Mailbag: Hockeytown tussle
There are a lot of things to knock about the NHL, but never question the passion of hockey fans. A recent story detailing the travails of Hockeytown in Detroit prompted enough email to stop a Zamboni in its tracks.
Here’s the deal: Red Wings fans have spoken and management better listen. Ticket prices are too high. We thought that was a given, but the point was driven home email after email.
Team management has to realize that fans won’t pay when a salary-cap system cuts payroll nearly in half yet ticket prices remain the same or are increased, ridiculously during the postseason. It’s insulting and unfair, especially considering the plight of Michigan's struggling economy.
And to everyone who asked if I’ve been to Detroit, Tampa, Columbus, etc., yes, I’ve covered multiple games in every existing NHL arena, and 16 other barns that hosted NHL games over the years.
But enough of my words, here’s a sample of what readers had to say, along with reaction from stories about Mike Modano becoming the top American scorer, power rankings and other odds and ends:
HOCKEYTOWN’S STRUGGLE IN DETROIT
You know why Hockeytown is dying? First, the commissioner (Gary Bettman) single-handedly ruined hockey. Tickets are too expensive. Hockey is not on TV to attract new fans. And, at the Joe (Louis Arena), all the good seats (lower bowl) are taken by crackberry toting executives who don't even watch the game. Real fans have to sit in the nosebleeds.
Jamie Smith
Austin, Texas
Take a look at the Yahoo! Sports poll. Let the fans speak and say who is and always will be Hockeytown.
Shawn Armiak
Detroit
(Editor's note: More than 73,000 readers responded to a Yahoo! Sports poll than ran with Ross McKeon's Hockeytown column. Forty-seven percent of them believed that Detroit is still worthy of the Hockeytown USA honor. St. Paul was second with 21 percent, while 18 percent of readers chose Buffalo. Philadelphia, the only other city to choose from in the poll, received 14 percent of the votes.)
You missed the most obvious reason the Wings are not drawing. For years they have normally drawn 5-6,000 Canadians per game. Do you know how hard it is to get across the border today?
Richard Ian Madiarmid
Windsor, Ontario
Minnesota? Sorry, but any team that has lost a team should never be considered "hockeytown." Sure, Detroit might not be selling out, but that's a reflection of the worst unemployment rate in the nation, not of the passion for hockey!
Dennis Clark
Charlotte, N.C.
Red Wing ticket prices are prohibitive! I can't afford them, but would love to go to the games. Somewhere, somehow, tickets have to be made a reasonable price! This is shameful.
Mary Jackson
Eastpointe, Mich.
The biggest reason the Red Wings aren't selling out is because the new NHL sucks. I've been a die-hard hockey fan for nearly 40 years and I can't stand to watch the game anymore. I still play hockey and it is a great game to play, but impossible to watch. Everything I learned as a player is now a penalty. … The problem is Gary Bettman doesn't understand the game. The new NHL is a joke and that’s why people aren't coming to the games.
Dave Bernard
Toledo, Ohio
Who wants to fight the traffic, try to find a place to park, pay as much for as good a dinner at Applebee's when in turn I sit at home, watch a big-screen TV with free beer, food and a bathroom 10 steps away. The Red Wings need a new arena with good parking and easy access like Comerica Park and Ford Field.
Jim Suchodolski
Bay City, Mich.
Joe Louis Arena really has not seen a full house since Round 4 of the playoffs in 2002, although the Wings have claimed more than 400 sellouts since. The stadium has been 40 percent empty for years. We can see all the empty seats on TV. And the Red Wings don't allow the cameras to pan the stadium of empty seats either. Who are they trying to kid?
Tom D
Houston Lake, Mich.
Until Buffalo and Minnesota win a Stanley Cup or two, Detroit will remain Hockeytown. Keep in mind that Hockeytown does not only apply to the Red Wings but the other hockey teams that occupy within the Detroit area. The University of Michigan and Michigan State are part of the Hockeytown realm. NCAA championships start at the Joe with the GLI (Great Lakes Invitational) games and the CCHA tournament. Junior hockey league teams in Plymouth and Windsor are part of that realm also. Minnesota can claim the title when and if it wins a Stanley Cup championship.
Mike
Bolingbrook, Ill.
OTHER “HOCKEYTOWNS”
I have never felt passion for a team like this one in Buffalo during the past three years. It’s great to know you can go to a restaurant to watch the game and be with people who actually want to watch hockey. I have been to many other places and it's nothing compared to this.
Zack Bledsoe
Buffalo
Hockeytown before, and certainly after this article, has and always will be Denver. Who has had more sellouts than anyone the last 10-plus years? That, along with the fine programs at Denver University and Colorado College, add to Denver and Colorado’s hockey tradition and "Hockeytown" title.
Craig Griffith
Denver
We already have a "hockeytown" USA: Warroad, Minnesota.
Jay Hanson
Detroit Lakes, Minn.
MODANO IS THE MAN
Mike Modano doesn’t get near the respect he deserves from the hockey or national sports media. He is truly an amazing hockey player. I think people often forget that when he entered the league he was a high-flying scorer (105 points in 41 games his last year of junior hockey), but changed his game to fit the Bob Gainey/Ken Hitchcock defensive system.
Walter Hasenzahl
Washington, D.C.
POWER RANKINGS
I must take issue with you putting the Wings ahead of the Senators. Obviously, you must be one of those who don’t want a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup. The only places besides the six Canadian cities where hockey is relevant is Detroit, Minnesota and maybe New York, if the Rangers are good.
Josh N.
Chicago
The Islanders have played three less games then the Rangers, but have still managed more points, more wins, and an actual winning record. How do you rank the Rangers higher then the Isles?
Rick
Manalapan, NJ
ODDS AND ENDS
Nashville is a great city, but isn't it obvious that it never has and never will care about hockey? In Hamilton, Winnipeg or in a European division set in places where people love this game the Predators would be a roaring success.
Tom Barrett
Edmonton, Alberta
I’m happy to see Milan Michalek getting the recognition he so deserves, although selfishly I think I'd rather keep all the attention on the other 2-3 marquee San Jose players and let Michalek be the sleeper that sneaks in for 40-plus goals and 40-plus assists.
Richard Chalifour
Foster City, Calif.
How in the world is Olli Jokinen considered an underrated player? He has been the captain and best offensive player on Florida for many years now. Even his top-20 draft selection in fantasy shows that he is indeed rated correctly.
Joshi Anuraag
Richmond Hill, Ontario
