Is it time to stop watching?

[Flamesfan05]

Best comedy

[CGY12]

Days of planning your day/evening around being ready for puck drop are long gone. I will watch/have it on in the background if their is absolutely nothing else to do or watch. The product is so poor that often I'll doze off and treat it as the perfect remedy to get some shut eye when I'm battling insomnia.

[Hi-Psi]

I recently started dating an Avs fan so we've been forcing each other to watch our respective teams.

It's actual quite sad the difference in play between the Flames games and the Avs games. The Avs make games look easy and wins even easier. Even when they lose, they still have a complete effort and a ton of good chances. That team has a lot of skill, it makes the Flames look not at all ready for a push(offensively anyway).

[redmile04]

Yes

[Young Guns]

I'm a season ticket holder and if not at the game I watch it on TV. Rarely ever miss a game. Watching this teams lack of effort this season has really started to turn me off however. You see players holding up just enough to ensure they wont get hit while trying to make it appear like they are giving 100%. (if that makes sense) Things like the powerplay refusing to dump it into the zone because no-one will chase the puck. Our breakout always turning back with the puck slowing the game down or constantly passing it backwards in our own end until we lose the puck.

Last game I watched on the PVR and it was the first time I basically said screw it and skipped to the end.

[BoLevi]

Originally Posted by 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.

Do not forget that in pro sports, we aren't the customer, we are grist for the mill. The advertisers are the customers.

[Sainters7]

Naw it's a pandemic, those first 3 months of it last year reminded me why I love - and need - sports as entertainment, and a distraction this past year. I'll still watch.

However, I have zero expectations, and haven't since the summer when they re-upped Ward and made no significant addition to the forwards. I'm basically watching with the same expectations I had during 2010-2014: I've accepted I'm watching a bunch of scrubs, and have managed to mostly emotionally remove myself from the games...with the exception of the BoA.

I just wished they played a more entertaining brand of hockey. I recall having fun watching during those 5 non-playoff years, as at least they could wheel & deal a bit. It's like watching paint dry right now.

[Classic_Sniper]

Punishing the Flames organization by not watching isn’t going to do much? The regional and national deal with Sportsnet has been signed/re-upped. The only ones who stand to really lose would be Sportsnet and their employees as ad revenue would probably take a hit.

If you want to really punish the Flames organization, stop paying to attend ga....oh wait. I guess we’re already kind of doing that.

[dammage79]

I've let go of being bound and determined to watch every game in full. So far this year I've tuned in and shut off before the 3rd period way more. All in all I've likely only completed maybe 4 or 5 games in total. Even things that would keep watching like young players or Markstrom haven't kept me around.

I dunno, this covid thing made me miss hockey but I also came to the realization that putting so much emotional attachment to the sport and this team just is not worth it any longer.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I've let go of being bound and determined to watch every game in full. So far this year I've tuned in and shut off before the 3rd period way more. All in all I've likely only completed maybe 4 or 5 games in total. Even things that would keep watching like young players or Markstrom haven't kept me around.

I dunno, this covid thing made me miss hockey but I also came to the realization that putting so much emotional attachment to the sport and this team just is not worth it any longer.

Yeah this is basically me. I still watch, but if it's some early 5:00pm start, no way in heck am I skipping my sunset walk along the Bow to catch the 1st period of those duds soiling themselves..especially the way they start games. I'll catch the last 2 periods when I'm back home.

Agreed with the second part too. It was actually the New Orleans Saints' annual heartwrenching playoff losses that taught me to separate myself fairly well emotionally while still being a fan...but it's carried over to the Flames' dumpster fire season nicely.

[Southside]

I'm a season ticket holder glad I'm not investing the additional time and money into attending this ####. But at this rate they might lose me altogether. This team is awful.

[Huntingwhale]

I still feel excited in my stomach when I know it's gameday. Part of me looks forward to it even though I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment. Now that I live overseas I watch a recorded version the next morning. I'll avoid any sports' sites, CP or Instagram to avoid spoilers. I'll watch until the team (usually) gets scored on 1st, often quite quickly. At that point the remote is in my hand and I am on standby to start skipping through if they get scored on again. It also depends how the team is playing, but these days it's almost a given they will come out flat/listless in the 1st period and be chasing the game. But if it's a fluky goal and the team is playing decent, I'll keep the remote away.

However if it gets to 2-0 and it's an ugly game I'll usually start to skip ahead. If they score to make it 2-1 or something I'll continue to watch. But more often than not, it ends up being 3-0 or worse. At that point I just skip along, stopping occasionally in case a miracle happens but usually not. Within 45 seconds I end having skipped most of the game and see the final score. Have not seen a game yet where I have regretted this method and where I skipped to the end and the Flames ended up winning. Once they are down by a bunch, it's usually done. The cardiac comeback kids are loooooong gone never to return with this group.

The season started out great but what rot is going on with the team is now full grown invasive cancerous mold. I never wanted Ward in the first place and while I think his style sucks, I also think he's in over his head with this bunch and he also did somewhat deserve a chance to be the boss after showing a decent outing after Peters' left. I just wish he got that chance somewhere else. Guys like Gallant, Boudreau, Laviolette and Vigneault (my #1 choice) were available after Gulutzan left than Peters afterwards and it's frustrating none of them were hired. Perhaps BT talked to them and they refused, perhaps not and he eyed in simply on Peters. Either way it's a massive failure to not get a high-end coach. And I say this a long time BT fanboy; the writing should be on the wall for him after assembling this mess of a team.

So to me the Flames are a bunch of meh right now. Doesn't matter to the owners since I'm not returning to Canada for a while so they wouldn't see any of my money anyways. I'll always be loyal to them, but it's like trying to play an SNES game over and over and never beating level 1, when your buddies all got the new PS5 and are constantly seeing cool things; what's the point?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Punishing the Flames organization by not watching isn’t going to do much? The regional and national deal with Sportsnet has been signed/re-upped. The only ones who stand to really lose would be Sportsnet and their employees as ad revenue would probably take a hit.

If you want to really punish the Flames organization, stop paying to attend ga....oh wait. I guess we’re already kind of doing that.

For me it's not about punishing anyone and more about limiting the punishment on myself as watching this team is not entertaining or fun to watch. The less I watch the better my mood is so I'm watching less for my own mental health. The last few Ottawa games I had on TV but rarely sat down and watched as I did other things around the house and maybe the one nice thing about how this team plays is that you can tell very early if the effort is there or not so you can turn it off after the first period in a lot of games and not worry about missing a comeback. I can't imagine anyone paying money to sit and watch this hockey though as this is the most uninspired Flames team I have ever seen as I can't remember a Flames team that was punching the clock like this.

[Moneyhands23]

I canceled my sportsnet app. Not willing to pay the 30 bucks a month. Saying that, I will keep listening on 960 to most of the games.

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

I canceled my sportsnet app. Not willing to pay the 30 bucks a month. Saying that, I will keep listening on 960 to most of the games.

Having to listen to the Flames suck AND Loubardias at the same time.

Well that's just nightmare fuel.

[Rick M.]

Lethargic team = lethargic fans. It’s as simple as that.

[8sPOT]

My 11 year old became a Pens fan at like age 4. Discovered Crosby and that was it. But now he’s seen his team win 2 cups in his lifetime. I’m glad he’s a Pens fan honestly. Being a Flames fan sucks, the vast majority of the time. I’m stuck for life but I didn’t shackle him to this mess of a franchise and he’s loving hockey and always has.

I still watch, because this is the same as the 90’s, and the late 2000’s, we’ve been here before many times. Nothing really new going on here except maybe this team has some great players on it. It does feel like I’m watching the Titanic go down, but I’ll still watch. Thank god it’s a shortened season, and by the time June hits it’s going to be hard to care about hockey anyways.

[greyshep]

If Covid wasnt a thing, I dont know how much I would be watching. Its pretty much the only distraction most nights since every other activity is shut down for now.

Its painful but I feel my options are limited.

[KamFongAsChinHo]

I see many others share my thoughts. My entertainment dollars and time invested in them is limited.

To me, it's like watching an episodic series on Netflix; if I'm not entertained, I don't watch. Gotta say the same about Flames hockey; I used to really anticipate the game and sat down with a scotch or rum and made an evening of it.

No longer. Spending up to two hours hoping for something good to happen is unacceptable.

Covid is getting me down. I really don't like my job much. One of our dogs died just before Christmas.

I need a pick-me-up and Flames hockey isn't doing that.

[3rd Degree]

It's not only time to stop watching but it's also time to start hoping the Flames don't win another game this year.


For too long the Flames have been a middling team. In order to be great, you first need to be terrible. This is how you create an influx of high end talent on entry level deals. The Flames are the kings of barely making the playoffs or barely missing them. This is literally the worst spot in professional sports, the middle. Either be great or be great at being bad. Pick an end of the spectrum but get the hell out of the middle!


If the Flames continue to lose, maybe just MAYBE they'll realize it's time to shake things up. My hope is they eat half of Johhny's contract and trade him to a contender for blue chip prospects. I hope they do the same with Gio. Then tank this year and possibly next only to emerge on the other side with a restocked cupboard.


We all know this team is not winning the cup this year. If that is the case, how will this same group magically be great next year? If both of those things are true, then it's time to retool on the fly. I'm so sick of watching this team give zero f###s!