Jets Know Their Fans Are Sheep Like All the Rest

As everyone knows, the NHL is currently locking out their players in the hopes of getting a radically different agreement with the players union. Basically they’re claiming the 57/43 split in revenue they agreed to after the last lockout seven years ago, just isn’t working for them. The owners feel that several of their teams will not be able to make money under the present system. Whatever. This is the system, after all, that the NHL demanded and received in the last labour dispute, one that made huge changes to the system they had in place. It really doesn’t seem that rolling back the players’ salaries 10, 25 or 40 per cent is going to help markets like Phoenix, Florida or Carolina. Some places just have a limited interest in the sport. End of story.

If I was going to be on either side in this dispute, it would probably be the side of the players, but I’m not. I’m not on either side, because neither one is hurting in any real way. Sure some franchises are losing money by the truckload, but nobody forced anyone to put an NHL team in any of these non-traditional hockey markets. They rolled the dice and appear to have lost. On the other hand the players are not getting paid during the lockout, but they still have playing options elsewhere. Most may not be able to make the same money they do playing in the NHL, but they still can make very good livings being employed in any number of leagues in Europe. Their earning potential is certainly better playing in Europe than it would be selling insurance, being a plumber or anything else they might find themselves doing. So I’m in no way sympathetic to the players either because their world bears little resemblance to the one most of the rest of us lives in. It’s a fantasy world.

The side I’m on is the side of the people who are legitimately being hurt by this episode. You can start with the employees of the franchises who have or will be laid off as the lockout drags on. During the last lockout teams gave notices to most of their employees, including full-time office staff that rely on their positions to make a living. These are real people who are really taking it in the neck from the NHL. There are also the part timers who work concessions, take tickets and handle security. A pay cheque they likely can’t do without. Let’s not forget the businesses that rely on customers who are there because an NHL game is going on - the restaurants, bars and clubs that do a lot more business on game day. They’re going to see huge reductions in the number of patrons coming through their doors just because the league and its employees can’t come to an agreement; because they haven’t figured out a way to carve up their ginormous revenue pie to make everyone happy.

Many in the media have started their usual railing against the billionaires and millionaires because they have ‘forgotten about the fans’. They argue that the pool old fan is caught in the middle of the dispute and doesn’t have his NHL hockey to watch. Well, I don’t feel in any way sorry for the fan because the fan has always taken sides and is paying for it once again. The fan has always been on the side of the owners, which is their prerogative. Just don’t claim to be innocently caught in the middle of the dispute. Fans always choose to support the owners by handing over their bucket loads of money just to buy a ticket or an ‘authentic’ team jersey for a ridiculously over-inflated price.

The Jets organization may not consciously think of their fans as sheep or dopes, like I might, (they are certainly not going to admit it if they do) but they do know they’ll be back no matter what happens before, during or after any labour dispute. They’ll be back with their wallets, credits cards, credit lines, loans or whatever else it takes to purchase what they think they have to have.

Except that they don’t have to make ticket or merchandise purchases. The revenue pie wouldn’t be as big as it is if it weren’t for the ‘poor fans’. If the fans weren’t willing to hand over 90 bucks to sit in the corner of the 3rd level at the MTS centre to see the Jets take on the Florida Panthers than the seats wouldn’t be 90 bucks and there wouldn’t be the kind of revenue happening for the league that they’re arguing over now. It’s all comes down to supply and demand. In the case of most teams, Jets included, the demand far outstrips the supply of tickets and merchandise, so the teams can ask any price they want for said products. And the fans will keep coming back and spending more than they did the last time.

Oh, many of them will complain. Some of them will complain constantly. Mostly to themselves, their beer-guzzling buddies or, if they show some initiative, they’ll call a sports show and complain to the host about how unfair it all is. They’ll complain about how much money both sides are making and how they, the fans, the ones who make it all possible, are entirely left out of the process. About how they are totally taken for granted by at least the owners, if not both sides. Well, duh. Of course, they don’t consider any of the fans. Because they know in places, like Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver, Manhattan or Philadelphia all the fat assed fans will be back in their $100 seats pouring down $10 beers before getting in their cars sitting in their 10, 20 or $40 parking spots.

Sure there are fans who went far enough to vent their anger by starting a petition (like the following one), but we all know it’s not going to amount to anything. This is so because there won’t be enough people who will be interested or motivated enough to even sign the petition.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hockeyyinsiderr-no-nhl-lockout/

Beyond that, it’s one thing to sign an online petition when you don’t even have to leave your house to do so or make any real sacrifice. It’s an entirely different matter to follow up your words with actions. Especially actions like withholding your entertainment dollars from the NHL. Virtually none of the people who sign these things will take the ultimate step and back away. And the National Hockey League and Gary Bettman know this. They know this because they have precedents to go by, including the very recent lockout of the 2004-05 season. Bettman and company know that it didn’t take very long for the vast majority of fans to stop grumbling and start attending games and purchasing the merchandise over again. A small number may have walked the walked and stayed away for good, but they were few and far between. The new fans the league attracted post lockout more than made up for the old ones they lost.

That is why they will continue on and pursue settling the issues as they see them into they nice little package they want. All through the ordeal they won’t give the fans a second thought. Assuming they even thought of them in the first place.

If you’re truly pissed off by the way the game regards you as a fan and you feel completely neglected, then don’t put up with it. If you feel like tickets cost too much, the price of beer is ridiculous and $50 for a team ball cap is too much to pay, then just don’t. Just stop doing it. It really is that simple. If enough fans make the same choice, then the league will eventually have to listen. On the other hand, if you’re not willing to actually do something with all your anger then all I can say is “Baaaaaaaaa”.