Every fan base has its sore spots, whether they focus on lack of success or potential relocation or holding Stanley Cup celebrations in a parking lot. For the last several years, the most contentious topic you could raise with a Detroit Red Wings fan is the attendance problem at the Joe. It's an issue that's inspired both MSM investigation by publications like Sports Illustrated as well as soul-searching analysis by Red Wings fans in the blogosphere.

The issue is back on the front burner this morning thanks to Mitch Albom, author of overwrought best-sellers and a veteran columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Whether you approve or disapprove of him, he's still an influential and well-read voice. And he took aim at Red Wings fans and empty seats in today's column:

Before I spend one more word on how good our hockey team played Thursday night, I have to say how bad it looked to see so many empty seats at Joe Louis Arena. Cheaper seats. Expensive seats. Empty clusters. Half-empty rows.

Hey, this ain't Nashville, folks. This is Detroit, Hockeytown, where every seat should be filled, because these are the conference finals, the bridge to the championship, against Dallas, a team that hasn't been here for the playoffs in 10 years. That last time was a war that ultimately led to a Detroit Stanley Cup.

Remember the Cup? We loved that thing. We felt like we earned it -- every step. So what's the problem now? I know the economy is bad. I'm not telling people to hock the jewelry or find a job. But we're not talking 100,000 spots here, either. There are enough fans and money in our area to fill those absent clusters. Hey, if we can fill Lions seats, we can fill Red Wings seats.

"Bruise Days with Morrie!" "The Five Smack-Downs You Read in Heaven!" Albom goes on to write that you can't blame the team for the disinterest, although "the Hall of Fame roster has changed, the Canadian darlings are gone, the interviews are less exciting and more, well, Swedish." On this point, he's correct: Detroit is preposterously entertaining to watch, and now it has Swedish players nicknamed "The Mule" breaking scoring records.

The Freep is using the Albom column as to launch a larger discussion about empty seats at the Joe. Readers have been encouraged to sound off on the paper's official forum for Albom's columns, and they've started to do so with posts titled "Shut your pie hole Mitch!" and "Why is Mitch Special?"

Related: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hockey Fans