Is it time to stop watching?

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by CroCop

I gave up my tickets a few years ago...way easier to change the channel than drive a couple hours two ways and saving a few grand every season.

Also
Gave ours up and this brand of flames hockey is so uninspired I find myself doing more and listening to the games on the radio and changing channel than I’ve sat amd watched. I think I’ve only watched 4 games this year. The lack of effort is what really turns me off.

[Wastedyouth]

OP: If you are considering stopping, then just stop. It's just hockey.

If it is affecting your life so much, just take a step away.

The team isn't going to fold. Teams have bad years. Teams have bad decades. Sports is eternal. Just pick back up at a time when they are doing well!

[GirlySports]

I don't stop watching because the Flames are bad, I don't watch as much because Sportsnet is garbage.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I don't stop watching because the Flames are bad, I don't watch as much because Sportsnet is garbage.

This!

Sportsnet's production value, biased commentators and lack of individual team coverage is the main reason I have stopped watching most games.

Winnipeg and Ottawa both get 4k broadcasts with TSN, and yet I have not watched a single actual 4k broadcast from any team that has its regional rights held by Sportsnet.

National games are so biased it is crazy, last weekends Sens - Flames game during one of the intermissions it was all oilers talk. I get its a national broadcast but maybe wait for that game to start before your in studio experts start fellating McDavid and the Oilers. Hell they aren't even the best team in Canada.

[Inferno]

I think if games were atleast entertaining I would still actively watch even with this slump but even the majority of the wins are painful to sit through. I still follow game threads though and will never cheer for losses even though I know losses bring change.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

I watched this last game against Ottawa on delay. Normally I tough it out, even if the team is down, but this time after the 2nd Ottawa goal, I just knew there was no way they were going to win. I shut it off after the second goal. The exact words out of my mouth were, "There's no way I'm watching the rest of this ####."

But more to the point, I knew there was no way I was going to enjoy watching the rest of that game. This team might be the most boring and listless team I have EVER seen play hockey. It's awful, just in terms of entertainment value.

I can watch boring hockey if it leads to wins. I can stomach losses if there's entertainment along the way.

I refuse to watch boring AND losing hockey.

Fix this #### Flames management. You are close to losing some long time fans.

At least our Florida Panther's are playing some great hockey!

[CaptainCrunch]

I don't watch as much because I hate the Flames or anything like that. I stopped watching because I hate the hockey, it doesn't capture me anymore. Its become a passive game. I'll tune in, in the background, but if the flames go down multiple goals, I 'll turn the game off.


I agree with the above. I don't need to tune into a Flames game to hear incessant chatter about the greatness of McDavid, I don't need to watch the panel to hear about free lanes to the net and rights of way. In the old days, there was no such thing in hockey.



Hockey to me looks soft, there's no emotion to it anymore, the players don't seem to care all that much. Its so system oriented that I can go to youtube, google NHL video game and get better hockey.

[Looch City]

It doesn't help that we're stuck in 2006 level production quality. Tune into SNW and you've basically jumped into a time machine going backwards. Billions dollar deals and this is the best they can put together.

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

OP: If you are considering stopping, then just stop. It's just hockey.

If it is affecting your life so much, just take a step away.

The team isn't going to fold. Teams have bad years. Teams have bad decades. Sports is eternal. Just pick back up at a time when they are doing well!

A small market team in a depressed economy with the ownership bleeding money in their real businesses the sports networks and media down sizing to cut costs ... nothing to worry about here.

Get over it.

The Flames need as many fans and viewers as is possible. No matter how bad the players and team and management is The Flames are still by far the best entertainment in Calgary.

There is nothing in my lifetime that brought Calgary together like the 04 playoff run.

The alternative is to adopt the Canuck or Oilers as your "team" or go back to your parent's or grandparent's favorite teams the Leafs or Canadiens.

[SilverKast]

I don't have a problem watching as really there's not a lot else going on now otherwise. However, once things hopefully get back to normal there's a lot more appealing options out there for entertainment value. I'll likely always maintain some level of interest, but the days of paying out money for my season tickets are long gone as the value simply isn't there and hasn't been for some time.

[1qqaaz]

I still watch almost every game because I am simple minded and like to watch hockey.
We don't have season tickets anymore though.

[BoLevi]

We live in the Golden Era of entertainment content online. There are endless and endless hours of amazing TV shows, movies and videos on netflix, youtube, amazon, etc.

Being dedicated to a sports team somewhat goes back to the days when you had 4 channels, and hockey or your local sports heroes were a big part of very limited entertainment options. A bad hockey game was better than staring at a wall.

Nowadays, not so much.

[The Boy Wonder]

I watched teh Leafs oilers after the flames game last night. Startling to see that the players are always moving their legs.

Stark contrast to the flames who are never really putting in the effort.

And for that. I will also try to minimize my effort in watching tehm

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I don't watch as much because I hate the Flames or anything like that. I stopped watching because I hate the hockey, it doesn't capture me anymore. Its become a passive game. I'll tune in, in the background, but if the flames go down multiple goals, I 'll turn the game off.


I agree with the above. I don't need to tune into a Flames game to hear incessant chatter about the greatness of McDavid, I don't need to watch the panel to hear about free lanes to the net and rights of way. In the old days, there was no such thing in hockey.



Hockey to me looks soft, there's no emotion to it anymore, the players don't seem to care all that much. Its so system oriented that I can go to youtube, google NHL video game and get better hockey.

And the reffing. I never thought I'd see the day where watching World Juniors and World Championships that the reffing there is better. Other sports/leagues have surpassed the NHL because the NHL keeps trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. It can't determine if a 5-4 game is better than a 2-1 game. It still can't determine what offside, goalie interference or hooking are. Same with hockey media, trying to manufacture stories to fill air time.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

A small market team in a depressed economy with the ownership bleeding money in their real businesses the sports networks and media down sizing to cut costs ... nothing to worry about here.

Get over it.

The Flames need as many fans and viewers as is possible. No matter how bad the players and team and management is The Flames are still by far the best entertainment in Calgary.

There is nothing in my lifetime that brought Calgary together like the 04 playoff run.

The alternative is to adopt the Canuck or Oilers as your "team" or go back to your parent's or grandparent's favorite teams the Leafs or Canadiens.

I feel the floods of 2013 brought the community closer.

[MrMike]

As someone who would normally watch every minute of every Flames game, I can bareky get through the first ten minutes of a period now.

I just cancelled my NHL Live subscription, I will find another way to watch a few minutes here and there this season, but my time is spent being entertained. Practically unwatchable from my view.

[Skaloper]

I won't stop watching but it has been frustrating watching most of the games this season. Not only have they shown no effort to come back in games but letting teams come back at the end of the game has been happening too often.

[btimbit]

I'll still watch here and there but I won't be renewing my season tickets if this is the product I'm paying for.

It's not that they're losing, it's that even in wins it's just such a boring way to spend 3 hours. Awful, uninspired low effort hockey

[Yasa]

I've downgraded (or upgraded?) to a fair-weather fan for a few years now. I hated that a game could dictate my emotional state so I took a step back from watching and from the forums. It's much nicer now. You can ride the highs and ignore the lows. I don't understand the badge of honour some fans have to holding onto misery. It's just unnecessary baggage that I don't need to keep toting around.

[Locke]

Yeah, I have stopped watching.

The only reason being pure superstition. Whenever I actually watch the game they get their skulls caved in.

So I can have a nice evening with my wife and watch the victorious highlights later.

But if I ask my wife to let me spend the evening to just watch the game, and we have no other obligations, negotiations aside, then I just get to watch the Flames get unceremoniously massacred like Curly taking it in the face with a cast-iron frying pan.

Yeah....like thats worth the effort.