Old Farts Thread

[Flyer_Frank]

Originally Posted by acdcrocksno1

Who's up for creating the WHA round 2? Stuff the NHL

The WHA was a great league. Being number 2 forces you to be creative and the things they did like reg season OT, bringing in Euros, US college players and underagers made the game you see today better whether you realize it or not.

[Maggie3and Me]

Originally Posted by mike56

What if they had a NHL game and nobody came?

While in theory you have a valid premise to go on, in reality, "it'll never happen".

Three strikes in baseball almost killed the "Golden Goose" for owners and players alike, eventually the fans came back. In fact, all kinds of attendance records have fallen. And at over inflated prices after the teaser rates gave way to getting butts back in the seats.

In the previous lockout, fans said they would never come back and hockey would never be the same game.

They were right about hockey not being the same game, but wrong, again about the mentality of the paying public and hockey fans in particular. Attendance in the NHL has been up over the past two seasons and so have the price of tickets.

I can never get rid of this feeling I have had whenever there is a negotiated end to a strike in sports. I can't help but think the final conversation goes something like this:

"OK, OK, we know we gotta end this thing. Our side will call your side some names, your side will call our side some names and we go with life. You say you got the concessions you want, we'll say we got the concessions we want. BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Now let's get down to the nitty gritty. How do we make the suckers, I mean the fans, pay more so we both can pay for the new agreement we reached, without it costing either side anything out of pocket?'

[fansince65]

Originally Posted by Maggie3and Me

While in theory you have a valid premise to go on, in reality, "it'll never happen".

Three strikes in baseball almost killed the "Golden Goose" for owners and players alike, eventually the fans came back. In fact, all kinds of attendance records have fallen. And at over inflated prices after the teaser rates gave way to getting butts back in the seats.

In the previous lockout, fans said they would never come back and hockey would never be the same game.

They were right about hockey not being the same game, but wrong, again about the mentality of the paying public and hockey fans in particular. Attendance in the NHL has been up over the past two seasons and so have the price of tickets.

I can never get rid of this feeling I have had whenever there is a negotiated end to a strike in sports. I can't help but think the final conversation goes something like this:

"OK, OK, we know we gotta end this thing. Our side will call your side some names, your side will call our side some names and we go with life. You say you got the concessions you want, we'll say we got the concessions we want. BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Now let's get down to the nitty gritty. How do we make the suckers, I mean the fans, pay more so we both can pay for the new agreement we reached, without it costing either side anything out of pocket?'

A lot of truth in this post Maggs . How many gams have you attended in recent years ??
I havent attended a single game since the last lockout , just can't afford it on a fixed income (pension) , to take in a game in Toronto it would cost me in the vicinity of $500 dollars for two of us just for tickets to the game a couple beers and parking , that is not counting if we went out for something to eat as well and my gas , if you count in $100 for eats and $50 for gas it would cost about $650 to take in a game in Toronto , in Detroit it would be about $400 to take in a game .
Junior hockey is my ticket anymore , it costs me less that a thousand for two season tickets to the London Knights , and believe it or not $55 dollars for season tickets for Junior B to attend the London Nationals games , and five dollars a game to attend the St.Thomas stars games (cant attend all of them because they play on the same nights as the Knights) .
I can attend as many as four games a week , and get Junior hockey on TV almost every night of the week .
I DON'T NEED THE NHL ANYMORE !!!!

[Killah_punk]

I just picked up tickets yesterday for the QMJHL, Halifax Mooseheads home opener this friday. Should be a great crowd with a sellout (10k) or near sellout. This will be my first junior game in a few years. I plan to check out 10 plus home games this year for the Moose for my hockey fix. This team looks good so far (2-0) and they have a ton of potential with a few potential first round picks in 2013 draft. Including Nathan MacKinnon who is ranked number prospect by central scouting and should go first overall. He has been drawing comparisons to Crosby as they are both from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

[Maggie3and Me]

In an average year I go to five to seven regular season games and also some playoff games. I try and balance that out with some Cubs games and a few college football games. This upcoming season, before the lockout, we have tickets to four games, plus the package my grandson has. We felt all along that their was going to be some kind of stoppage.

I am more selective about the games I go to than I have been in the past. We have tickets for Boston, the Pens, the Blues, and we always go the game either before or after Christmas my wife and two of the grandsons and their wives. This year it’s the Preds on the 26th.

The year the Hawks won the cup we went to 7 regular season games. We also went to 8 playoff games, including all the home games in the finals. The cost of tickets has gone up dramatically from before the Cup win to this season

This will be my 53rd season as a Blackhawks fan and a hockey fan. Once upon a time I had season tickets, but gave them up. I spent the last half of the 70’s, then the 80’s and 90’s raising my family. I only went to a handful of games during that time.

Thankfully, in my 60’s, I am able to once again go to games I want to see. As I have written, my grandsons and I enjoy being able to go games with each other, when possible. We were supposed to go the Hawks/Wings Winter Classic, but I was sick and gave up my ticket to one of my grandson, so he and his brother could go the game together. We feel it a privilege to be able to go any sporting event.

My one grandson in Milwaukee, also goes to the Admirals games. We try to go to some Rockford Ice Hogs games each year. This year I am going with some friends to see the Peoria Rivermen play.

The game in the A, more and more, seem to be a better bang for the buck. I enjoy the atmosphere of those games a lot. I agree, for pure hockey playing and effort by the players, the A has it over the NHL any more.

I will still go to NHL games once the dispute is settled. I saw several games from 1959 through the early 70’s. The games in the Original Six era and through the first expansions are just memories,as are the player who played in them. While today’s game is not the same as it was then, neither am I. I have not embraced the way the game or the rules have changed, but I have accepted the changes and am still a fan of the game.

Nothing lasts forever and change is always inevitable. I can live with that. What I do not want to live with, is the extinction of hockey as we know it.

[bustoff]

I go to about 7-10 games a year. Always try to see the Hawks and the Bruins when they are in St. Louis. Back in the day at the old Arena, I would go to at least 20 games and never missed a Blues-Hawks game. Always tried to go the Wings games because of Probie and Kocur.

[fansince65]

Maggs , your last comment , "the extinction of the game as we know it" has already happened .

The game we grew up with is no more , the game your grandchildren and mine watch , that game of today brings them out of their seat cheering wildly is vastly different then the game we watched .
The game of today is faster , the players are bigger and better conditioned than in our day , and the equipment they are now using , a player that was fully equipped from head to toe was a rare thing when back in the day as we say , now they are equipped like knights of old with state of the art armour that weighs only ounces , my old tube skates weighted more than the full equipment a player wears every night now .
The sticks they use are state of the art , remember the pound to two pound piece of lumber we used to use ?? now a stick weighs just ounces and they shoot the puck at well over 100 miles an hour .

The game we knew has evolved , as our sons and daughters grew up with the changing game some of us coached the game and had to change with it or be left behind , now our grandchildren are still watching the game with the same enthusiasm we did , the game has changed , the "NEW GENERATION OF FAN HASENT" they still love the game as it is played today ..

[fansince65]

The only NHL game I have watched "LIVE" over the last 8 years is the exhibition game the Flyers play at the John Labatt Center now named the "BUDWISER GARDENS" Or the BEER CASE like us fans like to call it , that game has been canceled this year , even that game costs in the vicinity of $400 dollars for four tickets ..

[Maggie3and Me]

I was hoping that we would be getting all worked up about the coming season and, as usual, posting about why our favorite team was certainly going to win the Cup this season.

It is not working out that way. I read an article quoting several Blackhawk players regarding the strike. Comments ranged from Buttman not caring about the fans and the players, to the league trying to take back all of the concessions made by the league in the last go round.

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to see the league really screwed up (and knows it) and gave away the store in the last two negotiations and now wants what it gave up back.

I am also sure that Fehr is as big of dick in these talks as he was with major league baseball. Remember how cordial and harmonious those talks were?

We can not be victims of the strike here in the Old Farts thread. If nothing else, we can post old posts or articles about favorite players, if we run out of current topics. We need to keep ourselves "in the game mentality", until the game comes back to us.

How about it.

I have had a bunch of oral surgery and the bone grafts are healing so I will be here more and I am looking forward to your comments and posting responses to the topics brought up.

[Flyer_Frank]

I was actually pretty optimistic a deal would get done but that obviously hasn't worked out.

[fansince65]

I just haven't had the time to post anywhere , I spend too much time attending hockey games .

When you have two teams that play in a half hour drive from my door and another right here in town that play on different nights of the week it becomes easy to attend games. I have season tickets to all three teams ..

The London Knights play on Friday nights at home with the odd Sunday and Monday game thrown in , they play on the Road most Saturdays with some Tuesday and Thursday games thrown in .

The London Nationals play on every Wednesday night with the odd weekend game thrown in , the St,Thomas Stars play mostly on Sundays with the odd week day thrown in . All three teams play road games (that I go to) that are only a half hour to an hour drive away , I have never have a hard time getting tickets for any road game unless it is playoff time .
I dont give a crap if the NHL never plays one game this year , I have enough games too attend right in my own neighbourhood to fill the NHL void , if I aim to attend a "PRO" game all I have to do is drive the hour and a half to Hamilton and watch the AHL Bulldogs play for a cost of $20 bucks a game and ten dollars for parking , I usually have 5 other guys in my van that pays for my gas , parking , eats , and game ticket just for driving to the game ..

[fansince65]

Here is something new that is happening around the OHL that will interest some posters , "THE GOAL JUDGE IS BEING FAZED OUT" !!!

The goal light is being wired to the time-keepers bench , when the ref signals a goal the time-keeper hits the switch and the light comes on .
Now I was real skeptical when I first heard they where going to try this at last nights Knights game , it went off without a hitch , 10 goals in all , (8-2 Knights win) .
This is going to filter down to all leagues , or I should say , this is a pilot test to see if it is feasible for all leagues , my guess is it will become another part of the progress change in today's game , just like the no touch icing will become part of the pro game before too long ..

[fansince65]

I was real skeptical when I heard they (London Knights / Windsor Spitfires)where going to play without a goal judge on Friday night , but it went off without a hitch .
The game was a high scoring affair 10 goals in all , (8-2 Knights ) , the ref would signal a goal and the light came on instantly .
Looks like this is going to catch on around the league and will filter up to the pro ranks earlier than any of us think .
Watch for it too happen in the AHL the next time you are at a game , or if you can get a televised game watch for the goal judge just too see if their is one , and yes they do televise AHL games in this area on the Leafs TV network , the Marlies , the Leafs farm team ..

[Killah_punk]

Originally Posted by fansince65

Here is something new that is happening around the OHL that will interest some posters , "THE GOAL JUDGE IS BEING FAZED OUT" !!!

The goal light is being wired to the time-keepers bench , when the ref signals a goal the time-keeper hits the switch and the light comes on .
Now I was real skeptical when I first heard they where going to try this at last nights Knights game , it went off without a hitch , 10 goals in all , (8-2 Knights win) .
This is going to filter down to all leagues , or I should say , this is a pilot test to see if it is feasible for all leagues , my guess is it will become another part of the progress change in today's game , just like the no touch icing will become part of the pro game before too long ..

The 2007 season, the NHL goal judge was moved from his perch behind the net, where he had sat for 90 years. With contentious goals handled entirely by video, he can now be found tucked away in remote corners of arenas or in press gondolas, far from the action, and reduced to a token button-pusher. All that remains is his red light.

[fansince65]

Originally Posted by Killah_punk

The 2007 season, the NHL goal judge was moved from his perch behind the net, where he had sat for 90 years. With contentious goals handled entirely by video, he can now be found tucked away in remote corners of arenas or in press gondolas, far from the action, and reduced to a token button-pusher. All that remains is his red light.

I thought they had fazed out the goal judge in the NHL back a few years ago , just wasn't shore and just didn't have the time to look it up .
So on looking it up I find they are still being used , like you say , in higher places , except for Boston Gardens , one is still posted behind their net according to the report I found .

The reason they gave for no longer using the Goal judge right behind the net , was so they can "SELL MORE TICKETS" by putting in more seats where the judge used to sit ..