When I think about all the Goodwill that true north had and the buzz and excitement the Jets had. They actually kind of makes me sad. I don't blame ownership for all this I think there's obviously some financial hardship that people are going through and I think a lot of people are just fed up with the team not doing very well. I have a very complicated thoughts on this that I don't think I could really Express fully by talking to my phone like this. I think if I had to measure it up something like 50% to the blame would go to ownership. I hear a lot of stories about how ownership treats our season ticket holders like shit and when you see all the things that American teams do for their season ticket holders it's hard not to shake your head a little bit.
I also am amazed at how little things like the fact that at the airport there's no giant Winnipeg Jets advertisement there by the carousel anymore. We don't have Sports Talk Radio we don't have post game talk radio. I worry that the team is slipping out of the consciousness of the city a little bit. You can't just build that kind of excitement and rapport with your fan base overnight. Believe me it's so much easier to retain a customer than to make a new one. And it breaks my heart to see True North having broken so many relationships. Just look at the Forum that we're on right now there's so little activity compared to what used to be.
But the end of the day there has to be some accountability from us as the customers too. Either we want the NHL or we don't. I remember what it was like to lose the first Jets and it was absolutely heartbreaking and devastating to the city. For the people that don't go anymore because they don't want to support a team and that's the more successful on the ice I got to tell you, that's a sure-fire recipe to have the team be gone. People who can't afford to go anymore that's one thing and I'm not shitting on those people. But I do question folks that don't want to spend their money because they don't think the team is good enough for going in right direction. You can't base your decision to buy tickets and support the team based on what's happening on the ice, we just don't have enough population to get away with that.
And then of course there is things like covid and inflation and that seems to be hitting some markets more than others. Buffalo has shit attendance tonight but let's be real Buffalo hasn't had a good hockey team since, what Hasek? And no one is ever going to consider Buffalo as a candidate for relocation. The sad fact is that people are going point to us and they are going to shit on us and right now I can see it coming from a mile away. Philly has no problem with attendance tonight, Nashville.
I think it's a shame and I don't really have a lot of solutions, I'm really worried that we're way too far down the track already. As I said before in this rambling post of mine, it's incredibly easy to lose a customer and very difficult to get them back. True north and a lot of Canadian owners have taken their customers for granted and treated them as if they are a given or they were entitled to our money. We didn't sell out game one on a Saturday night, and there's 4,000 empty seats in game 2. At this point every Jet fan should be deeply concerned about the commitment of our city to our team. Ownership absolutely owns a massive part of this and I'm willing to give them the lion share of blame. But we have to ask ourselves do we want the NHL or not?
And this is to say nothing about our Blue Bombers who are very successful organization who treat their fans well and have a very good game to experience, but are playing in a league that people keep saying is dying too. The idea that in 10 years from now there is a not horribly unrealistic chance that the bombers and jets won't exist anymore kind of makes me want to vomit.
Some good points but I'd push back on a couple of things.
I agree that the season ticket reps are a bad representation of the ownership group and the team. They could do a little bit more for STHs, sure, but I don't think the number of people not renewing because they aren't getting a couple perks is that significant. The reality is if the team was good, the perks don't matter.
I think there is still post game radio on CJOB? I'm not sure about call ins but there is some discussion there.
You're 100% right on the market size though. Philly can be the worst team and outdraw the Jets because they're so much bigger.
The team isn't going to relocate, but it's clear that ownership is right that selling players prematurely and rebuilding for years and years is less likely to fill the seats than a winning product. Money is hard for people right now, they'll need to string some wins together to bring attendance back.
Don't agree with the Bombers comparison, it's cheaper, it's the summer, they're really good.
