Quote:
Originally Posted by dustygoon
Oh ya, and the realization that braying fans can effect change at the highest level.
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This part I'm sort of conflicted about.
Edmonton is a pretty good example of a fanbase that kind of unwaveringly stayed true to the cause and was loyal to the point of stupidity, up until recently. Tickets sold strong for far longer than they should have. management and ownership seems to not give a rat's butthole about the fans.
Vancouver is the sort of general fanbase that probably also stayed naively loyal far longer than it should have, but once the pitchforks came out, it wasn't shown just in online complaining, but apparently also in a quantifyable drops in ticket renewals.
That part is good, I think, because fans should believe that they can actually vote with their wallets and if they actually are upset, they should not just complain but actually do something about it. On the whole, I think if someone asked me if a particular team ownership making changes based on losing fan support from your diehard season ticket holders is good, I'd say probably? As a fan I do want to be able to believe that I can vote with my dollar.
Conversely, some fan bases seem more hockey intelligent than others, and again speaking very broadly, if I'm in a business role, maybe I don't want the expectation to be that fan reactions to a bad season must be responded to with drastic changes? Very situation dependant I guess.
Not trying to imply I have an answer or even an opinion here either way, but it's kind of strange to think about.