True North or False?
Friday · May 20 · 2011 | 11:24 AM PDT
This post will be a little bit about what the people at NHL.com are thinking — so in that spirit, I've written a lazy pun for the headline.
Seriously, what's going on? Does True North Sports and Entertainment have a deal to buy and relocate the Atlanta Thrashers or not? And if not, why is the online arm of the National Hockey League reporting a story that is — according to its own commissioner — false? And why are they reporting that exclusively?
I'm referring to an article posted late last night on NHL.com which talks about the unconfirmed report from the Globe and Mail that the deal is done and the Thrashers are moving to Winnipeg. But every other news agency is saying any deal is far from done. Still, the Globe and Mail is holding fast. And NHL.com is only referencing their story. I have it here in image form in case it disappears at some point:
;)
Perhaps I'm confused about the relationship between league and the people who run its website. But from a public relations standpoint, if there's no completed agreement yet, shouldn't your cyber representatives steer clear of posting a story that says there is? Or at the very least include a statement from the commissioner?
Unless it's not all that false.
It's funny. Last night I tweeted, asking for blog ideas as I've been having trouble manufacturing content amidst my team's unlikely Stanley Cup playoff run. Naturally, this story breaks almost immediately after. But more on all the ideas in a moment.
While we wait for official word that everyone can report on, let's not forget about what it would mean if the Thrashers move. Atlanta hockey fans will have lost a second team to a Canadian city of fewer than a million people. Speaking of which, Canadians seem to be the most excited over the prospect of the move. I understand, you love hockey. But are you forgetting what it felt like to lose your team?
Perhaps its the arrogance of those who believe living in the southern U.S. automatically makes you undeserving of the greatest sport in the world. Get over that. I'm from Tampa and I'd wager that my excitement for my team (Go Bolts!) rivals that of any Canadian. And I'm not an anomaly. The Thrashers' Blueland Blog asked Atlanta fans to share how they fell in love with the game. There are some truly great stories in there.
Anyway, if it happens it happens, and it will be terrible for them. I just wanted to make sure you guys were aware that Thrasher fans are not a myth. (Lightning fans on the other hand... at least according to the Bruins marketing folks! Haha!)
I'm not saying you shouldn't be excited. Just keep in mind that a victory for Winnipeg is a devastating defeat for our fellow hockey fans in Georgia. Many of whom love the game just as much as we do.
And despite the certainty from so many places that the team will be in Winnipeg next year, the Thrashers are going ahead with their Select-A-Seat event tomorrow. As they should. Rooting for you, Thrasher fans. Don't get used to it.
A Storm of Blog Ideas
Now back to what I was saying before about needing blog ideas. The summer's coming and that usually means lots of jersey news and unveilings and so forth. Plenty of content. However, the spring is usually the slowest time of the year. So I asked what you guys would like to see on the site. I got a lot of responses but most would require a lot of research on my part, so yeah... thanks for that.
Here's some of what came in:
Alan Ruck rocks a Red Wings jerseyHockey Sweaters in Cinema Dave D. suggested this, specifically referencing the Red Wings jersey famously worn by Alan Ruck in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Off the top of my head I can recall Seth Rogen's bedroom being decorated with Penguins paraphernalia in Zack and Miri Make a Porno and — though I've only seen trailers — it seems Blackhawks gear figures prominently in The Dilemma.
On the small screen, Paul Giamatti showed up on 30 Rock this season rocking an Islanders sweater, singing the praises of Matt Moulson. And back in 2005, an episode of Alias featured the Lightning celebrating their Stanley Cup championship.
This is definitely a topic ripe for further delving, but I am by no means a film buff. If you are, feel free to start compiling a list of NHL jersey cameos in movies and TV shows. Send that along and we'll share it with the group.
Early Implementation of Lightning Rebrand My buddy John over at Raw Charge wonders about the evolution of the public's opinion about the Tampa Bay Lightning's new logo now that it has been splashed just about everywhere. The only place it hasn't been seen yet is on the players' backs. He surmises the early implementation of the new brand is helping in the transition for next season. Definitely something to consider.
Green is Good Josh K. suggested reviewing good examples of green hockey jerseys to get us inspired for the new third jersey apparently being added by the Dallas Stars next season. Word is it will be green! I'm hopeful and I think such a post could be worked out.
Ugliest Stanley Cup Winner Dave White from the Yukon wonders what was the worst Stanley Cup winning sweater ever. That'll require a trip to the past, but I'm sure there are plenty of contenders. The Penguins' Edge jersey, for one, is pretty lame and that was only 2009. We'll explore more at some point.
That Which Never Was Charles P. proposes a post about jerseys that never happened — like what the Nordiques would've worn if they stayed in Quebec in 1995 or what the Blues might've worn in 1996 if Mike Keenan didn't have some sense. There are others but photos and renderings may be difficult to come by. Any help would be highly appreciated and welcomed!
Outside the NHL Box A couple of followers asked about NCAA, junior and international jersey discussions. I tend to avoid those topics as I'm not as well versed in them as the NHL. As far as concepts however, send whatever you've got. If it's good, I'll be more than happy to post it.
Thanks to everyone for the wonderful ideas! As I work behind the scenes to continue the expansion of the Jersey Galleries section, I'm also hard at work on improving another well-received feature I launched last summer. Many of you have asked about it so I hope you like it.
Reader Comments (40)
Scrubs has numerous red wings appearances
And a slight aside but I'm sure someone behind Despicable Me must be a Crosby fan as the little girl wears 87 PJs
For what it's worth, I'm one of those few Canadians who scoffs at the idea that the southern US doesn't "deserve" hockey. The idea of automatically "deserving" the sport due to geographical location is absurd.
As a Canadian I am very excited that Winnipeg may get a team. I am also very upset that Georgia will lose another team. I think they have a great fan base. I wish it could work some other way. At least if it was Phoenix the team would be going 'home.'
Pretty sure the Nordiques wolf jersey design is easily searchable online and I know I've got the logo for it saved somewhere on my Photobucket. I was really bummed they didn't ever get to use that jersey, as I thought it was sharp and fierce.
Another 30 Rock episode had the writing staff going to Boston and the meeting room was completely decked out in Bruins gear and colors.
Also, as a Calgarian, I thought it was foolish of the NHL to put another team in Atlanta when the first one didn't work out so well for them. There might have a been a strong foundation for the franchise if the management of the team was competent and not just looking for quick fixes and the like. Look at how Nashville is doing now in a "non-traditional" hockey market thanks to sticking to a plan.
Don't forget about Griswold's Blackhawks jersey in National Lampoon!
@Skooch: ...."fierce"? ;)
ON two notes for this one. First, Winnipeg fans don't forget the heart ache of losing a team. That's why we are celebrating as hard as we can on the premise of one coming back. Do you remember when Minnesota lost their North Stars? When the NHL returned via expansion, they haven't had one game where they didn't sell out their stadium since. They felt the loss. As do we. For Atlanta fans, I feel for you I do, but we can share the team for a season before you turn your focus to Nashville or Tampa. And Point 2: How I met your mother prominently shows hockey, including multiple vancouver canucks, and New York Rangers references. Including jerseys and Mason Raymond.
Home Improvement with Tim Allen had several Wings references.
According to Jim has several Blackhawks jersey appearances.
Dont forget Clerks on the big screen
Hey guys, I appreciate all the jersey references in movies and TV shows, but so as to not clutter the comments and actually have a purpose to such a blog post, email or tweet your suggestions to me so I can get a list together. Thanks!
I'm a Canadian, and I have to admit there isn't as much support here for a Winnipeg team as every one makes it out to be. The opinion amongst most of freidns and peers is that the city is simply too small to have long-term competition with Large American cities. Honest to God, Southern Ontario and the Pacific Northwest deserve teams far more than tiny little Winterpeg Does.
The whole NHL jerseys in film thing kicked off another thought: How about polls for the best and worst jerseys in films? Like specifically movies about hockey (but not Miracle or the NHL Ducks jerseys in MD2 &3). You could pull from Youngblood, The Slapshot series, the Mighty Duck series, etc. There are some great shirts (and some real turds out (I'm looking at you MD2 Trinidad jersey!).
As a Thrasher fan...this is a hard day. I have to tell my kids the team is gone just as my Mom had to do back in 1980. To say we abandoned the team is wrong - we had an ownership group that went out of its way to ruin hockey for both the fans, and possible corporate sponsors in this city years ago. Every media outlet in Canada has pointed out the ASG has written the definitie novel on how NOT to run a franchise. For the Calgarian above who said this was a mistake from the onset - you could never be more wrong. In a down economy, to ask someone to support a product that is purposefully kept mediocre is insulting. The difference between Altanta 1980 and 2011 is staggering. At least we have the ECHL Gladiators. Perhaps we can move up to the AHL and bring back the name Atlanta Flames.
The sad part is the Canadian dollar will inevitably fall back to the historical level of 75% of the USD and the small market teams there will be in trouble again.
[quote]Also, as a Calgarian, I thought it was foolish of the NHL to put another team in Atlanta when the first one didn't work out so well for them. [/quote]
But isn't them putting a team in Winnipeg the same exact thing??
Two words: "Happy Gilmore". Boston jerseys and pennants of other teams from the early 90's.
Hey chris I was wondering if your Bolts go all the way and hoist the cup what logo will they use for the championship banner?
I think the cinema thing would be fantastic, as long as notes are included with it. For instance, the jersey from Ferris Bueller's Day Off is wrong. The Wings have never worn a white collar on their red sweaters. I think that's a nifty little tidbit to include. Add to it a rating on "How well was this jersey used?" was it included in the script? was it just a background item that's never talked about (like the random Islanders gear in ALF)? does it help develop a character (like Dr. Cox in Scrubs)? and you have a voting basis like this site has always done so well.
The idea I'd like to see most would be the "That which never was". I've grabbed photos of never-worn jerseys whenever I can, including the gold Dallas Stars jersey, the Nordiques 1996 changes, what was allegedly a 1980s Nords rebrand, and most recently what is supposedly a Cooperalls rebrand for the Jets, which is crazy looking. Other logos, such as the Caps rebrand that never happened, the alternate ideas of the Burger King logo through the Blue Jackets cannon logo, are stuff that has been mentioned on this very blog. That would probably be the most interesting of the above ideas.
Did Phoenix fans shed tears for Winnipeg? Did Colorado weep for Quebec City? Did Carolina cry for Hartford? Nope. It's unrealistic to expect Winnipeggers/Canadians to feel bad about a market we don't care about. We're just happy to have a team back.
A few more: Van Damme's Sudden Death featured the Pens. Lethal Weapon 3 had a game between the Leafs and Kings (for the most part, they switched to generic logo jerseys when the cops crashed onto the ice). Mystery, Alaska featured the Rangers. The real Mighty Ducks made a cameo in one of their namesake films. Joey Lauren Adams wore nothing but a jersey in Chasing Amy (can't remember which team).
@A.J. It sure is similar, but the reason behind the Jets leaving and the Atlanta Flames/Thrashers reason are different. There's an already installed fanbase in Winnipeg that is clamoring for an NHL team to come back, whereas when the Thrashers came into existence, did Atlanta really care?
Mark - it's called empathy. Basic human emotion. Seems to me as though you could use a bit of it. What exactly do you think happens in those post playoff series handshake lines? The loser congratulates the victor, and the winner tells their conquest that they fought hard and gave it their all. Common respect between people. Today sucks for us Thrasher fans, but it is nice to see the joy in the faces of those in Winnipeg who had their team taken from beneath them unfairly 15 years ago.
It'd be really cool to do what you did with the Canadian teams- rating all their jerseys- with the rest of the league, or even conference by conference or division by division.
Just find it interesting to note that the Jets final season's attendance averaged about 11k per game. Atlanta's worst season was 13k. (Mind you, league average jumped up 2k since the mid 90s). Anyway, I'm firmly against relocation, I'd rather see Canada get teams via expansion. I'm a fan of the Sens and Oilers, both of whom faced difficulties and could've been sent packing to the US. I don't think the league has a bias against Canada. I also think Winnipeg isn't a greater market than Atlanta. I'd argue they're about the same: Winnipeg might have a larger percentage of hockey fans, but Atlanta's got a much larger population to draw from.
Dave- Paul Kariya was in the 3rd Ducks movie for about a minute and the Minnesota North Stars were in the first Ducks movie.
As a passionate die-hard Calgary fan, I've always been partial to the Atlanta Thrashers, right from the very start. I'd cheer for them for no real justified reason and then tell my friends that when Atlanta becomes a contender, I won't be the bandwagoneer. I figured since they've been re-building --rather building---- a team for more than a decade now, the elite version of the team must be on its way. Atlanta seems like a perfect place to live and play hockey as an NHL player, the media doesn't dissect your every move, your kids can go to school and be normal, a trip to the grocery store doesn't result in mass autograph mobs.... and it's warm there! So why can't Thrashers management pay enough money to bring or keep free agents? Why is it that a metro city of well over 5 million people can't even find 18000 people to watch a game? Why is it that it cheaper for me to buy a plane ticket to Atlanta, rent a hotel room and a car for a weekend and sit in the lower bowl for a Thrashers game than to go watch a game in a Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal? Why is it that not a single prospective buyer has come forward to purchase the team and keep it in Atlanta? Atlanta got two chances to prove it was a hockey town, as did Minnesota, and the Bay Area (Oakland Seals anyone?). The difference with the latter two is that fans now regularly show up to games in respectable numbers, even San Jose, which has certainly had its fair share of perpetual underachievement.
I heard they were going to have a rally in Atlanta to show support for the Thrashers........I didn't hear how many people showed up. Enough to fill an arena? Enough to fill all of downtown? Enough to fill a major street downtown? Maybe a few downtown pubs? Did the police have to show up for crowd control? Where there any rallies elsewhere in Georgia? Did it even make the news in Atlanta? Or was it those few passionate ones that filled a curb side with a few jerseys and a few signs?
As another poster said, cheering for perennial mediocrity is very tough. No doubt about it. I know what it's like In fact, unless you only cheer for the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Yankees, the LA Lakers, or the New England Patriots, EVERYONE knows what that's like. I also have no doubt that there are passionate hockey fans in Atlanta. But it's clear that something has to change, because only a handful of passionate fans won't cut it. The hockey business is a service industry, if a service (aka a means to provide entertainment, stress relief therapy, social gatherings, etc) isn't provided, then it won't be successful. Plain and simple. If I run a barber shop, and I give crappy haircuts, I'm eventually going to go out of business! If I re-open my barber shop in the same place and continue to give crappy haircuts? You guessed it, I will go out of business. If Atlanta, Minneapolis, and San Jose can all get a second chance to prove themselves, why can't Winnipeg?
How about Wayne's World. They have the Backhawks jerseys in that. And Dave, the jersey in Chasing Amy was a Leafs Felix Potvin jersey. The US Office had a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins jersey in one of the episodes as well. Also an episode of Friends they go to a hockey game at MSG and Joey is wearing a NY Rangers jersey. And in Seinfeld David Puddy wore a NJ Devils jersey.
"Alan Ruck rocks the worst Red Wings jersey known to man" See the second half of this post for the reasons why.
http://thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com/2009/10/1970-71-detroit-red-wings-gordie-howe.html
For some reason, there is a version of the unused Nordiques jersey online that is becoming the accepted image of what it would have looked like, only the coloring is very wrong, with the teal absent. It's pictured on both sportslogos.net http://www.sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=c72hgmvtcvxu8bmqvogo and wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Nordiques
The actual jersey is pictured here and looks very different from the colorless version that has become the accepted version.
http://thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com/2010/06/1995-96-quebec-nordiques-prototype.html
As for the Trashers moving, it saddens me to see any team leave, having been through the loss of the Minnesota Fighting Saints in my youth and the relocation of the Minnesota North Stars later in life, as well as witnessing the hearbreak of the fans in Winnipeg during the Save the Jets rally that generated $13 million in a futile effort to save their doomed club.
I've been reading in non-hockey circles that Atlanta's population has floundered in the last decade or so. My union rep tells me that there isn't a single tower crane in operation, compared to 167 in Toronto, which is currently experiencing a miniature economic boom. The tower crane figure is a decent indicator of the amount of economic activity for a city, due to the work being done underneath them, generally. By all accounts, Atlanta's economy is in the dumps. Never mind the small number of serious fans; the city's economics make it hard for a major professional sports team to get the funding base they need to survive through sponsorship and seat licensing.
Also, you can't buy anything with passion. The intensity of the devotion of the small number of Thrasher fans is clearly not bankable enough to pay Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byufglien their salaries.
I'm a hockey evangelist, I think it's the most exciting, entertaining, and fast-paced game in the world, but not every new hockey market is capable of sustaining an NHL team, and Atlanta's had their shot, twice now.
The Love Guru (which was a terrible movie btw) features the Leafs and Kings prominently.
As far as I'm concerned, it's not about how much an individual loves the sport or their team. It's about the general consensus. And if they move the Thrashers to Winnipeg, believe me, the entire Canadian city will live and breathe their team. Unlike in Atlanta where there aren't enough of those passionate fans to fill up half the arena throughout the seasons. The proof is there and it can't be denied. It has nothing to do with anything geographical, but everything to do with how passionate Winnipeg citizens will be. And again, I'm not talking about specific fans of the team like in Atlanta, but an entire city who will be all over this.
And I'll make the same exact claim for Quebec. And even more for them. I don't know if you guys are aware, but Nordiques fans organize rallies and get-togethers where thousands upon thousands show up to display their want for a hockey team. Thousands get on buses and travel to other cities where they pack up another team's arena to show the NHL that they mean business (ask the NY Islanders about how there were more Nordiques fans in the stands than either team who was playing that night at Nasau Coliseum, including the home team).
I would feel bad for Thrashers fans if they actually packed the house and the city was hockey all-year round. But I don't feel sorry for them because the folks in Hotlanta didn't show enough interest in the local team. So too bad! And I'll say the same exact thing about any team whose arenas are only full when their team is in the playoffs, but are barely half full during the year. The league has a good bunch of teams full of bandwagon fans.
I would say the same exact thing if the team was Canadian. But that is far from the case. To quote the American Kurt Angle "It's true. It's damn true!"
Keep in mind that Winnipeg will have a fan base of not only winnipeg but most of North Western Ontario. I dont really have a team persay i really just follow certain players. But Winnipeg will probably be my new favourite team.
Reason being for people who live in North Western Ontario the closest canadian team are approximately 2000km west (Calgary) to 1500km east (Toronto).
Norm MacDonald had his Canadiens' jersey stolen by a little kid near the beginning in Dirty Work.
In Clerks, Jay was wearing a Devils Jersey on the street hockey scene on top of the store.
That wasn't Jay with the Devils jersey in Clerks, it was Sanford. Just sayin'.
In Clerks Dante wore a Pens jersey('91-'92 Cup years)
Angelina Jolie wore a NJ Devils Jersey in 'Hackers'!
Daniel Tosh wearing a Duck's 3rd in an episode giving a Web Redemption to the girl who forgot the American national anthem.
Coming to this a bit late, but Paul Giamatti wasn't the only Islanders fan to show up on 30 Rock. Liz's on-again/off-again boyfriend Dennis is a die-hard Isles fan, showing up in one episode wearing a jersey with "DENNIS 00" on it. He also said he had no reason to live after the Islanders lost, to which Liz replied "Doesn't that happen a lot?"
By the way, in reference to TV shows, the pilot episode of the show "Sliders" had a pan-out clip of an old SJ Sharks jersey.
"She's Out of My League" Features a Pens game and the lead character wears a Pens jersey.