Do the Thrashers really have the NHL’s worst fans?
Each of the ladies seated behind John Anderson has a blog. (AJC photo by Jessica McGowan)
I guess I see it differently. When I go to a Thrashers game and see 5,000 empty seats, my first thought isn’t, “Why don’t more people come to these games?” It is, on the contrary: “Why do so many people come to these games?”
Let’s face it: In a decade of operation, the Thrashers haven’t given their constituency much. They’ve committed the two glaring sins of professional sports: They took too long to build something and then couldn’t sustain it. They’ve had two winning seasons. They’ve made the playoffs once (and were swept in Round 1).
I mention this because it has come to my attention that Derek Felska has, on the blog Most Valuable Network, decided the Thrashers have the worst fan base in the NHL. I present his “justification” in its entirety:
“I am going to share a little story with you which will might explain why the Atlanta Thrashers are deserving of being called the league’s worst fans. Just this spring, I went down [to] Georgia as part of an Educators Tour to Ft. Benning. On our way back, we were given the day to enjoy downtown Atlanta. While there I went into a sports apparel shop, which was filled with all sorts of Atlanta sports team clothing; Braves jerseys, Falcons jerseys, and some college football jerseys yet nowhere to be found was anything pertaining to the Thrashers. I asked the attendant, ‘Do you have any Atlanta Thrashers stuff’ and I was met with a confused look and then a quick question to her co-worker, ‘Do we have any Thrashers stuff?’ A few seconds later they pointed me to the only two items they had pertaining to the the Thrashers along with an explanation of how extremely rare it is anyone is looking for their merchandise.
“Now does that mean that there are almost no Thrashers fans out there? No, but in the larger scheme of things there does not appear to be too many. In a Southern city where it’s almost a challenge to find someone with a southern drawl, it might surprise people just how many Atlanta residents used to live in areas quite familiar with snow and ice. The Thrashers’ online presence is very small and that does little to help a team that many in Atlanta seem to struggle to remember is even there. That sound you just heard was Ilya Kovalchuk screaming over the fact he has at least one more season with the team.”
I think even Mr. Felska would concede there might be a hole or two in his scientific method. But the greater point, at least to me, would seem to be this: The Thrashers are lucky to have any fans at all, and the ones they have — it’s a smallish group, but it’s a group nonetheless — are passionate in a way Hawks fans, say, only wish they could be.
Loading ...The line about a “very small” online presence particularly struck me as odd. Because I consider Thrashers fans the equivalent of Velvet Underground followers. The time-honored line: “Only 10,000 people bought their records, but everyone who did started a band.”
If the Thrashers have 10,000 hardcore fans, I’m thinking all 10,000 have started a blog. Here’s Bird Watchers Anonymous, and here’s Whazzupwitchu?, and here’s The Thrashers 411. And here’s The Blueland Chronicle, and here’s Blueland Outsider.
I haven’t traveled extensively in hockey circles, so there might be an even greater local passion for, say, the Florida Panthers or the Phoenix Coyotes or the Nashville Predators. But somehow I doubt it. See, I’ve always thought what fans the Thrashers have are great fans. Truth to tell, I think they’re the best fans in Atlanta. Because they’ve been given so little and care so much. Because they care even though caring isn’t cool.
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119 comments Add your comment
lee
August 27th, 2009
6:04 pm
yep. i would hav to say the same. i might hav to add the islanders in there too. they hav really improved over the offseason.
Puck Headlines: Leave Kane alone; Bowman’s rules changes | Newstion.com
August 27th, 2009
6:05 pm
[...] • Ditto Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Mark Bradley, who filets the blogger who authored the list for claiming that the Atlanta Thrashers have the worst fans in the NHL. [AJC] [...]
On a Mission: Must Bring the Spark of NHL Hockey to Atlanta! « From "Big Apple" to "Southern Peach"
August 27th, 2009
6:05 pm
[...] Must Bring the Spark of NHL Hockey to Atlanta! Jump to Comments Just came across this article from the AJC via Twitter today (via @wyshynski and @emcerlain) pondering the question: Do the Atlanta Thrashers [...]
lee
August 27th, 2009
6:07 pm
mark, could u tell me a little bit about this drew mccintry character? i am kinda scratching my head about him, kinda like when we picked up peverly.
"Chef" Tim Dix
August 27th, 2009
6:14 pm
Mark, it’s apparent to me that the girl in the green has two large blogs of her own.
Mark Bradley
August 27th, 2009
6:14 pm
Do you mean Drew MacIntyre, Lee? Because if you do, all I know is that he’s on the Thrashers’ roster. Here’s what I found on Wikipedia.
lee
August 27th, 2009
6:17 pm
yes sry, thx!!!!
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 27th, 2009
6:50 pm
and the worst of those fans yell “Knights” during our National Anthem.
Amen to that.
steverino
August 27th, 2009
6:55 pm
Why has no one pointed out the obvious flaws in this nimrod’s logic? First, what part of town was the store? Downtown Atlanta? Where? Not to be racist or stereotypical, or put too fine a point on it, but there are many parts of THE ATL where hockey falls far behind dog-fighting in popularity as a sport, much less football or basketball. Doesn’t mean there aren’t parts of town awash in Thrasher’s jerseys. Further, how can he extrapolate from a shortage of jerseys the level of passion Thrashers fans have for their team? Or, worse, quantify the fans as the worst with such a infinitesimally small sample? Has he stopped in every other NHL town to do a jersey check?
Stupid, I know, but so was his assertion.
Sage of Bluesland
August 27th, 2009
7:02 pm
The Thrashers organization to have any fans at all…After being fed Don Waddell’s “Five-Year Plan!” for a decade now, it’s amazing anyone at all subsidizes the utter incompetence.
It’s really sad and shameful. But the ownership and the management should be singled out as the real cause of the problem–the lack of fan support is otherwise known as either a ’symptom’ or ‘common sense’.
Islanders Fan
August 27th, 2009
7:03 pm
My girlfriend and I found ourselves in atlanta last march, right before we started hiking the appalachian trail. Being both her and I are avid hockey fans we decided to go and watch a thrashers game and from my vantage point the fans were in it and possed the same passion and love for the thrashers and hockey as anywhere else, they were probably better fans then the islanders had during the 08-09 season, then again we had nothing to cheer for except injuries and the worst record ever but it got the isle first round pick. It may have been just that it was an exicting game, your goalie bloked 50 out 51 hots and made olie and the caps look like amatures, even after the game I was delighted to see the marta filled up with poeple in thrashers parifanalia,
I do believe thrashers fan are loyal however the city as a whole may lack some enthusasim for the thrashers
Case in point, I didn’t buy tickets i went up to the ticket both half way threw the first and asked for tickets and the lady just handed me them, and they were pretty good tix I might add, If a team did have a loyal fan base they wouldn’t just be throwing out tickets?
I also talked to several fans and I would say there generalhockey knowledge was a little below that of some other hockey clubs fans.
This is not a nother bias but atlanta when it comes to hockey and hockey fans you are not a canadian city, or buffalo or even new york rangers, i would suggest a thrashers fan go see hockey in a tradional hockey mrkt, try to get tickets to a flames or canadian or canucks game, in canada hockey is so much as a sport but a national idenity, a national treasure, it how thirty six million canadians compete against the world.
Atlanta is not phoenix, that is a different story.I don’t think every team south of the mason dixie line should pack up camp and head north, I think atlanta fans are great, and the there not even a question of weather the team should leave atlanta. I would love to see atlanta become a hockey town.
I do agree with better manegment the team would be alot better, and i dont understand the phillips arena completely
the phillips arena i think adds to some of the feeling of a lack of fan base, haveing all the boxes on one side and having that gated speacail acces area for the lower bowl, the rest of the lower bowl was filled except for the whole one side of reseved seat, and that 400 section way up there in the stratosphere, i dont know what else to say about that,
I am currently going to school and living in the south and do plan on going back to atlanta, to see a thrashers game i will be the one rooting for the islanders if you would like to have a further discusion.
lee
August 27th, 2009
7:31 pm
hahaha, well i hav to say im not the biggest islander fan, but i will tell u frankly they will be good.
Reid Adair
August 27th, 2009
7:40 pm
I would say this person’s “research,” if that term is even applicable, is shaky at best. Basing such a decision on one “sports apparel shop” and “online” activity is pretty weak.
aaron @ the outsider
August 27th, 2009
7:41 pm
Mark, you are a gentleman for mentioning us humble hockey writers, and scholar for actually having done the research that guy failed to do. I don’t care what Schultz says about you on twitter.
BG33Brown
August 27th, 2009
7:44 pm
Mark, thanks for the blog. I grew up a football player. HS, College, and coached HS football here in Georgia. But hockey is my favorite sport now. By far the fastest, most intense sport there is. And Thrashers fans are almost cult-like in their following. Hopefully we can put a few good seasons together and watch the following explode (like it started to in 2007).
OldtimeHockey
August 27th, 2009
9:06 pm
I was one of the first season ticket holders (number 199 as I recall) and finally gave up my tickets this year. What have the owners done to support the team? How many years do we watch talented free agents go on the market and the Thrashers are not even in the hunt while we lose the handful of good players due to money. How many great coaches and GM’s wind up elsewhere? In any profession I can think of a guy with Waddell’s record would be fired. How does he have the chutzpah to come to work everyday? I guess if brain dead owners will pay him why not.
Mike
August 27th, 2009
9:17 pm
I hope Bradley or at least the AJC got a good kickback for linking to this blog and doubling MVN’s pageviews for the month.
Pedro
August 27th, 2009
9:27 pm
The proper question is whether the Thrashers have the worst ownership situation in NHL or all sports for that matter. If they would win fans will come. I love hockey and the product has been virtually unwatchable. Good moves this year. If they can control the will he sign drama with kovy it could be a good year. We bought seasons tix for first timein years.
GDawg
August 27th, 2009
9:40 pm
first of all, this moron says that he has a hard time finding someone who speaks with a southern draw in atlanta?? Dude everyone of my friends talks with an accent and we all say “y’all” Second, the thrashers have the most diehard fans out of any pro team in atlanta. Yes, they may have the fewest fans out of all the pro teams, but the fans of the thrashers are “VERY DIEHARD” trust me. I have been a season ticket holder for years. THIS IS THE THRASHERS YEAR!!
Class of '98
August 27th, 2009
9:44 pm
Judging by that picture, the Thrashers certainly don’y have the world’s FLATTEST fans. Yowza.
Mark Bradley
August 27th, 2009
10:15 pm
Tsk, tsk, Class of ‘98.
Count Von Count
August 27th, 2009
10:17 pm
Mark, must be a slow day in the office when you spend time writing about another blogger’s story. By putting your and the AJC’s name to this, you’re legitimatizing a amateur blogger’s position. MVN isn’t a blog, it’s looks like a website that collects different blogs around the web. I just spent 30 seconds on the website and could discern that. The actual source of this story is a blog called, The State of Hockey News, which is, wait a second, a Minnesota Wild hockey blog. Think a second, would the St. Paul newspaper post on its site a link to any of the Thrashers blogs if one of their independent fans/bloggers wrote, ‘Wild fans stink’? The last bastions of legitimate media need to do a better job in discerning what is legitimate newssource, and if you want to do it, at least get the name/type of the source correct.
oldtime hockey fan since 2008
August 27th, 2009
10:45 pm
Thrashers fans are there for the game.
Hawks “fans” are there to be seen.
I love both teams, but no one is more loyal than a real Thrashers fan.
Sage of Blueland
August 27th, 2009
10:47 pm
Anyone that believes this tripe is…
*looks at script Mom wrote*
…oh yes, a sheep.
AJC-Hating Bluelander
August 27th, 2009
10:55 pm
Does the AJC have * THE WORST * “writers” in all of journalism?
somaatl95
August 27th, 2009
10:56 pm
Thanks lee! My wife is from Long Island and the times I got up there and tell people I don’t care to talk about the Mets or Yankees they always talk about the Rangers. When I have asked people up there why they leave the Islanders out, all they do is laugh. What does that say about people that would rather drive off of the island to see a Rangers game then do a quick commute to Nassau Arena?
Anyways, leave the Thrashers alone – if the NHL grows the stones to keep the club here for a long while (regardless of record) they will eventually do what all Atlanta teams eventually do – they will get far in the playoffs. The Thrashers have the heart to win, they have the coach to do it, an offense that can cycle a puck and finally have a defense that may actually end the nights of 40 – 60 shots against. I hope that Evander Kane makes a Bogosian sized splash – remember during the All-Star game there was a feature shown about Black Hockey players? The town that refuses to let the Mike Vick saga go may actually watch Hockey if Kane is presented as one of the faces of the Thrashers, especially if he has the same output that Bogo did last year. That may help at least bring in “casual” fans – once they see a Thrasher game there is a good chance they come back.
Nobody remembers how packed Phillips was when we won the division a few years back and that is frustrating when we have to answer to a complete stranger about our Hockey love – He probably was drinking a Pepsi and munching on a Reuben while he was slamming us!
OK, I am getting off of my soapbox for now. Hope to talk to you people more – been reading for years and now figure I can join in on the conversations!
stendec
August 27th, 2009
11:01 pm
(CENSORED) Derek Felska! Damn sorry son of a betch Yankee bestard. The Thrashers are worthless scum but they are OUR worthless scum! We have to live with them NOT him. Amen.
Darkhorse
August 27th, 2009
11:17 pm
Whatever the size of the Thrasher’s fan base at the moment, it’s loyal to the core for now. I’m no longer a STH, but I still go to about twenty games a year, keep up with all news Thrash on a consistant basis, and comment on the blogs about them when I never blog about anything else….ever.
Bottom line…….start to win consistantly and most of the northern bird haters will quiet down for a while.
English Teacher
August 27th, 2009
11:27 pm
Hell yeah!
PR man
August 27th, 2009
11:56 pm
Considering the franchise, the style and thinking of the mgmt, Thrashers fans are excellent and part of a wonderful enviroment to take the kids and have them enjoy professional sports. Hockey when it’s great or even good, there is no better game to attend in person. When it’s bad and pro sporting events all too frequently are weak, it’s just like any other sport a waste of time and money, be it baseball, football or basketball. Soccer by the way is just bad, no matter what, where or when.
The best thing my wife likes about Thrasher hockey? Those warm cinnamon almonds she get every game between the first and second periods. She doesn’t even share, I have to get my own bag. What do you expect, she’s a Ranger fan!
Smoothie
August 28th, 2009
12:03 am
Proud to be a Thrashers fan!! Thanx to all for sharing their passion and hope on this blog. Hockey fans are the best!
jharris
August 28th, 2009
12:48 am
You’re right on the money. The early years of the Thrashers franchise is starting to resemble that of the Falcons. Glaring mistakes…spending big money for the wrong players and letting the better ones go. Danny Heatley should have never been allowed out of town. I don’t care if he asked for a trade. Heck, build him a skyline around his house so he THINKS he’s in Ottawa, or whereever…but DON’T let the franchise leave. Lentonen is good, but not great. Not first pick in the draft great. Kovy is a shooting machine, but that’s really his entire game. He’s not a leader or a true franchise player. Hossa was solid, but now he’s gone as well. Big young defensive anchor Andy Sutton was allowed to get away. The mistakes go on and on. There is NO excuse for the Thrashers having empty seats other than their own managerial incompetence.
There is a HUGE hockey base here in Atlanta. There’s a thriving youth ice and roller league in Alpharetta and Gwinnett. A massive transplant base from the northern cities. Heck, there’s even a reasonable group of fans still pining for the Atlanta FLAMES. There are people who yell “KNIGHTS!!!” every time the Star Spangled Banner is sung. There is NO excuse. The Fans are NOT the problem. Shame on this blogster. The Thrashers need new owners and management. Period.
squawks mcgrew
August 28th, 2009
7:24 am
Just adding my voice as a Thrashers fan — and ex-STH when they upped my price by 100% — who wears his gear whenever possible and never misses a game via TV or internet.
Maybe the problem others have viewing our fan base is they don’t understand that we’re more like family down here.
Sara
August 28th, 2009
7:30 am
Fans are inherently fans – passionate, loud, loyal. Every team has them and they are all equal in devotion, though not always in number. Sure, markets like Montreal or Toronto have a greater rabid fanbase than Atlanta or Florida do. But that doesn’t mean that their fans are better fans. Put up the fans from all 30 teams and all would be equally loud, equally knowledgeable.
BTW, as a rule of thumb, do not ever attempt to link level of fandom to attendance of all things (specifically on an individual level). Attendance, or lack thereof, is driven by more factors than whether or not someone loves the team enough. For example, Bob has barely attended games the past couple of seasons – not because he doesn’t love the team but because he is trying to make a statement to the owners. I only attend a handful of games a year because a – I lack the financial resources to attend more than a few games (which is the case for a lot of people) and b – even if I did, I have two young children that have to be in bed between 8:30 and 9 PM so there’s no way I’d be dragging them to hockey games all throughout the week. Ranallo doesn’t go to a single game – which makes sense given he lives on the other side of the Atlantic. But yet we three are all passionate fans of this team.
The only criteria required to be a fan is to love your team. Maybe not all parts of it – we’ve all had players/coaches/GMs/owners we aren’t overly fond of – but as a whole we love our team (with perhaps one notable exception around these parts).
mutton
August 28th, 2009
8:54 am
In the words of Sgt. Yomana, “Veeeerrrry well put.” Throw in you and Shultz on occasion, The Russian One, J.K. Sockey, and a couple other occasional blogs, and I’d take the Thrashers bloggers over most any team’s. Especially when you consider the time and effort that some of the bloggers put into it. I honestly believe they stack up with any group for any team.
Just for reference, check out Falconer’s blogroll (granted, I doubt some are truly current, but it’s still a good starting point):
“Thrashers News and Blogs
* Atlanta Thrashers.com
* AJC Thrashers Page
* AJC Beat Blog
* Thrashers Times
* Blueland Blog
* Blueland Chronicle
* Blueland Outsider
* Blueland Roar
* Fire Wagon Hockey
* Ice Man
* Thrashers 411
* Thrashers Recap
* Thrashers Prospect Annex
* The Russian One 13
* Wazzupwitchu?
* We Want Dunham
* Sit Down and Shut Up (Wolves)”
SARA – I also don’t go to many games, chiefly because I don’t have the financial means either and I live in western North Carolina. But I listen to damn near every game on the online radio feed and am usually the first person I know personally to hear about any big news regarding the Thrashers (often at the expense of other life priorities haha)
Billsen
August 28th, 2009
9:54 am
The assertion is based on one trip to one store. Not exactly the scientific method. As a Gamecock fan and a Thrashers Season Ticket holder, I’ll just state the obvious. It is easy to be a fan of a winner. To be an obsessive fan of a mediocre to lousy team shows character and loyalty. The Thrashers fans, by that measure, are infinitely better than those of the Red Wings or NY Yankee fans.
I mean, on http://www.nastynest,net we’re already talking about the tailgate party for the home opener! We’re obsessing about resigning Ilya. In other words, we’re showing passion for our team. Nuff said.
ElRey30
August 28th, 2009
11:32 am
Cant wait till this worthless franchise gets moved…no reason for it to be here, this whole article was like a backhanded compliment.
ElRey30
August 28th, 2009
12:21 pm
lee – your take on the islanders proves how very little you know about the sport and proves the point of how bad thrashers fans are. the islanders have improved? they will be very good? why because of john tavares? Tavares will be good but hes not gretzky, he’s a rookie. Crosby didnt come in and lead the Penguins to victory right away and they were bad that season as well. other than that they have a bunch of developing youth and a thin blue line. their number 1 goalie wont even play this year due to injury so they are settling on mediocre number 1s. they will be right back in the lottery with Atlanta. dude, watch some other teams games, cause obviously the mediocre at best trashers hockey youve been watching has been clouding your vision.
aaron @ the outsider
August 28th, 2009
1:13 pm
a little self-promotion just before lunch:
http://bluelandoutsider.blogspot.com/2009/08/fandom-redefined.html
Sara
August 28th, 2009
2:06 pm
Wow – way to judge a whole fan base on the posts of one person there ElRey. So I guess by that logic all the fans of whatever team you root for are all douche bags huh?
ChippersLoveChild
August 28th, 2009
2:12 pm
Thank you, Mark Bradley! Finally a columnist that gets it. I’d say we ARE the best fans in Atlanta for the reasons you’ve listed. I’d also like to say that some of us do try to get the word out more in this town, like call up 680 (The Thrashers own station) to talk hockey, but get turned away frequently because “we aren’t discussing that right now.” Apparently Buck Baloo (Sp?) has to talk about some “Big ole’ country boy down in Valdosta,” who plays high school football with such passion and guts.. Right, because nobody is sick of that talk. Now I’m rambling, but I love the Thrashers, and will no matter what product they put out, sadly. I just hope the market will grow, because I would like to be able to buy merchandise, you know, outside of Phillips Arena too.
Matt
August 28th, 2009
2:25 pm
they play in atlanta don’t they?
lee
August 28th, 2009
4:27 pm
wow, now this is wat i mean, to hav so many passionate writers and anyone that has written on this blog and has a place kept in their heart for the thrashers is a hero, because things like this has kept our team standing. mark great blog and you are a big reason we, thrashers r sitll here. Lets’ show that the thrashers r more than just a team, it’s our team. LETS GO THRAHSERS!!!!!
Andre Arshavin
August 28th, 2009
5:21 pm
>”If the Thrashers have 10,000 hardcore fans, I’m thinking all 10,000 have started a blog.”
That’s called delirium tremens.
Brendan
August 28th, 2009
5:31 pm
Sorry I’m late, but thank you, Mark Bradley, for this article. Sometimes I don’t say it enough, but the God’s honest truth is … this market is capable of producing a Stanley Cup champion. It is. There is a SALARY CAP in the NHL. There are two (2) living, breathing examples of how to win a Stanley Cup, housed right within our own Southeast Division. (Carolina and Tampa Bay) What is lacking is (1) committed ownership and (2) a GM capable of overseeing a Cup winner.
Re-read that as many times as is necessary for full comprehension. I’d bet the same two (2) things are on Ilya Kovalchuk’s mind, as he ponders his next contract extension. But really, with a winning product on the ice, this market will sellout. In the Inaugural Season, the Thrashers soldout 38 of 41 home games. And that team was dredful awful. We all showed up anyway, convincing ourselves that our presence was climbing a rung in a requisite ladder to the top, filled with high-end draft picks and prospect development, that would have us in the playoffs within 5 years, with a highly-skilled, young core nucleus of players.
Unfortunately, between the 2006 & 2007 seasons, Atlanta was one of the oldest, slowest clubs in the league, overpaying for yesteryear’s star players, who were surviving more on reputation than actual talent (Holik and Bondra). And trying to get it done with Mellanby as Captain.
Success always starts from the top. And the top is the Octocluster. If the Atlanta Spirit, LLC were a parade, most Thrasher fans wouldn’t even “wave” at them as they passed by. And those who did, would be shooting “half” a PEACE sign. That about sums it up.
Getting fans to pay full price for a non-committed, sub-par product, is a tough sell for any ticket rep. In ANY market. Trying to explain why a GM has hired four (4) Head Coaches in his tenure, including himself, is quite a challenge to bloggers in other cities on the net. When a GM isn’t fired after zero playoff berths in five seasons, explaining it gets complicated. Try a sixth season. Then a seventh, an eighth, and a nineth. Atlanta has owned six lottery draft picks in its nine (6/9) completed seasons. It’s owned nine Top 10 overall draft positions in eleven (9/11) years! It’s difficult to explain why the Thrashers franchise isn’t one of the most FEARED in the NHL, with this kind of draft position history.
But don’t blame the fans. The fans are still waiting for that Expansion team to come! By that, I mean this. They’re waiting for an ownership group that is TRYING to win the Stanley Cup. It’s never existed. Once ownership is installed that is trying, and intelligently constructs a team, with GM accountability, and makes the playoffs with regularity, thennnnnnnnn … and only thennnnnnnn can people start to take their “pot shots” at the Atlanta hockey fanbase.
If the team is good, and wins, and is intelligently constructed, with accountability for coaches, scouts, and GM’s alike, and the ATLANTA FANS still don’t come … then ANYONE who wishes may label them UNFAVORABLY. That day hasn’t arrived yet.
Brendan
August 28th, 2009
5:41 pm
My post got gobbled up as “spam.” It was made around 5:30PM today. Oh well.
A27
August 28th, 2009
5:53 pm
Hey ElRetard, I think that was the point lee was trying to make about the Isleturds,that they should be better in the next couple of years. Anyway can’t wait till tards like you ‘who know the sport” move on and go away to a differant blog ie.. Leafs/Buffablow blogs where you can blindly talk about how smart and dedicated you are to your loser franchises and how stupid we lowlife’s are down here. Oh and lee love your post’s. We Thrasher’s fan’s stick up for each other. GO THRASHERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob
August 28th, 2009
6:23 pm
“We don’t have the worst fanbase in the NHL, we have the most deprived and unsatisfied fanbase.”
All I gots to say is, Archie nailed it on the head.
Fire Waddell, bring in a GM who knows how to build a hockey club, and watch it grow . . .
Twitter Trackbacks for Do the Thrashers really have the NHL's worst fans? | Mark Bradley [ajc.com] on Topsy.com
August 28th, 2009
10:32 pm
[...] Do the Thrashers really have the NHL’s worst fans? | Mark Bradley blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/08/27/do-the-thrashers-really-have-the-nhls-worst-fans/ – view page – cached Mark Bradley disagrees with a ranking that assigns Atlanta Thrashers fans the bottom spot among NHL supporters. — From the page [...]
Brendan
August 28th, 2009
11:12 pm
Basically, my gobbled up post said that Atlanta has yet to get the expansion team it was promised. Maybe this is why the fans still chant “Knights!” during the anthem? Atlanta has yet to have truly “committed” ownership towards winning a Cup. Once that happens, things like accountability for Coaches, Scouts, and GM’s will kick in automatically. With a truly caring ownership, things like zero playoff berths through five completed seasons would never happen, without consequences. Much less six. Or a seventh, eighth, and nineth season under the same Oversight Committee. And here we are at 11 years, 10 seasons with the same GM, with no berths in the Conference Finals, despite nine draft positions inside the Top 10 overall, in those eleven (9/11) years. That includes six lottery picks. (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, and 2009) How many other GM’s get to have this much opportunity?
Now, how many even HOPE for that kind of opportunity? Ask a bonafide GM if they’d like to have six lottery draft picks, they’d say, “No!!” And reason for that would be fairly obvious. Or, rather, it should be.
In the Inaugural Season, before any Thrasher fan knew what awaited us, we sold out Philips Arena 38 times in 41 home games. We endured it, thinking it a necessary rung on the ladder of success. In recent years, we were told, “Pay FULL price for a sub-par product. Don’t complain.”
Here’s the reality I believe. Kids need braces. They break their arm from time to time. And the Cub Scouts, Brownies, and dance classes aren’t free. Neither is joining that soccer team. Or that private school. And the family cars don’t refill those gas tanks by twitching your nose, like Elizabeth Montgomery, in “Bewitched.” So, whatever discretionary income is left … is spread out over things like … family vacations, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Atlanta Zoo, etc. Or, it goes to sporting events. So, we’ve got the Atlanta Braves. The Atlanta Falcons. The Atlanta Hawks. The Atlanta Silverbacks. The Georgia Force. The Atlanta Dream. The Gwinnett Braves. The Gwinnett Gladiators. The Atlanta Xplosion. And, of course, the Atlanta Thrashers. So, suffice it to say, the Thrashers organization has to do something to be COMPETITIVE for those dollars.
Are they doing it? I mean, ENOUGH? Even the “face of the franchise” has doubts. He’s not yet signed. It’s August 29th, give or take. He was eligible for a new contract on July 1, 2009.