News & Notes XLV: Simply Having A Wonderful Canesmastime

[WreckingCrew]

There's a Canes group on Bluesky and many folks have discussed how they're mostly disengaged and disinterested. I think last season's playoff results were a real letdown followed by the roster turnover. Some are saying they are tired of the style of play. More than a few of them are longtime fans who are saying they don't intend to be season ticketholders anymore either for a variety of reasons.

If you're not delivering a cup (or close to it), I think it's easier for attachment to decrease especially with many fan favs departing from the team. Players who the old marketing team worked hard to promote and utilized to build engagement. Might be time for some retention plans. I think that the MR acquisition was a part of one.

It doesn't help that, when this team isn't scoring, there's not much else to keep you interested...we don't hit, we're not physical, we don't get under the other teams skin, we don't crash the net, we don't inspire confidence on breakaways. Watching a team throw 40 impotent shots at a goalie hoping to get lucky a few times is painful & exhausting to watch over and over

 

[hblueridgegal]

I will say that the team's overall marketing is substandard this year and player engagement follows that track. Of course, we were also lucky to have players who were personable and I don't see that with their replacements.

Hopefully (despite the frustration), I would hope that fans recognize that we are clearly in a transition year and another ramp up should be occurring next year and beyond.

Thus, despite my in-game grumbling and decline in play, I'm still keeping the faith that the franchise is still on the right track for future success (I've accepted the fact that it will just not be this year)

btw: I've seen less of the rumblings on X (there is some) and perhaps that's an indication of the profile types that post on either site?

Some were saying it's time to send a message to the org. about the product, some of their plans, a sense of being taken for granted and that a market correction is needed.

Canes Twitter crowd, jmo, is home now to the Canes gatekeepers and those who feel the need to lecture others and overexplain. Then, react like babies when someone disagrees or debates with them. Many of the longtime, more nuanced, fans have departed.

 

[WreckingCrew]

Think I’ll buy some premium tickets so I can go sit in PNC during the Canes game and watch the Canes game on TV.

Probably blacked out in your area

 

[chaz4hockey]

Think I’ll buy some premium tickets so I can go sit in PNC during the Canes game and watch the Canes game on TV.

Yup but you are a hard core fan and I think that is marketed to a different buyer.

Local example is Carolina’s Blue Zone; stands anre empty every game I’ve seen on TV and I then presume they are all inside eating, talking or watching TV.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yup but you are a hard core fan and I think that is marketed to a different buyer.

Local example is Carolina’s Blue Zone; stands anre empty every game I’ve seen on TV and I then presume they are all inside eating, talking or watching TV.

I actually do see the appeal of the more premium experience. I mean, the suites and exclusive bars are fun as well and this is basically an extension of that concept. It’s just bizarre to market it as “go sit in a tiny room watching TV”. They look like they’re in a hotel room.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

I actually do see the appeal of the more premium experience. I mean, the suites and exclusive bars are fun as well and this is basically an extension of that concept. It’s just bizarre to market it as “go sit in a tiny room watching TV”. They look like they’re in a hotel room.

i think the bunker suites also come with tickets in the front two rows of the lower bowl, so i guess you just go there and chill during intermissions or whenever else you would be wandering the concourse for filthy plebs

 

[CandyCanes]

What's being accomplished here in this photo other than adding a few tvs and some black accent paint & lighting?

 

[Blueline Bomber]

I’ve only gotten a private suite once, about 10 years back for a birthday. I had my family and a few friends and we got food delivered to the suite and the Storm Squad came and visited during play. I think the one who got the most out of it was my dad, who has little interest in hockey and spent the entire game watching a college basketball game on one of the TVs in the suite. Besides that, it was just another game as far as I was concerned. Probably worse, honestly, because apparently there was a whole thing where we were supposed to take pictures with the Storm Squad, but again, they arrived during play and I was much more interested in watching the tight game than participating in any pictures.

 

[robbieberns]

Even when I lived in the Triangle, I would only go to 2-4 games a year, spend serious money on really good tickets in the 100s. Anything that isn’t giving the game my full undivided attention for all 3,600 seconds the puck is in play is just a waste of money as far as i’m concerned.

 

[Rad ChaLose]

Yup but you are a hard core fan and I think that is marketed to a different buyer.

Local example is Carolina’s Blue Zone; stands anre empty every game I’ve seen on TV and I then presume they are all inside eating, talking or watching TV.

I think they’re actually outside the stadium at home, not at the game. Just based off past experience.

 

[Bub]

View attachment 986123

What's being accomplished here in this photo other than adding a few tvs and some black accent paint & lighting?

"Rending..." Sounds painful.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I’ve only gotten a private suite once, about 10 years back for a birthday. I had my family and a few friends and we got food delivered to the suite and the Storm Squad came and visited during play. I think the one who got the most out of it was my dad, who has little interest in hockey and spent the entire game watching a college basketball game on one of the TVs in the suite. Besides that, it was just another game as far as I was concerned. Probably worse, honestly, because apparently there was a whole thing where we were supposed to take pictures with the Storm Squad, but again, they arrived during play and I was much more interested in watching the tight game than participating in any pictures.

Yeah Suites aren’t for “us”.

My wife’s boss got their company suite for a Panthers / Oilers game last year (regular season) and I’m pretty sure I’m the only person that watched most of the game. My kids watched about as much as their attention span normally allows. But for the most part it’s just a corporate outing/schmooze fest. I think the coolest/most useful part was parking under the stadium adjacent to the players lot and not having a private entrance to the arena. Otherwise, not really my scene.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

my company has part of one of the loge box suites, and it's pretty cool when you can get tickets. most of the people are usually not watching the game, but you get catered food and like 4 drink tickets along with your club level seats. it's a nice corporate perk.

plus if someone annoying also gets suite tickets on a day i am in the suite, i can just go to my regular seats.

 

[CandyCanes]

For 2 years my family moved our season tickets to the club level. The entire time I missed having screaming fans behind me. Took away from the arena environment a bit.

 

[Negan4Coach]

There's a Canes group on Bluesky and many folks have discussed how they're mostly disengaged and disinterested. I think last season's playoff results were a real letdown followed by the roster turnover. Some are saying they are tired of the style of play. More than a few of them are longtime fans who are saying they don't intend to be season ticketholders anymore either for a variety of reasons.

If you're not delivering a cup (or close to it), I think it's easier for attachment to decrease especially with many fan favs departing from the team. Players who the old marketing team worked hard to promote and utilized to build engagement. Might be time for some retention plans. I think that the MR acquisition was a part of one.

I wouldn't know anything about this "bluesky" you speak of, but I'm pretty disengaged and disinterested. Gave up my STM because they jacked up the prices and canceled certain plans, and haven't watched but a couple games this year because I'm tired of chasing where it is broadcast, and the games I have watched have been boring. It really is a boring style of play now. I guess this is our reward for having an analytics guy in charge. And I'm a guy who literally found a way to watch every game when I was deployed in Afghanistan in 2010.

That being said- I didn't expect them to be in 2nd place coming up on the end of the year after letting so many key pieces walk. If they win in the first round, I'll get switched on.

 

[DaveG]

View attachment 986123

What's being accomplished here in this photo other than adding a few tvs and some black accent paint & lighting?

literally nothing, it's the same as it currently looks (too cramped one you actually add the groups standing in the middle of the paths 3-4 wide like we currently get).

 

[Blueline Bomber]

I wouldn't know anything about this "bluesky" you speak of, but I'm pretty disengaged and disinterested.

BlueSky is like Twitter with a lot less bots, a lot better moderation, a lot less ads, and the ability to create subfeeds to filter for specific topics. I've got the main feed, which shows everything from everyone I follow, but I also have a hockey-specific feed that only shows hockey-related tweets, another for webcomics/artists, etc. That filter is the main reason I switched. On Twitter, I couldn't follow the NHL without the politics of the world invading my feed.

 

[Negan4Coach]

BlueSky is like Twitter with a lot less bots, a lot better moderation, a lot less ads, and the ability to create subfeeds to filter for specific topics. I've got the main feed, which shows everything from everyone I follow, but I also have a hockey-specific feed that only shows hockey-related tweets, another for webcomics/artists, etc. That filter is the main reason I switched. On Twitter, I couldn't follow the NHL without the politics of the world invading my feed.

I'm kidding, I know what it is. Because all these accounts on X have their Blue Sky address listed in their bio, where they sporadically threaten to leave X, shaking their fist virtually while denouncing the platform they apparently can't quit.

And to add to my last post- baseball is also unwatchable for me now. And I don't watch the NBA but also understand that analytics has ruined that sport as well. Analytics and gambling. Boo!

 

[To Be Determined]

I'm kidding, I know what it is. Because all these accounts on X have their Blue Sky address listed in their bio, where they sporadically threaten to leave X, shaking their fist virtually while denouncing the platform they apparently can't quit.

lol - kind of sounds like you and the canes, man.


(not saying you should - lots of us just can't quit them. insert brokeback mountain pic with the sightless eye on ledger's head, and 'hf26' written in gyllenahall's.)

 

[Bunch of Jurcos]

lol - kind of sounds like you and the canes, man.


(not saying you should - lots of us just can't quit them. insert brokeback mountain pic with the sightless eye on ledger's head, and 'hf26' written in gyllenahall's.)

This is just me thinking out loud.

Unless you're a newer fan to the Hurricanes, this just seems like a weird spot to want to get off the ride, but I can see why they'd check out for days/weeks at a time. We had a long period of time where we couldn't get in the playoffs, now we're good and we can't stay out of the playoffs. With the injury to Jack Hughes, it's not a guarantee, but it's more likely than not we'll win a round for what the seventh consecutive year? On average we win something like 65% of the time we take the ice. No Stanley Cup/Finals appearance to show for any of it though.

Thinking about it further, there is such a fine line that the Hurricanes have to walk to stay entertaining now for the common Hurricanes fan. Winning a lot can get boring. Winning by too much can be boring. Winning in a slog game can be boring. Getting a shutout can be both entertaining and boring because there's not much drama over who wins and loses. 82 game seasons can be boring if you don't have anything to play for (ie we're already almost guaranteed 2nd or 3rd in the Metro.) Low scoring wins can be boring to some if they don't enjoy territorial battles. You would think all of the situations would be positives for the fandom but now that we're established it still may not be enough.

Our style is not always exciting and shooting from everywhere can be meh, but we've been too good for too long to get young skilled players high in the draft so we make do with 4 or 5 skilled forwards if you count Blake and 8-10 Martinooks and draft like your life depends on it in the later rounds (Jarvis being the obvious exception, THANK YOU TORONTO.) I guess after laying all this out I can see why management would want a Rantanen. Give the fanbase something that we don't have to keep them coming back.