I had to laugh a moment ago when I looked at the picture of the Phillips Arena on NHL.com. It was a nice shot of the inside, showing a capacity crowd cheering on their beloved Thrashers. I think they must have superimposed the crowd from the Belle Centre, because what I saw on Versus earlier tonight in no way resembled a full house.
I don’t know why, but earlier I found myself flipping around the high 100’s of my digital cable. In between the Garage Sale Channel and the Do It Yourself Dentistry Channel, I stumbled across Versus. If Fox Sports Net is the "poor man’s" ESPN, then the cable partner of the NHL is the "I live in a third world country and milk camels all day for $0.02" version of ESPN.
I could rattle on all day about Versus, but that is not the point of this article.
Tonight Versus had the Philadelphia Flyers/Atlanta Thrashers game. I am a Flyers fan, so as much as I wanted to find out how to fill my own cavities, I put the flipper down and watched the game. As my eyes followed the puck up and down the ice, I began to notice that there was no one at the game. I’m not exaggerating here. The lower bowl was as empty as a third grade classroom in July.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Now I can understand not filling up the nosebleed seats of the Phillips Arena on a school night in October, but the seats right behind the glass, bench and goals were empty.
What is going on in Atlanta?
It was almost as if the game were one of those South American soccer matches played in empty stadiums to prevent riots. Last time I checked, there have been no major fan uprisings caused by a cheap shot to Eric Boulton. A quick Google search yielded no results for “tear gas at Flyers/Thrashers matches.”
The official attendance was 13,207. That is about 13,000 more people than were actually in the building. Maybe the tickets sold for this game had the wrong date on them, and thousands of people will show up next Wednesday wearing orange sweaters only to find a Dixie Chicks concert.
The NHL needs to do something. According to attendance figures found on TSN.com, tonight’s debacle was the third largest crowd of the year. It’s evident that the people of Atlanta would rather eat hot dogs at the Varsity than attend a Thrashers game.
There has to be some other city out there that could adopt the Thrashers and show them some love. There is talk of a second team in Toronto. Maybe the Thrashers could move there. Toronto Thrashers has a nice ring to it.
The next time Versus airs a Thrashers home game is March 16th. That should give the folks, in the front office, plenty of time to round up some bodies.
Visit Georgia Tech and tell the fraternities there will be scantily clad sorority girls on skates at intermission. Go to a Weight Watchers meeting and tell them there will be free all-you-can-eat buffet. Go to a Trek convention and tell them that the guy who played Worf will be signing phase pistols in the concourse. Do whatever it takes to fill the building for a national TV audience.
But then again, the national TV audience is on Versus, which nobody can find on their cable system anyway.
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2 months ago
You are full of crap! I was at the game and was on the glass, those seats were filled up behind the goals and the sides of the rink. There was a big crowd there. You are a complete LIAR! The picture you have posted is a picture from last season and I can prove you a liar. See that jumbotron...it does not even show the Flyers name on it it shows the Canucks name. Also see the silver equipment ring behind the jumbotron? That was there in place only during last season. It was test equipment that is no longer in the arena and has not been there since the All Star Games. Also if you look at the scores there is a 0 on both sides which means the picture was from before the game started. YOU ARE A LIAR@!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 months ago
The picture is a generic shot of Phillips Arena, I never said it was last nights game.
I reported on what I saw on Television. Even the announced attendence is 29% below capcity level and that is tickets sold, not those actually at the game.
I have been watching hockey for a long time and never seen so many empty seats in a lower bowl.
I am glad there is a passionate Thrashers fan out there. Now it is your job to recruit 30,000 more people like you and keep the team in town.
I wish you and your club, nothing but the best...
2 months ago
The problem with Atlanta is not exactly the fans (for now) but the team. The organization doesn't seem to make real strides to try to win. As long as the hockey team is a joke the fan base will continue to be a joke. For an example, look at the Anaheim Ducks.
2 months ago
Of course there is no one at Thrashers games. Klan meetings don't end until late at night...
2 months ago
Please Thrasher fans...get it together. I am active duty military from Pittsburgh and married a Georgia Girl...at some point we will be moving to Atlanta (timeframe unknown)...I don't know what I would do without hockey!!! On the up side, if the Thrashers are still in town I should be able to find tickets :O) Here's the deal, you have to support your team regardless of record. Being from Pittsburgh area...I suffered through the Mark Malone years (Steelers), the Pirates 15 years of futility, and the Penguins of the mid 80's and early 2000's. It's like family, you don't have to like them to love them!
I know the Bulldogs are the darling of Georgia (how bout them Dawgs!) but can we get some love for Hockey? You may be few and far between, but hockey maniacs in Atlanta...this is your homework assignment...get 5 friends...rent the movie Slapshot (if you haven't seen it, you should be ashamed)...pick a designated driver...drink 4 beers in the parking lot before the game...find your seat just before puck drop...eat 2 hot dogs...and explain to your 5 hockey neophyte friends the basics of the game...and what their jaws drop the first time somebody gets hammered into the boards. It's only a matter of time...they'll understand. If they like the Georgia Bulldogs, they will like hockey :O)
from 2 months ago
Why, Stephen! Take it from this Sourthern Belle in Atlanta... you ought to be tarred and feathered and run out on a rail for that remark! Seriously, that was totally uncalled for...
from 2 months ago
Marinell, I'm curious what I said that deserves tarring and feathering? Unless you are a Tech fan. I don't mind Tech...the wife hates them. I'm just trying to help spread hockey mania until the wife and I move to the area :O)
2 months ago
Oh...any Atlanta Thrasher maniacs out there...I don't know when this Yankee is coming south (remember I married a Southern Belle) but I'd love to get involved in some Trashers discussion with some real fans! Drop me a note sometime. It's only a matter of time before I start showing up at games...I promise to root for the Thrashers unless Crosby & Co. are in town.
2 months ago
Rich is dead-on. The Thrasher fans are about as fair weather as they come ---- and believe me, any rain or temps under 65 .... and THEY DON'T COME. (Must of been 64 and storming last night!!!!
Finally someone has taken the mantle and exposed the Atlanta Thrasher fans for what they are .... no show wannabe's!
WAY TO GO RICH. Look forward to more insight from you.
2 months ago
And it's happening most likely at other rinks in the southern US. No one wants to see hockey because it's not popular. Look at any of the Canadian teams - sold out or near capacity every game.
The only way that true hockey markets will get teams is when hell freezes over or when pigs fly because Gary Bettman has his head so far up his backside he's blind as a bat to see it. He only wants money, and money is not good for the game. Bettman doesn't know what's best for the game.
from 2 months ago
Don't be so quick to stab at all southern markets. The Stars are rated as one of the most successful teams money wise in hockey (number 6 by Forbes Magazine) and the Anaheim Ducks sell out just as much as Dallas. Clumping teams like Anaheim and Dallas with Atlanta and Florida is a slap in the face.
Put a successful team in those locations, and fans will care. It's the sad truth.
from 2 months ago
I know there's successful teams down there for sure Ken. I just forgot to mention them, so that's my oversight on there. Teams such as Anaheim, Dallas, San Jose are all teams with strong fanbases, good teams that have been drafted skillfully and carefully, and the number one thing - they are all successful.
But in hindsight, I think it's true that if you have a losing team in any market the fans won't seem to care unless they're hardcore. I remember in the earlier part of the decade, Montreal didn't sell out every game. Why? 'Cause they were awful, horrible, the worst! Same goes for some other Canadian franchises. But they saw the way of the Nordiques and Jets and like a slap to the face they realized they need to back their teams or they'll go south of the border too.
But I give props to Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose, and other successful teams. My bad not citing the good ones from the bad ones.
2 months ago
Easy solution... the Winnipeg Thrashers.
DO IT, Bettman.
2 months ago
The problem is that the ownership and the general manager have screwed the season ticket holders. All of last year the season ticket holders would pay full fare to come to the games only to see people sitting near them buying game day tickets at a huge discount. When the product on the ice fell apart and the season ticket holders recognized they got screwed, they did not renew. Renewals dropped 60 percent for this season.
So while there are passionate fans here, I am one, we also do not like being screwed and do not have deep ties to the organization. So we voted with our wallets until the team gets their stuff together.
2 months ago
I'd like to tell you a story...
My father went on a business trip to Atlanta and came back B-DECKED in Thrashers gear. He then proclaimed that the Thrashers were his favorite Eastern team and now we constantly have competition between our favorite Eastern teams now. (Mine being the Rangers, selected way before they got back in the playoffs the year before last year). So while my pick flourishes, his is withering and dead.
I think it's a good story to contrast winning and fan attendance because if one is up, the other is usually up as well. Fans have an affect on the game and when teams win, the fans go nuts.
Personally, I think the entire organization has decided to pack it in because they basically have killed fan loyalty, traded away one of the greatest young players in the game (Why would you get rid of Marian Hossa!? Now the Central Division has to deal with him! Thanks a lot!), and now they expect wins from Little, Kovalchuk, Koslov, and Kari Lehtonen!? The franchise is a joke, the players are terrible, and the uniforms are the biggest eyesore I've ever seen.
2 months ago
Until last year Chicago "a supposed great sports town" had to pay people to watch the Hawks - winning puts people in the seats even if you play on the moon. The Thrash went down hill fast last year and expectations for this year were low at best. Lets see where we are at the end of the year and if buzz has been created for the next season. Don't judge us by one horrible game but the body of work yet to be completed.
And for the clown that made the klan remark - FU
2 months ago
Stephen, or any of you Thrasher fans on here.... go to www.nastynest.net to discuss the Thrashers. It is an unofficial Thrasher's message board, and there are some great people on there. And, by the way, they know more about hockey than those who post on the official Thrashers' board.
from 2 months ago
Thanks, I'll check it out.
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