That's what I keep saying too, but hubs and co-worker both disagree and insist there will be no football this year... at least no football anyone will like anyway like in '87
Major League Baseball was a money factory before the strike in 1994. Niether side really gives a shit if they lose one year because interest in the sport is going nowhere.
The NHL lost a shitload of fans when they had their lockout. Obviously football is a much bigger sport than hockey, but the principle is the same.
hockey was different in my eyes, they really changed the game in the years leading up to the labor issues. the lockout was really just the final straw for many of the old school fans who were hockey. they appear to be making some headway and getting some fans back but gary bettman really fucked up that league forever. i was a rangers fan for many many long years before they won in 1994 and can remember shedding tears when they won. but mr dolan became such a retard that it was tough to root for his team. then they signed that piece of human shit eric lindros and i said i cant take anymore, i cant root for this team and give them my time and money... and without a team i just stopped watching hockey all together. now i go to minor league games which often times are much more fun and only range 10 to 20 bucks per ticket. i am very concerned that goodell will lead this league down the same road that bettman did the nhl. i heard bettman on the radio the other day talking about how great everything was and how the outside games are doing so great but the league may never recover, and the game definitely will never be the same as it was.
The New Jersey Devils and the proliferation of the neutral zone trap are what killed hockey for the casual sports fan. Simply made the game unwatchable. At least we got to see the Rangers hoist the hardware before it all ended.
There will be no scab games this season. In 1987 it was a players' strike. This time we are going to experience a lockout.
Ahhh... that makes sense. And I love it when the guys say stuff to me and I can come back with a statement like that and I sound like I know more than they do ;-) Thanks!
...and yet hockey is more popular than it ever has been. TV ratings are higher and attendance is higher than ever. The problem in the NHL is that the league refuses to move teams in crappy markets to good markets. I'm sorry, but two teams in Florida? for hockey? A team in Phoenix? Come on now. Hockey will never be as popular in the states as football or even baseball, but it's been growing very fast since the lockout and no one can deny that.
This isn't about money. This is about power and control. The owners are making more money than they ever had. So why the stand-still? The owners want to control the players.
And the NFL is the most popular its ever been. I don't think they want to hit a pothole in a time where the NFL is a money making machine and lose fans. They will lose fans. Not everyone is as dedicated as we are.
It might be now, but after the lockout they were hurt badly and have had to make some significant changes both on and off the ice to attract new fans. I know at least a couple of people who were fans before the lockout for whom it was the final straw - they turned their back on the professional game and now only watch junior or minor league. As for Florida having two teams, I would presume it's because of the huge number of snowbirds from Canada and the NE.
