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?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
230 comments Add your comment
Ted Striker
May 15th, 2009
2:52 pm
I’d be disappointed if the Thrashers left. But I’m disappointed that we lost the Atlanta Steam to Charlotte because neither the Ga Dome or Gwinnett Arena would let them play. (Hey, I have a big backyard)
Spud Webb
May 15th, 2009
3:05 pm
Don, we have the worst sports talk radio in the country, so what they talk about or don’t talk about has nothing to do with this subject. Sorry your opinions depend on 680 and 790, good luck with that.
I love the Yankee talk, ignorance still? It’s good to see our country has come so far! ahhahahahhahah
Jam87
May 15th, 2009
3:38 pm
Thrashers? We dun need no steenking Thrashers.
freidenker
May 15th, 2009
3:51 pm
i was raised on hockey in nashville in the 60’s, yeah 60’s, NASHVILLE. dixie flyers, small venue, great rivalries. would not miss the thrashers except that it might mean the end of the gladiators. you want good, hassle free hockey check out the glads. great hockey venue, decent action (take ear plugs. PA way overboard).
Stefk88
May 15th, 2009
3:52 pm
I used to live in ATL and was a season ticket holder for five years (yeah, I’m slow) and personally feel the whole Thrasher organization did terrible job from the beginning. I’m not just talking about the on-ice product, but about the whole introduction of an NHL franchise to ATL. I live in Dallas, Texas now and still follow the Thrashers (Eastern Conference Rules!) and was totally amazed what the Stars Organization did here when they moved the Stars from Minnesota: they became part of the community, they built rinks, they started leagues. All of which is still growing – another new rink with two sheets going up as we speak for a total of 18 sheets of ice – and that’s just the Starcenter Facilities plus they just brought in another minor league team (Allen Americans – CHL) for a total of three minor league teams at various levels in the metroplex.
Agreed, the Stars do have a better on-ice product, but they also have ties to the community. The Thrashers have always been too cheap to invest in to building support in the community – Blueland – yeah that makes all the difference…(LOL)
Hockey will always be a foreign sport in ATL because it’s not in the community. Until the ownership clowns figure that out and quit spending their money on lawyers and start putting it in to the team and growing the hockey community in ATL. The Thrashers will always be just another tennant at Phillips. They can come and go like the Ice Capades or the circus and very few people will notice.
I really feel bad for the fans of ATL. You guys are the diehards. But unfortunately, the current ownership group has now interest in bringing competitive hockey to ATL.
Matt Robinson
May 15th, 2009
3:58 pm
Losing the Thrashers would NOT be a good thing. While the Atlanta fan base only cares about winners, what would have happened if the Braves in the 80s were sold away, or the Falcons or Hawks during their losing seasons? But no one ever asked that question back then.
Yeah, we’re next to last in attendance – but that attendance is 14,000 + per game. That’s saying something good. When they made the playoffs, you couldn’t get a ticket to Blueland.
Spend some money, owners, to get a team that fans will notice because they are competitive! Hockey is here to stay!!!
Algonquin J. Calhoun
May 15th, 2009
4:04 pm
I just love Ice Puckey. Do you think we’ll ever get a team here?
Viking
May 15th, 2009
4:19 pm
Someone said he is thinking Hockey is too slow…
I guess you are correct if you compare it with NASCAR – at least when it comes to speed. But talking about a slow moving event… And it blows me away that something like tire changes can excite anyone.
While there are a few seconds of action in Football and Baseball between all the pauses, Hockey is in a completely different (and higher) league when it comes to action.
Basketball has the drawback of not really “cranking up” until the end of the game.
Hockey beats Soccer also.
The media has a great deal to do with the attitudes among the “Hockey haters” around here. Both AJC and TV has a part of the blame. How about “We will show you puck” etc. on the news at 11 o’clock? Sometimes it is barely possible to make out what team won after watching the brief seconds spent on the subject (before heading for high school football). Without the internet it would be really tough to be a Hockey fan in Atlanta.
As also been mentioned, a great improvement for the Hockey situation in Atlanta is if the start of the game would be later. In Baseball it is no big deal if you miss an inning or two, since there is plenty of game left. But I would be extremely unhappy if I missed the first period of a Thrasher’s game stuck in traffic.
A27
May 15th, 2009
4:46 pm
I love hockey and love the Thrashers. I would hate to see them go. How come no one said anything about the Hawks when they stank up the joint. Screw the Canucks, The Angry Black Men {who think hockey is racist}, and retarded rednecks. Hockey is here and not going anywhere. So suck on that losers. GO ATLANTA SPORTS!!!
ChippersLoveChild
May 15th, 2009
8:47 pm
I call 680 frequently and during hockey season I was told “we aren’t talking hockey now, maybe later.” Ah maybe that is part of the problem with this city? When all you talk about is college football and the NFL, that is all your fans will know. It’s a shame they refuse to talk about things other than football. The day after the 09 NFL draft, you know what the topic was, the 2010 NFL draft… that about sums up this market, and the people who run it.
Mark Bradley
May 15th, 2009
8:52 pm
Everybody says this, but it’s absolutely true: Hockey is the one sport that is exponentially better in person. I never realized it until I saw a game in person after all those years of watching on TV. (We had no NHL franchise in Kentucky.)
ChippersLoveChild
May 15th, 2009
9:47 pm
For those who can afford it, sit on the ice level as close to the glass as you can get and tell me you don’t like hockey. I’ve sat close at the Ted and the Dome… it doesn’t even compare to sitting close at a Thrashers game. Unreal experience!
Detroit Dave
May 15th, 2009
11:15 pm
Hockey in Atlanta is a joke–most of the people at the games are there to drink beer and don’t even know the rules. These bozo owners need to sell this franchise and move it to Ontario, where they know hockey. Up in Detroit where I came from, we have the best hockey fans in America. Atlanta can stick to football—that’s the only thing they really care about.
ChippersLoveChild
May 15th, 2009
11:36 pm
You’re right Detroit Dave… and let’s move all baseball teams and football teams to the south and west coast… their high schools are better at these sports, and so are their colleges. It must be their game… no one else deserves it! Morons up north know nothing about these sports!
This is ridiculous.
Nate
May 16th, 2009
12:06 am
Hey Detroit Dave,
Have fun watching your hometown continue to devour itself. And by the way, the best team money can buy will lose to the ‘Hawks in six.
World Be Free
May 16th, 2009
9:19 am
Once again, to all you anti-hockey brain-dead idiots.
Thanks for your “thoughts” (though it is clean you have none.
Many of you have used the word “hate” in your response. I doubt you know anything about the game or the team. It is difficult to hate something if you don’t know what you are talking about! Most ingorant people use hate when describing something.
Now please leave this blog and go back to whatever worthless tasks you spend you time on. I hope none of you idiots live in my neighborhood.
World Be Free
May 16th, 2009
9:20 am
That’s clear not clean
springman
May 16th, 2009
11:06 am
I’d prefer to see The Less-Than-Magnificent 7 un-spirited-management team leave town if they can’t zip up their flies and stop arguing over who’s bigger. The lack of logic & knowledge displayed in several personnel moves and keeping Daffy Don around undermine the positive growth of hockey in the Atlanta community. How bad it is came home when a visiting Bruin fan commented last month, “Those guys are the ‘Matt Millen’ of hockey.”
George
May 16th, 2009
1:07 pm
I would love to see this team move to Ontario! Kovy has always said he loves playing in front of the noisy crowd in Toronto. Imagine playing in front of a noisy crowd for all your home games! Every game would also be a sell-out as Canadians love their game!
Hockey Biltong
May 16th, 2009
3:05 pm
Hockey here will improve, regardless of what all the naysayers may bring to the table. Growing pains[seems like a lifetime] will subside as the coach, JA,takes us to the next level. If you are not a hockey fan, fine stick with what you like. If you do like hockey and live in the ATL, then it is up to You to support and help grow the team.
Don’t hide behind excuses,like,I’m from Pit or Detroit and show up once in a blue moon. Don’t say I used to be, but not anymore because….If you live here and like hockey, then support it. There have been Cubs fans forever, and they stunk for a log time. They still supported the team. Fans may not have agreed with Managmt or the coach etc, but they still showed.
I’m not saying to disregard your childhood team. What I am saying is, look around you. If the ATL is your domicile then face up to it, and lend a hand. The Team needs your support. All those guys put out an incredible amount of effort. Reward them the way a fan can! The players can’t control ownership or the decision making, in most cases, but they feed off of us as their extra man or woman in the stands.
Some would boycott, as a sign of protest, to show their displeasure. That historically doesn’t usually work. It is better to partner up and move forward, than to retract and regress. I for one would be heartbroken to see any team leave Atlanta. And there have been some trying times…
So get the puck moving in the right direction, by being there. You’ll be happy you did.
World Be Free
May 16th, 2009
6:26 pm
George, if you want a team, get an expansion team and pay the price of growing a team from scratch. You guys are in hijack mode.
Jameson
May 16th, 2009
7:45 pm
I’m 28. I’ve lived in Georgia my entire life. Currently, I’m very frustrated with my career. Earlier this year, I was trying to hold together a rocky relationship with a woman who I considered the love of my life, and failed. I still have plenty of friends and family around, but if Atlanta loses the NHL (again), I think that will be the last sign that I need that it’s time to start, again somewhere else.
Sage of Bluesland
May 17th, 2009
2:36 pm
Oh my goodness, some think it’s a fan’s “duty” to “man-up” and support the team, no matter what.
I’d love to sell him a bridge–I think it would be an easy sell, too.
This ownership group doesn’t deserve a single hard-earned penny out of your pocket. If this were a ‘real’ business, it would have gone bankrupt already.
I’m thankful attendance is steadily dwindling–it means the good people of Atlanta are NOT sheep–only a few of the loud ones around here are…Don’t blame the fans for this debacle–it rests squarely on ownership (and their incompetent stooge, Don Waddell).
Tis’ a shame, really. Oh well.
I need my money more than the ownership does–and more are thinking this way, thank goodness…They haven’t done anything to deserve it. Period.
Kevin
May 19th, 2009
9:00 am
Oh AJC u wrong what NHL coverge if find its on back of sports page near the ads….If u and the local stations would cover NHL n are thrashers more be alot more fans….But my gawd bradley u guys never cover them at all U so concerd of the thrashers who will not move we should be give crap at the minor league team playin at turner field now…Oooh i hope that hurt.they are 6-12 at home after lose tonights game on tuesday….U should be blastin Mike wren n his stupid side-kick Bobby(beat his wife) cox and TP the hittless coach!Its time for u to call out the owner n president to say enough crap n fire bobby so he can farm n beat his wife again…like he did but we at AJC drop so his feelings not get hurt!Go thrashers we be back next season n finish 47-22-13 107pts at season end.
suzyed
May 20th, 2009
3:07 pm
I would definately miss the Thrashers if they moved. I moved to Atlanta 2 years ago and have become a huge Thrashers fan! They are one of the reasons that I have come to love Atlanta! I love hockey and it is so great to be able to go to the games.
suzyed
May 20th, 2009
3:13 pm
I agree with Biltong, we should support our team. It’s very easy to support a winning team, but it takes perserverence to support a team that is struggeling. I am a long time Islander fan, and yes I still support them, as hard as that is. I now really love the Thrashers, especially Kovy and I want them to stay.
suzyed
May 20th, 2009
3:23 pm
I’m sick of hearing “the management this or that” blah blah blah! If you really love hockey, as many of us do, you will not let that get in the way of enjoying the game and supporting the team! Basketball is boring, baseball is super boring! Sitting and watching cars speed around an oval, is numbing boring..and I am from Daytona! Hockey is the fastest, best sport there is.
Kevin
May 25th, 2009
3:51 am
U have to remember carolina use be the hartford whalers(NewEngdland) when came from WHA in 1980 are later.Hartford lost team cause owners not spend for good players are new arena so they move to North Carl. be come the hurricanes….who will be out after Monday game 4-0 sweep to Pittsburgh! And the press coverge here is awful if the local fish wrap paper cover the teams better with there own sports section maybe more people would care n be more tv viewers and if thrashers were on a radio station u could hear to…They off air after 7pm by FCC rules no hear need be on Wsb radio am are fm stations Get jiggs Mcdonald back he was best as hockey announcer…Jiggs is still doin islander hockey at old Nassau cols. in uniondale in long island i wonder is the Ny islanders ever goin get a new arena ever if they did u see a inprove team….and the NHL needs to do more for scorein system if in overtime n shoot-out have a 7 min overtime then shoot out winner of over time gets 3pts shootouts is 2pts for win….so winner could get 3pts n 1pt for shootout if lose in shootout after overtime its 2pts no points if lose game…….despite tie at end of reg u get 1pt
IllegalCurve.com » Blog Archive » NHL Playoff Morning 3rd Round Papers (Friday Edition): Cam Ward is 4-0 in game 7’s, Hawks assistant coach helped land Quenneville, Can Ducks convince veterans to return, GM Doug Wilson talks Sharks, If T
August 10th, 2009
2:31 am
[...] If the Thrashers left Atlanta would anyone care? Oh yes! [...]
IllegalCurve.com » Blog Archive » NHL Playoff Morning 3rd Round Papers (Friday Edition): Cam Ward is 4-0 in game 7’s, Hawks assistant coach helped land Quenneville, Can Ducks convince veterans to return, GM Doug Wilson talks Sharks, If T
August 10th, 2009
5:02 am
[...] If the Thrashers left Atlanta would anyone care? Oh yes! [...]