Quote:
Originally Posted by Shazam
Long term this a very poor strategy. Why have teams in small markets at all then? How long do you think the Flames are going to have a crowd if everybody knows the chances of going anywhere in the playoffs is zero?
And again, fixing is very frowned upon by certain government organizations.
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Exactly.
The NFL had a small market problem, just like every other league. But what they did was promote all games equally - meaning all teams. Wasn't long before fans were just as comfortable with Tennessee or Kansas City as they were with Philadelphia or NY.
The US regular season coverage NEVER shows Canadian teams and rarely shows western teams - it's NY, DET, CHI PHI, NJD, NYI, WAS and PIT over and over. Maybe squeeze STL or LA once in a while. If you want to eliminate the problem, expose and promote the other teams.
The other aspect of it is that it is self-fulfilling. I am tired of the league, tired of SportsNet, tired of the reffing, and frankly, watching a game at home is now favorable to going to the rink. But as a STH, how can I voice my opinion? By cancelling my seasons tickets. Does that provide a voice against any of those things? No, it punishes the Flames. Fans of small market teams get frustrated and dissappear, which punishes those teams, not the league.
Every year, I get closer to cancelling my tickets, but I always get them because I want to support the team (and am fortunate enough to be able to). But I don't want to support the league any more. Very frustrating situation.