Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - [Signing] Flames sign Zadorov to 1 year deal worth $3.75 mil

gvitaly · 02-20-2022, 09:47 PM

Z Interview Part 3
Starting @53:00 - 1:01:00
The Dome Being Quiet
Interviewer: We were at your game last night, and it was very unusual and strange how quiet it was. We even caught ourselves trying not to speak too loudly because then everyone would hear it. It was dead silent. Yes, I understand COVID, and half capacity.
Zadorov: When we had 18,000 it was similar.
I: Why is that? Why are the fans so bad at cheering here?
Z: From my understanding, Calgary is a business city of rich people. There are many companies - Oil companies, hedgefunds and so on. They essentially bought out most of the season tickets. They give those tickets to their employees, some get to go to one game, others to another. That way we get a lot more white collar fans than hardcore fans. Also, like I was saying, Canadians understand the game of hockey, a lot more than Americans.
I: They also love it a lot more.
Z: They love it, but they also understand it. They understand the game. Why yell for no reason if you went to watch the game.
I: That's true, they yell only when something is happening.
Z: They understand the ebbs and flows of the game. Americans come to enjoy the show. They come to drink, have fun, dance, appear on the jumbo-tron. It's all a part of the show. Here, in Canada, the people come to watch the game of hockey.
I: Where do hockey players prefer to play?
Z: Obviously, when everyone is yelling and screaming it creates a better atmosphere, at least for me. The playoffs here have an amazing atmosphere though. When we were playing in Calgary with Colorado, it was absolutely crazy.
I: What's the difference? The white collar crowd doesn't show up to the playoffs?
Z: Playoffs are just different, nothing even comes close to the playoffs. That's why you want to play in the playoffs each year, because it's such a high, and so much fun.

Flames losing money, arena talk, moving to Houston
I: A lot of the talk I read on the internet before coming here was saying that: First of all, Calgary was a club that's losing money right now. Second of all, that the owner of the club is quite disappointed by all the COVID restrictions, because he's losing money from people not being able to go to games. Third, that you have the oldest arena in the league. I believe it was built in 83, and hasn't been modernized since. Moreover the city doesn't want to do anything in order to build a new arena. I even heard the owner threaten to move the club to Huston.
Z: Yes I heard. There were talks, there was even an agreement in place regarding a new arena. They agreed to a 50/50 split between the city and the owner. Eventually, they couldn't agree over $15M, that were meant for pedestrian routes towards the arena. I think that the owner simply got tired of all the COVID restrictions in Canada. I think that his business here has taken a hit, because the Flames are not his main business. As far as I heard he flew to Switzerland for the time being. So yes there was talk about moving the team. The talk of moving happened a while back though. I can't remember when, but I believe it happened in 2013 when they were signing the initial arena agreement with the city. At that time I believe that if an agreement would not have been struck they would've moved the team to Houston. All the way back in 2013, at least as far as I heard. I don't know how much of it is true and how much is speculation.
The club is definitely losing money at the moment. We have 50% capacity, combined with the inability to sell beer, hotdogs, or anything. So yes, I think they are losing money on it. That's why we moved half our games for now. We're waiting to see if the Omnicron wave lessens in Canada in the next 2-3 weeks. I hope as it all works out and we will get back to the same restrictions like in the beginning of the season.
I: Well if Calgary disappears from the NHL map, it would be disappointing.
Z: Yes, that would be quite the hit. It's not like moving Arizona or Florida. You have quite the history associated with the Flames.

COVID regulations in Canada
I'll put it here, since he doesn't really say anything earth shattering in this section, but if you think you might get offended by Z's opinion simply skip this section.

NSFW!

Canadian Texas, and other cities
I: We arrived to Calgary after Toronto. Toronto was the first city we visited in Canada. Then we went to Edmonton, Calgary, after we'll visit Vancouver. We have a saying in Russia that "Moscow is not Russia", can we say the same about Toronto? That "Toronto is not Canada" because it's a completely different city and when you get to say Calgary, you are a little underwhelmed. As in there could've been more. I was expecting more, and it seems as though it is an awesome city, lots of nature and amazing landscapes, Banff is beautiful nearby. In reality though something is missing, don't you have that feeling?
Z: Well like I was telling you, if you're going to go to Texas it's going to be the same. This is simply America. They have Cowboys, we have the same cowboys. It's really the Canadian Texas. When you go to Vancouver next, you'll also get the feeling that "Vancouver is not Canada".
I: Vancouver isn't Canada?
Z: Not at all, it's more like an Asian city.
I: Vancouver?
Z: First of all, you have about 70% of the population from an Asian ethnicity. The city is right on the water, you get a lot of rain in it. It's almost like St. Petersburg in terms of weather. Anyways, you will think of Vancouver as quite different from the other cities you've seen. As for Toronto, it's a big megapolis, so it's different. That said you have yet to visit Montreal either.
I: Not yet.
Z: Montreal is a bit cold in the winter, but really awesome during the summer. It's like Europe, France. You get very small narrow streets. One and two floor houses. A very old beautiful city, with pretty architecture. Montreal is also similar to Toronto. Canada has many faces/views/cities. However the city I would associate with Canada the most would be Calgary.

02-20-2022, 09:47 PM	#369
gvitaly Franchise Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Exp:	Z Interview Part 3 Starting @53:00 - 1:01:00 The Dome Being Quiet Interviewer: We were at your game last night, and it was very unusual and strange how quiet it was. We even caught ourselves trying not to speak too loudly because then everyone would hear it. It was dead silent. Yes, I understand COVID, and half capacity. Zadorov: When we had 18,000 it was similar. I: Why is that? Why are the fans so bad at cheering here? Z: From my understanding, Calgary is a business city of rich people. There are many companies - Oil companies, hedgefunds and so on. They essentially bought out most of the season tickets. They give those tickets to their employees, some get to go to one game, others to another. That way we get a lot more white collar fans than hardcore fans. Also, like I was saying, Canadians understand the game of hockey, a lot more than Americans. I: They also love it a lot more. Z: They love it, but they also understand it. They understand the game. Why yell for no reason if you went to watch the game. I: That's true, they yell only when something is happening. Z: They understand the ebbs and flows of the game. Americans come to enjoy the show. They come to drink, have fun, dance, appear on the jumbo-tron. It's all a part of the show. Here, in Canada, the people come to watch the game of hockey. I: Where do hockey players prefer to play? Z: Obviously, when everyone is yelling and screaming it creates a better atmosphere, at least for me. The playoffs here have an amazing atmosphere though. When we were playing in Calgary with Colorado, it was absolutely crazy. I: What's the difference? The white collar crowd doesn't show up to the playoffs? Z: Playoffs are just different, nothing even comes close to the playoffs. That's why you want to play in the playoffs each year, because it's such a high, and so much fun. Flames losing money, arena talk, moving to Houston I: A lot of the talk I read on the internet before coming here was saying that: First of all, Calgary was a club that's losing money right now. Second of all, that the owner of the club is quite disappointed by all the COVID restrictions, because he's losing money from people not being able to go to games. Third, that you have the oldest arena in the league. I believe it was built in 83, and hasn't been modernized since. Moreover the city doesn't want to do anything in order to build a new arena. I even heard the owner threaten to move the club to Huston. Z: Yes I heard. There were talks, there was even an agreement in place regarding a new arena. They agreed to a 50/50 split between the city and the owner. Eventually, they couldn't agree over $15M, that were meant for pedestrian routes towards the arena. I think that the owner simply got tired of all the COVID restrictions in Canada. I think that his business here has taken a hit, because the Flames are not his main business. As far as I heard he flew to Switzerland for the time being. So yes there was talk about moving the team. The talk of moving happened a while back though. I can't remember when, but I believe it happened in 2013 when they were signing the initial arena agreement with the city. At that time I believe that if an agreement would not have been struck they would've moved the team to Houston. All the way back in 2013, at least as far as I heard. I don't know how much of it is true and how much is speculation. The club is definitely losing money at the moment. We have 50% capacity, combined with the inability to sell beer, hotdogs, or anything. So yes, I think they are losing money on it. That's why we moved half our games for now. We're waiting to see if the Omnicron wave lessens in Canada in the next 2-3 weeks. I hope as it all works out and we will get back to the same restrictions like in the beginning of the season. I: Well if Calgary disappears from the NHL map, it would be disappointing. Z: Yes, that would be quite the hit. It's not like moving Arizona or Florida. You have quite the history associated with the Flames. COVID regulations in Canada I'll put it here, since he doesn't really say anything earth shattering in this section, but if you think you might get offended by Z's opinion simply skip this section. NSFW! I: Canada is quite strange with COVID, you have different regulations in each province. Z: It varies from state to state in the States as well. Alberta is more like Texas that way. It's more republican. That's why it's usually the last province to adopt any nuclear measures when it comes to restrictions. That's because the people here are more normal(sane). Take Quebec for example, as soon as something happens they have a lock-down, police in the streets, curfew, they even added a tax for unvaccinated people. I: Romanov was telling me that they have a curfew after 9pm over there. Z: That's right, after 9pm, the cops come out, and they can detain you for breaking curfew. I: Whaaaat? Z: They same thing is happening all over Europe, in Austria, the Netherlands. In Australia there are riots between cops and rioters for over two years now. I just think that the countries were not prepared for a pandemic at all. There wasn't a plan in place from the start, so they were unsuccessful in dealing with it. I think the US is a little more advanced in dealing with it because it's more open, and almost everything is controlled by commercial businesses. That's why everything is developed faster unlike here where the government controls everything. Everything is developed/constructed a little slower - hospitals, medicine, and so on. The hospitals themselves are not commercial, they are owned by the government. In the US everything happens faster - tests, vaccines - bang bang and you're done. Canadian Texas, and other cities I: We arrived to Calgary after Toronto. Toronto was the first city we visited in Canada. Then we went to Edmonton, Calgary, after we'll visit Vancouver. We have a saying in Russia that "Moscow is not Russia", can we say the same about Toronto? That "Toronto is not Canada" because it's a completely different city and when you get to say Calgary, you are a little underwhelmed. As in there could've been more. I was expecting more, and it seems as though it is an awesome city, lots of nature and amazing landscapes, Banff is beautiful nearby. In reality though something is missing, don't you have that feeling? Z: Well like I was telling you, if you're going to go to Texas it's going to be the same. This is simply America. They have Cowboys, we have the same cowboys. It's really the Canadian Texas. When you go to Vancouver next, you'll also get the feeling that "Vancouver is not Canada". I: Vancouver isn't Canada? Z: Not at all, it's more like an Asian city. I: Vancouver? Z: First of all, you have about 70% of the population from an Asian ethnicity. The city is right on the water, you get a lot of rain in it. It's almost like St. Petersburg in terms of weather. Anyways, you will think of Vancouver as quite different from the other cities you've seen. As for Toronto, it's a big megapolis, so it's different. That said you have yet to visit Montreal either. I: Not yet. Z: Montreal is a bit cold in the winter, but really awesome during the summer. It's like Europe, France. You get very small narrow streets. One and two floor houses. A very old beautiful city, with pretty architecture. Montreal is also similar to Toronto. Canada has many faces/views/cities. However the city I would associate with Canada the most would be Calgary. Last edited by gvitaly; 02-20-2022 at 09:58 PM.