Yeah....but most of the people who post on FB and MLive that I've seen are idiots who didn't even understand hockey let alone the ebb and flow of an OHL franchise. Most fans are staying away because of the team's abysmal play. They don't have much idea about the behind the scenes drama or the fact that rebuilding in the OHL is often fairly short lived but harsh. This was a rebuild season from day 1 and was gonna be a struggle. Most of those people on FB have no grasp at all of rebuilding and the fact Moore, Sherwood and Caamano were gonna be gone regardless of the team's play. There's also 19 other OHL franchises where the play by play guy is a puppet of ownership. He's not gonna publicly rip the guy who signs his paycheck.
Savard, I agree with you that most of the people who post on FB and MLive (I won't call them idiots), let's say are less knowledgeable. But still they are still folks who ARE buying tickets to go watch the Firebirds. Social media is a powerful tool and the word gets out quickly. (Don't believe me, look how the President uses Twitter to get out his opinion, whether your for or against him) it works. If those people are dissatisfied and stop buying tickets they pass on their displeasure to others who may also hesitate to also buy tickets. The fact that the Firebirds are now abysmal just adds to the difficulty of getting ("fannies" in the seats) at the Dort.
My concern is the fact that there is no guarantee as to how long a rebuild is going to take (look at Saginaw) Finally it looks as if Saginaw isn't in a full rebuilding mode, showing some success this season. How long will it really take the Firebirds to rebuild? I see the Firebirds falling into the same situation as Saginaw has been in prior to this season. Drafts picks are nice to have but DO NOT guarantee success, it's kind of like "rolling the dice". Saginaw has had stable ownership and still has encounter hardship. Look at the Firebirds situation with the current ownership problems and the fact that for right now nobody really knows what is going to happen in regards to the future of hockey in Flint once Nilsen's suspension is lifted.
Your right, Moore, Sherwood and Caamano were going to be gone by the end of this season. But I saw, from the very first few games going way back in Buffalo that this team was sorely lacking someone in the leadership role (whether it be a vet or younger player). To this day, still no one has taken on the leadership role. Is this because of the coach, no one on the squad has leadership potential or do the players just don't care?
Fans from other OHL teams, help me out here......I know that there are a number of OHL teams who's broadcasters are not employed by the club itself. Some work for a media outlet and not directly with the club.
Do you think that with everything that has gone on with this ownership that it is proper for Hennig to specifically thank Nilsen and Papista at the end of each radio broadcast? I can't recall of any other broadcaster doing that, but then again I can't think of what's happen here in Flint going on elsewhere. If I have to listen to the radio I no longer listen to Hennig like I did in the first season. I tune into the opponents broadcast, many of them have a color man which adds to the broadcast.
And as to having a color man for Firebirds broadcasts, why isn't there one? My cousin did color in season one for a very short time for FREE before Nilsen fired Gruden the first time. That was enough for him when he realized what was going on.
