1) Mostly no. Always been more of a Flames/Team Canada fan than a hockey fan.
2) Will watch when I can. Maybe not if they sell off Gaudreau and Monahan for futures and tank as many of you wish.
3) I'd have said diehard in the past, now I'm more casual.
4) Money. If I were to start going to a lot of games in person, I might start supporting the team where I live now. Or if the Flames leave Calgary.
5) It's not a great product. I think they should set a tight officiating standard and stick to it. If you're behind your mark as a defender, I don't see how you can legally touch him, yet it happens all the time. Getting hacked, punches after the whistle, etc. are thing I would want no part of in the sports I play, and when I see them it's just needless thuggery. Hockey is this weird hybrid between a game of skill (which I enjoy) and a blood sport (which I do not), and I wish it would leave the blood sport aspect behind. Where's the fun in watching Gaudreau lose the puck because he's got a stick blade poking him in the stomach? It's not like I ever think "man, that guy hooking him just made a brilliant play, put that on SportsCentre!" It's low skill, it's cheap, and it takes away from high skill plays. If there wasn't a hockey team in Calgary when I was growing up there, I think I'd spend as much time watching it as I do the NFL. Which is to say, not much.
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