Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814
The Flames absolutely got dumped.
More importantly, the city got dumped.
These teams make money by getting fans to, cheesy as it sounds, fall in love with players. When people emotionally invest in these teams as much as they do, they’re going to react with visceral emotion when they feel they’ve been done wrong.
This fan base supported this player for 11 years, after drafting him as a 140 lb child in the 4th round. We watched him tear up college hockey; we defended him against all the doubters who said he was too small etc. We watched him become a top-10 offensive talent in the game. We gave his dad standing ovations when he was on the jumbotron. We treated his family with the utmost respect.
Sure, he wasn’t “ours” just like any athlete or partner isn’t really “ours”.
But he kinda was “ours”, until he wasn’t.
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This reads like those situations in movies where some guy falls in love with an escort, thinking they were in a relationship when, at the end of the day, it was always business.
Johnny was “ours” as long as we paid him to be ours. That’s it. His job was to compete, entertain, and participate in the community. That was his job, and while he might have wanted to do it too, he was still paid to do it first and foremost.
He fulfilled every single obligation he had to the Flames and the city. Every one. He came here after college, as promised. He never asked for a trade. He took no shortcuts getting to UFA. All the while, he made the team better. When every obligation he had to Calgary was fulfilled, he moved on to what worked better for him.
Business is business. Fans treat others players like it’s just business all the time, but when a star player treats us that way? Oh, suddenly it was love. Come on now.