idahophilly Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Courtesy of Richard Cloutier at Hockeybuzz. I found this as an interesting take on things, worth the read as to how we as fans fit into the puzzle... If at all.Some of you may have signed up to my @StopTheLock2012 Twitter page, or my "Stop the NHL Lockout" Facebook page. Both were created before the NHL lockout started, and neither did anything to stop the lockout.Richard Cloutier: A model idiot, or a model, idiot?Lately, I've been asking myself what's the point of fan protests. And NHL fans...they are protesting all over the place. During the 2004/2005 lockout, things like Twitter, Youtube and Facebook weren't around (or at least weren't popular yet). "Social media" is a situation whereas any goof like me can receive/achieve/attract the same level of interest as the legitimate media does. On the Internet, everyone is a star. Fans protest any way they can, in part because the people protesting crave attention, and in part because in the age of social media, we know the protests go somewhere. We've seen fan-made videos of NHL clips and hockey songs filled with depression. I've seen a few dozen different Twitter, Facebook and Wordpress pages; I've seen petitions...My good friend and yours Eklund has had a few blogs with poll questions. There have been huge responses. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that both the NHL and NHLPA have an interest in poll results. They read Hockeybuzz daily to see what fans are saying. And what have been fans saying? Nothing positive about the league or the players. The NHL lockout continues anyway.At this point the question isn't if the NHL and NHLPA are interested in what fans are saying...we know they are...Perhaps the real question is this: What are they waiting for fans to start saying before it makes enough of a difference to influence a resolution?I don't know the answer to this question. I could, perhaps, throw out a theory or two. It's completely possible the NHL and NHLPA are looking for different things.If you're the NHL, the concern is the selling of the product. Worded a different way, if fans continue to talk and be mad, everything is fine and the lockout will continue. Why? Because "buzz" shows that people still care. The fear for the NHL is if people stop talking. Stop caring. When people stop caring, they stop buying tickets and merch. They move on to other sports. In a sad way, fan protests, even those directed at the league, are exactly what the NHL is looking for. Poor Gary Bettman has been taking it on the chin for months. He's just an employee, people. This is ownership's lockout, not Bettman's.If you're the NHLPA, the fear is the fans will turn on them. Up until now, more of the blame has been placed on the teams and owners. When the lockout became reality, a number of players went Twitter-crazy, looking for fans to complain to the league. At the end of the day, the NHLPA knows they are hooped here. The owners have more money and can hold their breath longer.Just like the last lockout, the majority of players...the ones who don't earn huge money compared to the three or four stars per team...will start to feel the financial burn of a lockout as the weeks turn into months. I've seen some ridiculous statistics on the bankruptcy rates for professional athletes within the first couple years of retirement...One article I read recently suggests 78% of NFL players go bankrupt within the first two years after retirement. What is the average length of an NHL career? Six or seven seasons? Let's really be optimistic and say 10. Could you imagine being in a career where one-tenth of your career earnings are wiped out due to a lockout? Brutal.I know, I know, I know...it's hard to play the violin for billionaire owners and millionaire players. These chaps and their families get use to living an expensive lifestyle. The longer this lockout goes, the more disastrous the entire situation becomes for the average player who immediately spends as much as he earns.If this gets to the point where fans blame the players at an equal level to the teams, it's guaranteed the teams will continue to hold out to get the deal they want. As I said before, owners have more money, and therefore, can hold their breath longer than the players. As long as fans blame the players, owners can sit back relaxed. Why do you think the NHLPA has done nothing but practice public relations for the last two months? Fan outrage is their only hope for a quick and positive solution. They can't win a money argument, nor do they have the money required to buy their own league. Most players don't want to go to the KHL, and the money in Europe, even with a 50/50 revenue split, wouldn't come close to NHL bucks.There will come a point where the players will begin to facture from their union. Why? Financial necessity. We've already seen it happen to a degree with players going over to Europe to play. If I was the NHLPA, I'd be furious with those guys. Aside from making players look greedy, the signings more or less make it look like some players want to fight the fight while others couldn't be bothered. Fan opinion began to shift in a serious way against the players once the first European signings began. It's no coincidence that talk of a year-long lockout started at around the same time. It's the owners and teams spreading that rumor, btw.So what are fans suppose to do, if protesting feeds the machine more than discourages it?I protest anyway.Why? For one thing, it makes me feel better. It absolutely infuriates me that a league that demands so much money from their fans to keep it operating can't find a quick, civil, and mutually-beneficial way to manage their bounty. Players...owners...they're both getting rich off of this, and should be embarrassed that this has gone to a lockout. As much as I dislike the tactics being used by the NHLPA, teams made this financial mess by handing out too many oversized, stupid contracts. Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, both get 13 year/$98mil contracts during the same year as a lockout designed to deal with how overpaid players are. Lame.My other reason to protest? Because it's fun. Hey, a person needs to amuse themselves with no hockey to watch on TV. Hey, I'll admit it: For me, protesting is good for business. If I was a tad more narcissistic, I'd be angry with the NHL and NHLPA for putting me in an uncomfortable position. I write a daily NHL hockey blog. How does someone sustain that sort of work with no actual NHL hockey to watch? I can only whine about the NHL and NHLPA for so long before the entire situation gets boring. You better believe I'm going to play every angle I can to keep readers interested while the NHL puts me through this.The NHL and NHLPA are rumored to have some negotiation sessions set for Monday. Hoping for a solution at this point is unrealistic. I'm more hoping for some fresh material to work with. Pictures of a topless Bettman sun tanning at a private resort while in Italy on vacation, perhaps?I found the parts about the NHLPA fracturing after the financial pressures hit the average player interesting. The Crosby's and Webers of the league will be fine (though what a finacial hit to take!). But, the statistic of 78% of NFL players file bankrupcy after 2 years of leaving the league is startling if true. (can someone say "post retirement finance classes are mandatory for every player upon entering any league") And, if you go with his 10 year AVERAGE career in a pro league then losing 10% of your earning really hits home. Assuming I work 30 years in a given profession, that's like losing 3 years and having to use my saving to live those 3 years. Now, I know the scale of economics is different. A poorly paid player in the NHL is like 850K. But after escrow and taxes they have lost like 60% or so, off the top. So, while it's difficult to complain about ONLY having maybe 400K left, they will only make that for a short period of time.I'll probably never be able to put myself in their shoes. 400K in the bank for one year would be a nice problem to have. But from the players perspective I could see how the pressure would mount quickly.The longer the lockout, the more it favors the billionaire owners rather than the millionaire players. And one has to remember, darn near 1/2 of the players probably are not millionaires or just barely are (not based on hard evidence/research but a reasonable supposition I think) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 @idahophilly The only way the fans can matte is if they somehow had a total show of force, something like everyone simutaneously cancelling their season tickets....of course that would never happen, to many individuals with different thoughts.....other than something drastic like that, our protests are kinda like farting into the wind....it's only a mild inconvience to the person upwind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 LOL... this one is a wet fart though...Ahh, what do we care? We are just a bunch of bovine anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 @idahophillyIn this lockout there the one thing that is much different than in 2004 and that is the social media. For now the cheap seats are speaking out against the lockout, when the box owners start lashing out against the lockout, the NHL owners will surely take notice.another good read.....in the globe and mail. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarsippius Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 " Do Fan Protests Matter?"No. Because your team doesn't give a **** about you. The link in radoron's signature should be required reading right about now 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 That's sad if (and likely) true. Seems they care when the fans are writing those checks and sliding those credit cards... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinahMoeHumm Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 @idahophillyIn this lockout there the one thing that is much different than in 2004 and that is the social media. For now the cheap seats are speaking out against the lockout, when the box owners start lashing out against the lockout, the NHL owners will surely take notice.another good read.....in the globe and mail.Yep! I've been saying the exact same thing. And from the link you provided...Daly has estimated, “I think opinion on Twitter is 50-50 for the NHL/NHLPA.” Nice try. Almost everyone concedes that, because of social media, the NHL is running uphill in this PR battle compared to the lost season of 2004-05.Maybe the fan protests don't matter in the exact ways we'd like them to, but they do matter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Yep! I've been saying the exact same thing. And from the link you provided...Daly has estimated, “I think opinion on Twitter is 50-50 for the NHL/NHLPA.” Nice try. Almost everyone concedes that, because of social media, the NHL is running uphill in this PR battle compared to the lost season of 2004-05.Maybe the fan protests don't matter in the exact ways we'd like them to, but they do matter...Which is proof that the owners don't care since they are way behind in the PR game and still don't care... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 " Do Fan Protests Matter?"No. Because your team doesn't give a **** about you. The link in radoron's signature should be required reading right about nowI was just going to say this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Guess I don't know Hal Ashland... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerrod Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Guess I don't know Hal Ashland...Well stop pushing the tard cart around and read the link at the bottom of radoran's sig.......So if we choose to be Hal Ashland, let's stop getting surprised every time we get a beer bottle to the head.http://www.grantland...m-give-damn-youAdded for your convenience...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 @flyerrod FIrefox giving me "cannot load page, server error" for rad's sig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerrod Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 @flyerrod FIrefox giving me "cannot load page, server error" for rad's sig.sorry jam, my copy did not work but the link in rads sig still does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I read it now. Now I'm up to speed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 @flyerrod FIrefox giving me "cannot load page, server error" for rad's sig.damn, did they take it down?EDIT: the link seems to be right, but I got an error on the link as well before Googling for the same URL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I got to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.