion team, to a team that has been around since 1871 of course the Braves are going to have more fans are responses. Thanks to TBS they have one of the biggest fan bases around and have actually won a championship in Atlanta. The Thrashers a hardcore group of fans in Atlanta and in the south east just like every other team. Look at Chicago the Blackhawks were last in attendance every year just about and now that they are winning again they sell out every game. A winner makes things happen and the Thrashers have been losers 8 out of the 9 years they have been a franchise. Not to mention their best and most popular player ends up killing one of his team mates and then asks to be traded. If Dany Heatley was still on this team they would have made the playoffs more than just one year and they would have a bigger fan base because he is a player that Americans can get behind. Even though everyone love Ilya he still is Russian with a funny name.
Poopy Pants
May 15th, 2009
3:22 am
If the Thrashers played hockey everyday like they did the last game of the season (4/11) against the Lightning this year, they would sell out every night! There were about 5 fights and a ton of goals scored (6) by the team. It was the most fun I’ve had at a pro league game (including NHL, MLB, NFL, etc.) in a long time.
MIchael
May 15th, 2009
5:45 am
It took the Washington Capitals 9 years to make the playoffs, 23 years to win the Eastern Conference, and since then a lot of disappointment. Thrashers are Caps redux. I suggest you pretend the Thrashers do not even exist and do something with your new found spare time such as study and work. Because of crappy Caps I am a lawyer today.
CoastDog
May 15th, 2009
5:50 am
Thrashers? What Thrashers are you talking about? What we have are “Thrashees”. And other than Jeff Schulze, who cares?
Michael
May 15th, 2009
7:06 am
I love hockey and would have season tickets if the Atlanta fans were better. Though my favorite team is in another city, I have actually needed to defend the Thrashers to their own fans when my team was playing them. One mistake or just a good play by the other team will cause the hometown “fans” to start bad-mouthing their own team.
In addition, the arena gets the reputation of being loud, not because the fans are enthusiastic, but because they crank the PA system up so loud that the music is completely distorted. I’ve been to many arenas, and this is the most obnoxious I’ve seen. They also push the limits of the league rules by keeping the music playing after the dropping of the puck.
Jam87
May 15th, 2009
7:37 am
Who are the Thrashers?
And who cares.
Irish Thunder
May 15th, 2009
7:44 am
This would be a good “Hockey Town” if the Thrashers were just competitive. End of story.
World be Free
May 15th, 2009
8:04 am
I changed my mind on Bradley, thanks for getting some discussion on this issue, though you probably have given some fuel to the idiots in Hamilton that want to steal any franchise.
To all those idiot anti-hockey morons with IQs similar to their shoe sizes-thanks for bringing your lack of intelligence to this column. You can take your stupidity and ignorance back to The Vent.
World be Free
May 15th, 2009
8:09 am
I have changed my mind Bradley-thanks for brining this discussion forward. The problem here is that some of the feedback has given more fuel to the people in Hamilton, who want to steal a franchise, any franchise.
To the anti-hockey morons; thanks for bringing your ignorance to this column. Now please take your stupidity back to The Vent where it belongs.
Mr. Skynyrd
May 15th, 2009
8:09 am
I saw a Thrasher in my yard just yesterday. He left already.
Oh, you meant the hockey team?
Yawn – who cares.
Ross
May 15th, 2009
8:11 am
I love hockey but the Thrashers are a sorry excuse for a franchise. The name is stupid, they can’t figure out what color they wear, they have no personality – they are no fun, which is worse than just being a bad team. What they need is a complete makeover – new name, new, simple, traditional unis and at least one marquee player. Sports is supposed to be fun. Watching this team is like watching shift change at the laundry.
-drl
Joey Porter
May 15th, 2009
8:32 am
hockey!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you mean the sport where a team only scores when one team has more players than the opponent. Fighting is an integral part of the game.
imagine if NBA teams played 4 against 5 or a football team played 11 against 10.
This is the norm in the NHL 4 on 5, 3 on 5.
P
May 15th, 2009
8:35 am
NO. Too expensive, too hard to get to the arena, too boring, not enough scoring. Get rid of the goalies and I might be interested.
Mark Bradley
May 15th, 2009
8:39 am
It serves no purpose to liken the Thrashers to the Braves or the Falcons or even the Hawks. Hockey is a niche sport, at least in the U.S. The others are mainstream.
unidog10
May 15th, 2009
8:39 am
I’d miss them like I’d miss a good case of the crabs!
TJ
May 15th, 2009
8:45 am
I think the Thrashers are the poorest run organization in the NHL. Don Waddell clearly doesnt know how to put together a contender. In fact, I’d say the only GM worse than Waddell would be Billy Knight.
I hope that ownership attempts to make some changes to turn things around. If the Thrashers start winning, you’ll see even more fans in the seats
Mac
May 15th, 2009
8:53 am
No. But that’s just me.
falconfan
May 15th, 2009
8:55 am
“Hockey” – OH…that’s the game that’s a cross between football and figure skating where the participants weren’t good enough at either – so they do this. Uhm…well…nah….noone will miss them – except maybe all the misplaced yankees in Atlanta.
The Alpha Male
May 15th, 2009
8:56 am
Hockey? We have hockey in Atlanta?
jms
May 15th, 2009
8:58 am
Hockey’s OK but I’d rather have an MLS team.
Dejay
May 15th, 2009
9:07 am
As a native Atlantan who watched a team get hijacked to Calgary because of a bankrupt owner selling out to Canadian businessmen, it would pain me to no end if the Thrashers left. And I’m not a hockey fan; just an Atlanta sports fan (well, except for the Doggies).
It’s funny how folks from other parts of the country rail on Atlanta for being a ‘poor’ sports town when every major city has its fair share of bandwagon fans. Fact is that you can’t name one city with MULTIPLE sports teams who didn’t run for the hills when things went south. I don’t recall it being standing room only in Yankee or Shea when NYC had bad teams. You couldn’t give away tickets in Detroit when the Tigers were bad and the Lions were worse. And just how many folks were in Boston a couple of years ago to watch the Celtics and Grizzlies get it on before Danny Ainge got wise and brought in Ray Allen and KG? But yet folks can pile on us for not spending $$$ on such a lousy product? Now THAT’S the true meaning of a double standard, folks.
Just because a team is based here doesn’t mean it’s our civic duty to pay hard-earned $$$ to see them if their not bringing the goods in return. If you go to a restaurant and the food and service is horrible, while its manager treats you like garbage, you’re not coming back for more; and while you’re at it, you’re telling everyone about how horrible the place is. That’s a fact. So tell Michael Wilbon to put that in his pipe and smoke it, Bradley.
Back to the Thrashers. They and the Hawks have both been under-served by their litigious ownership group and some hideous front office decisions. What have the Hawks lacked when they were losing 50+ games a year? A point guard and a big man. With FIVE LOTTERY PICKS, what Billy Knight selects? Everything BUT a point guard and a big man. Can you even fathom what the Hawks would look like with Chris Paul, Rudy Gay, and Al Jefferson on the squad instead of the Williams boys (Shelden and Marvin) and Josh Childress? Even I could’ve done better with the draft picks than Waddell has, yet he still draws a paycheck?
What Billy Knight has done to the Hawks and what Waddell is doing to the Thrashers is borderline CRIMINAL to the sports fans in this town. Until someone with a clue (and deep pockets of $$$) takes over BOTH teams, we’ll see more of the same and be writing stories about more of the same.
GAME, SET, MATCH.
CW
May 15th, 2009
9:10 am
Professional sports, including the Olympics, are easily described as drug enhanced bodies and drug enhanced performances. I have no interest in any professional sport, especially one for which the nightly highlights show one or more fights among the skaters. Good riddance.
TenaciousD
May 15th, 2009
9:16 am
We need a better product. Hockey is doomed unless we start winning
Bdawg
May 15th, 2009
9:18 am
I would miss the Blue Crew. Yowsa! Those are some fine looking gals.
kracker
May 15th, 2009
9:19 am
“Hockey is a niche sport, at least in the U.S.” – That’s true. It’s also true the niche can be enlargened by a quality team with good marketing and the backing of area busniesses and the media.
Where do all these ppl come from? I don’t go to the other sporting blogs and leave inane comments.
Nikita
May 15th, 2009
9:20 am
I would miss the Thrashers a great deal — I love them, and have seen as many games as I could for all of their seasons. I border on being a rabid fan. That said, as someone who lives way OTP, I have to put in a lot of effort to be a Thrashers fan. The team is neither adequately televised nor adequately covered in any form of media, and it’s also underpromoted.
Ralph
May 15th, 2009
9:22 am
It is impossible to watch hockey on TV. I have been to a couple hockey games, both here in Atlanta and once in Pittsburgh. While it was fun at the time, it’s only fun if you are in the arena. Local media, newspaper, radio, and TV does not give the kind of coverage needed to generate enough interest. Plus we are a week away from the official start of the SUMMER season and we are STILL talking about ICE hockey.
SCN
May 15th, 2009
9:28 am
I’d be upset if the Thrash left, as when Cousins sold the Flames. The Flames departure has been so distorted over the years and most people do not realize that they left due to Cousins financial problems, not support of the team. Too bad Turner didn’t step in and save them, a few years before they won the Cup in Calgary. The Thrash obviously have ownership problems too. Fact is, a consistent NHL playoff team (Flames) and an NHL bottom feeder (Thrashers) have outdrawn the NBA Hawks in attendance almost every year they’ve gone head to head (’73-’80 and ‘00-’09) though certainly not this year.
The problem with the Thrashers is performance and management, which has alientated both hard core and casual fans. Same thing that has happened to the Braves, Falcons and Hawks when they were/are horrible.
David Smith
May 15th, 2009
9:36 am
What’s hockey?
JL
May 15th, 2009
9:36 am
Atlanta has a hoceky team? How long have they been here?
Hollywould
May 15th, 2009
9:39 am
Mark, I am born and raised in Ga. Falcon STH/ Braves STH/ and die-hard
college football fan. I, like many posters who haven’t given this game a chance at first did not like hockey. Once I learned most of the rules
and saw how athletic these guys are I now love the game.
I wish we had a chance to play when I was growing up but it was nowhere
to be seen. I also wanted to dunk a b-ball also but that never happened either. I have bought i/4 season tickets the past 2 years and it is a great time there. The problem is people are not going to flock to games
if you don’t win. Plain and simple.
If Kovy does not get any help he is gone and then so is the Thrash.
I actually believe this team has some very good younger players and are starting to understand JA’s system. It would be sad if they left.
change the start times to 7:30 or even 8. This game is usually over in 2 hrs. All you haters(take it from a southern boy) these guys are talented.
James
May 15th, 2009
9:39 am
What’s hockey? Let the whining yankees and canadians go home if they want hockey.Let’s get a pro soccer team.
Archie
May 15th, 2009
9:42 am
I’m a single, professional guy in my 20’s, I chose to live in Atlanta because of the sporting events offered in this town. Atlanta has it all, if they no longer had it all one day, my life would be less fun. You don’t have to like hockey (though I do) to appreciate the fact that we have a team here. I choose to use my spending money on sporting events, football and hockey mostly, so I want any town that I live in to have those two things. I’m not saying I would move out of Atlanta if the Thrashers left, but I passed up job opportunities before because I liked the lifestyle this city offered. If that lifestyle were diminished I would be much more interested in seeing what other cities had to offer.
Dave
May 15th, 2009
9:49 am
Didn’t realize they were still playing hockey. Haven’t seen one article on The Stanley Cup. Haven’t had one discussion about the Stanley Cup. People even look irritated if I even bring up hockey. I’m sure hockey has a rabid fan base. Problem is, you could fit all of them on the head of a pin. It will never be considered more than just “something other than the main stream sports. That’s not bad…..it’s just the ruth.
Rick
May 15th, 2009
9:51 am
I went to a couple of hockey games. Didn’t get much out of it. I really don’t remeber when we got the Thrasher’s and I doubt I’d remember when they left. It’s just a sport that decribed as “something other than football, baseball or basketball”.
tim
May 15th, 2009
9:51 am
OF COURSE I would hate it if the Thrashers left! However,they are not so stop with all this nonsense! As stated before,all this talk was mainly started by the Canadian media.If they had their way,all teams south of the border should re-locate to Canada!A bit overstated,but you get the idea. And yes the AJC is awful covering hockey,but the sportstalk stations are even worse! How sad!! Why is it never discussed how the Thrashers (and Flames) had better attendance than the Hawks for years? Where is all the “Relocate the Hawks” talk?