How's your flames passion level?

[dissentowner]

My passion level is still high, there is a lot to be excited about for the future. Go back in time and ask me that same question during the "young guns" era. Dear god.....

[sa226]

Expectations are everything.

Once I get over the fact that this season is lost competitively then it will be easier to watch for the fun stuff. Like the continued development of the young core, or AHL guys getting a taste.

Its really hard to do right now after the hype of the spring and summer.

In years past I would be concerned as all hell about what management was going to do to this team. Now I am not concerned at all. We have one of the hardest working guys out there, who also happens to be quite smart in Treliving. Balance that with the experience of Burke and the franchise is in good hands.

[Machiavelli]

I enjoyed last season's success but felt a bit of a disconnect with the team for some reason.

The off-season, I rarely checked into FOI, and couldn't care less about training camp, etc. Part of it was the continuation of the disconnect, and part of it was me dreading a letdown year. I usually get Centre Ice, but cancelled in the summer; it wasn't until the day before the new season started that I bit the bullet and got GCL.

Anyway, I feel more connected with the team this season, which makes the disappointment, though not unexpected, feel worse.

I agree with the point Captain Crunch made about the game in general feeling less intense.

[GirlySports]

it's the loser point, that stupid thing kills all intensity. Teams can't keep up with the Flames and the Oilers have to slow it down to get that tie.
NHL wants close games. Situational reffing etc...

lots wrong with the game, but that's another thread.

[Frequitude]

It's been 4 or 5 years since I considered Flames games can't miss TV. I normally just fast forward through PVR looking for goals and power plays.

And the Flames tough years aren't entirely to blame. It's the NHL in general. I'm just not entertained enough to sit and watch many games live.

[N-E-B]

There are some really disappointing posts in here.

Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan, TJ Brodie, and Dougie Hamilton all 25-and-under, not to mention Andersson, Kylington, Jankowski, Granlund, Klimchuk, Poirier plus another high pick this year... We got a glimpse into the future last year. It was a blast. This year is another bump in the road but with the amount of young talent both on this team and in the farm how can you not have any passion for this team?

I hope those of you that are quitting on the team and not watching the games do not return when this team is ready to shine. The future is bright. Unless you guys would rather watch the 2005-2009 8th place kings again... I'll take this year of pain to avoid that and build a true contender.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

My declining interest isn't about the level of hockey, more around the style of hockey that's been bought into play. Its just an emotionless, soft game now, its been too NBA'd in my view, and its just joyless now.

Its too fancy and not enough battles and intensity, and I'm not talking about fighting, I'm talking the individual will of the players, and I don't see it anymore.

82 game season + enormously wealthy players + players no longer bleed for their jerseys because they move around so much + union fellowship among players means they no longer hate their opponents = a pretty dull spectacle most nights.

I've come to the conclusion that NHL playoff hockey is the sport I love. It seems to be the only time the competitive juices of the players are dialed to 10 and the hatred of the opponents emerges. The regular season game is just a prolonged pre-season. I watch it when I have nothing else to do, or put it on in the background when I'm folding laundry. I follow the league, the Flames roster, prospects, etc. as its own almost separate hobby.

[CalgaryFan1988]

It's frustrating sometimes watching their compete level, but I still watch games. I remember in the 90s I wouldn't even watch games anymore and just check the paper the next morning. Those were bad times.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

my passion has been not as high over the last 3 years. It used to be that I'd make a point to watch each game and go to about 10 to 20 games live per year.

Now if I'm home and a game is on I'll watch it, I did watch all of the playoff games last year.

My declining interest isn't about the level of hockey, more around the style of hockey that's been bought into play. Its just an emotionless, soft game now, its been too NBA'd in my view, and its just joyless now.

Its too fancy and not enough battles and intensity, and I'm not talking about fighting, I'm talking the individual will of the players, and I don't see it anymore.

Even watching the playoffs last year, the Flames and the way they played was an aberration based what I've seen over the last few years.

The biggest problem for me is that there are too many teams in the league. Gone are the heated rivalries where games got personal and fans and players eagerly anticipated the rematch. Ohhh how i miss the 80's and the battles of Alberta where Semenko and Hunter would be at each others throats and Neil Sheehy yapping at Gretzky constantly to get him off his game.

The speed of the game has made the North American size of the rink too small. Scoring is way down and the size of the ice surface makes it hard for the leagues best players to showcase thier talent. Imagine what a player like Gaudreau and others like him could do if we switched to Olympic sized ice. The 3 on 3 hockey in OT has given us a glimpse of what the game could be.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Dion

The biggest problem for me is that there are too many teams in the league. Gone are the heated rivalries where games got personal and fans and players eagerly anticipated the rematch. Ohhh how i miss the 80's and the battles of Alberta where Semenko and Hunter would be at each others throats and Neil Sheehy yapping at Gretzky constantly to get him off his game.

The speed of the game has made the North American size of the rink too small. Scoring is way down and the size of the ice surface makes it hard for the leagues best players to showcase thier talent. Imagine what a player like Gaudreau and others like him could do if we switched to Olympic sized ice. The 3 on 3 hockey in OT has given us a glimpse of what the game could be.

I've never bought the argument that bigger ice = more scoring. The only time that happens is during Olympic tournaments or high end tournaments when you can role 4 highly skilled lines and 6 elite level blueliners.

When I've watched euro hockey on occasion, all I've seen is that teams will clog the neutral zone even more, the fore check basically goes away as do board battles and teams go to a zone defense.

I tend to think that the hockey would be worse because the NHL coaches and players would be even more cautious against allowing chances.

Besides the owners would never approve a change to IHL sized ice because of lost revenue.

[Mr.Coffee]

The hitting and fighting and intensity decrease is actually a much bigger problem than anyone gives credit. I think CaptainCrunch and Cliff are bang on with their comments as to why the NHL game is a fraction of what it used to be from an entertainment perspective. It's not even close today to what we (most of us) grew up with.

Players are so ridiculously cautious it is unbearable. You leave with a sense of everyone too afraid to play the game. It's over-coached and over-reffed. Creativity is stifled, players are afraid to take chances because it could cost them (literally) millions, there's no loyalty, the players lack passion and commitment. season is too long by about 60 games...

I'm about as passionate about hockey as anybody but I have only so much time to waste watching other people not really care about the game.

Another posters comments about fans not being moms was bang on too. Calgary is a hard working city, it demands a hard working team. If the team won't work hard, they are always going to get ripped. Just the way it is.

[Lanny_McDonald]

My interest in the Flames is dwindling. There are so many other things I can do with my spare time that it is difficult to invest three hours in watching a ####ty product, and the Flames are a ####ty product. Then again, the whole league is garbage and not worth watching. NHL hockey is boring. It's over-coached and technology has made it frustrating to watch. The players are too big, too fast, and too well coached to the point they never take chances and are always minimizing risk. The days of back and forth scoring opportunities are long gone and we are subject to watching formula track hockey. I really regret purchasing NHL Center Ice this year as I can count the games I've enjoyed on one hand. Just a brutal product to watch and I find myself flipping channels way more than I used to.

On the Flames, all the things that made them compelling last season are missing this season. The youth that lifted you out of your seat on every shift is missing. It's either stuck playing with guys with no passion or stuck in the minors behind a collection of middling has-beens. The best thing that happened to the Flames last season was the injury bug ravaging the veterans and forcing Hartley's hand into playing the kids. That is when things turned around. That is what won Hartley the Jack Adams, not his brilliance in milking the most out of his team. The Flames last year were a bunch of young guys that fed off each other and played for each other. They were learning the game together and played for each other's success. That dynamic is sorely missing. As much as I love watching Gaudreau, Brodie, and Monahan, it turns my stomach to be subjected to Wideman, Russell, Bolig, Raymond, Jones, Hiller, Hudler, etc. stinking up the joint every game and playing with no passion. What is really frustrating is watching and nothing happening to the usual suspects. This is a boring hockey team to watch because of the players the coach continues to use on a regular basis. It is killing my interest in the Flames and in the NHL in general.

I was really hopeful for a repeat of last season and the youth movement would continue. I thought that when Kulak made the team out of camp it would mark the team continuing to bring in the young players and getting rid of the under-performing chaff. The NHL has become a young man's game, but Brad Treliving didn't get that memo. This year could have been very interesting by continuing the youth movement, but poor decisions were made. When Kulak was sent down I became skeptical. When Raymond was waived my faith was restored for a very short 24 hour period. When Granlund was sent down I became jaded. The "never given, always earned" mantra went out the window and with it my interest in this hockey team.

I use to feel bad when I missed a game, now I'm feeling relieved that I didn't subject myself to three hours of shaking my head in frustration. When I do watch I can't even be bothered to yell at the TV set as I just don't give a #### about this team. My wife and dogs appreciate that, but I hate it. My passion for the game has been drained out of me by Bob Hartley and his cadre of favorite sons. I keep hoping that Treliving will "Billy Beane" some of these guys, but he appears to be gripped by the same malaise of believing these guys had more to do with last season's result than they did. Until something major happens, and those players are sent packing, I'll invest my time a little more wisely. I just hope that by time those changes are made that my interest in hockey fades like my interest in baseball did (I went from a multiple game a night watcher of baseball during the summer in 2000 to not having watched a full game in over a decade). The Flames, and hockey in general, is on that same slope. I want to be entertained and the Flames do not provide that entertainment. As sad as it is to admit, the Oilers have been a better product to watch this season. In years gone by I would watch the Oilers games just to see them lose and remind myself that that things could be worse. Sadly, the Oilers are playing better hockey, are much more entertaining (with the volume off), and are showing much more promise than the Flames. If that doesn't tell you why a guy would lose interest in the Flames and stop watching hockey all together then nothing will! I hope for a turn around, but I don't see it coming as long as Hartley is coach and Treliving is afraid to make a deal. It's just all too depressing to think about. Sigh.

[PeteMoss]

There's nothing more annoying than watching a team with bad goaltending.

You just know at any time you're likely to have a goal scored against and it just ruins the enjoyment of the game since even if they play well they are going to be in tough to win. And when they play bad they are going to get destroyed because the goalies aren't going to steal one or hold the team in the game while they find their stride.

[driveway]

I feel very much the opposite to what a lot of people feel. I am way more into hockey now than I've ever been. I watch the condensed GCL replay of every single game. If there are four games or less in a day, it's likely I'm watching all of every single one of them.

Partially that's to do with the time-zone I live in. When I get home after work here, I've got my whole afternoon/evening ahead of me and the games are all played so I can just throw them on and watch them.

As for all the whining and griping about lack of intensity or hatred or rivalries I'm not particularly interested in that. I'm watching a ton of Dallas this year because of the players on that team. The Blues too with Tarasenko. I've got Ovie and Kuznetsov on my fantasy team so Washington is must-watch hockey too.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of today's games as a matter of fact. 5-3 Isles-Avs? Yes please, Carolina-New York was fun (Carolina is actually weirdly fun to watch this year, I'm liking their games). And the Oilers AND Canucks both get shut out? Awesome. AWESOME.

Sure the Flames kinda blow, but whatever, it's not like I'm going to stop being a Flames fan because we're kinda bad one season. I'm stuck with this team for life. In fact I asked for a whole bunch of Fan Attic gift certificates for Christmas so I can buy a pile of Flames gear to rock overseas.

As far as I'm concerned, these are the seasons where you make your bones as a fan. You groan and gripe and whine and complain and mope and demand every player's head, but you keep pulling out that old hat and you put it on and you wear that damn thing. And you get ribbed by other team's fans and you take it, because one day... one day... you know you're gonna step on their throats in a playoff series and it's going to be awesome.

Hockey is great.
I love hockey.
Moar hockey.

[Flames_F.T.W]

I'm pretty apathetic this year. I watch games regularly only to see the development of the young core, specifically Bennett, Gaudreau, Brodie and Hamilton (I didn't forget Monahan, he's just not very exciting to watch). I don't get upset when the other team scores and rarely get excited if the Flames score (Bennett and Gaudrea aside). I'm in Ontario, so I've also stopped staying up for late for California road trip games, it's just not worth it. Like many others have posted, the lack of effort/hard work this year makes it difficult to justify spending 3hrs watching a game when I could be sleeping or watching Netflix. It's too bad, I watch 70+ games a year, so I'm hoping win or lose, they at least get back to playing exciting hockey.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

My passion level is still high, there is a lot to be excited about for the future. Go back in time and ask me that same question during the "young guns" era. Dear god.....

The young guns era gets a little unfairly piled on at times. Yes there were bad teams but those teams never (okay that Gilbert year was pretty bad) played as bad as the Flames have in the Hartley era (minus one year) and while in the early years of those times the roster was garbage but the current group of young prospects on the team right now will be hard pressed to have the success of Iginla, Stillman, Savard, Lydman, Regehr, Conroy, Morris, etc. all went on to in their careers. The only difference between today and say 2000 was that in those days building through losing and drafting wasn't as accepted as it is today.

[terminator]

Super boring, gutless and pointless hockey. I stopped watching half-dozen games ago and cancelled my sports cable package; I know now, not so legally, obtain my flames feeds (if we have guest) through a method that will not give them viewership from me.

[GirlySports]

The speed hurts the game. Anyone here, you try doing anything around the house at full speed and see how that goes. odd man rushes on full speed and on bad ice are a disaster.

The NHL forgot that when they got rid of clutching and grabbing, the offensive player clutches and grabs too. You guys have played hockey so you understand. Puck gets dumped in and there's a race. The forward will grab the defender and ride him responsibly into the boards and then there's a puck battle. Nowadays the forward has to allow the defender to get to the puck then at full speed can either drill him (and most likely get penalized) or peel away and let the defender pass the puck out. There is no battle, there is no possibility of a turnover. No offense.

The quick faceoff, no line changes after icings, removing the red line. These all hurt offense.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

My passion level is still high, there is a lot to be excited about for the future. Go back in time and ask me that same question during the "young guns" era. Dear god.....

I remember how excited I was moving here 20 years ago, finally I am living in civilization, live NHL hockey..... and they were horrible. Easy to get tickets.... but the product stunk.

[InglewoodFan]

Last year's excitement is keeping me afloat so far this season. There are a lot of players I like on the squad, but the team effort is frustrating.

It's an unfortunate "perfect storm" that could be rolling in for CSE. Having your team in last place coincident with your fan base being kicked in the nuts by the economy is a double whammy. My household income is down by 1/3 and I'm unfortunately looking really hard at expenses like season's tickets. Last year's team wouldn't even have me considering it.


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