Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Are you using % capacity? You forget, the Met Center had a much smaller capacity and Minnesota is a much smaller market.

All the same, it doesn't change that the Hawks did have very good support until the mid-90s or so. Take notice of how fast things changed there after Wirtz died and the team actually showed interest in its own fans. You'd be hard pressed to find another pro franchise that had a situation like Chicago had with Wirtz. You can't compare it to anything, which is why it probably shouldn't be terribly relevant in the discussion about whether Northwestern could support a team that wouldn't need more than 5,000 fans/game for 16-18 games.

[JF_Gophers]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Are you using % capacity? You forget, the Met Center had a much smaller capacity and Minnesota is a much smaller market.

Met Center was 15k and Chicago Stadium was 17k for hockey (18k SRO). Not exactly a huge difference. United Center opened in 1994 and holds 19k.

In the timeframe mentioned, the Hawks averaged over 16,500 every single season except that first one, and were over 17k for most of them. So even at % capacity they weren't that far from full.

[gopher wes]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

I fail to see what the Blackhawks have to do with who the 7th member of the BTHC will be....?

[JF_Gophers]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

I fail to see what the Blackhawks have to do with who the 7th member of the BTHC will be....?

Once JDUBB gets something in his mind, it doesn't matter the relevance or validity.

[JDUBBS1280]

All the same, it doesn't change that the Hawks did have very good support until the mid-90s or so. Take notice of how fast things changed there after Wirtz died and the team actually showed interest in its own fans. You'd be hard pressed to find another pro franchise that had a situation like Chicago had with Wirtz. You can't compare it to anything, which is why it probably shouldn't be terribly relevant in the discussion about whether Northwestern could support a team that wouldn't need more than 5,000 fans/game for 16-18 games.

Do we really need to get into some of the ownership the North Stars had and what they did to that franchise? Wirtz was an angel in comparison.

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Do we really need to get into some of the ownership the North Stars had and what they did to that franchise? Wirtz was an angel in comparison.

As per usual, you have no idea what you are talking about. But keep talking in absolutes as if you do.


Having grown up in the Chicago area (left @ 19 in '88) under the boot heel of old man Wirtz, everything that EODS said is true. Here's what I wrote in the Hawks thread in the cafe about the dark years of the Hawks (1996-2007):


"To get into the psyche of Hawks fans who eventually stopped going to games you have to understand how depressing it was to see your team on the verge of a Cup over several seasons with several top level talents and then have management systematically dismantle it without any apparent plan or desire to ever get back to that point.

When I first started following the Hawks (early 80's) we had a core of Savard, Larmer, Secord, Doug Wilson, Troy Murray etc and that transitioned over 10 years to Roenick, Chelios, Belfour, Tony Amonte etc and then transitioned to almost an empty cupboard and stayed that way for over 10 freaking years.

Now this didn't happen in some small market, it happened in Chicago. There was money to spend and Wirtz just wouldn't do it and eventually, many of us just said screw it until the old man dies. And then he just kept on living and living and living...

Fast-forward to now and they (we?) seem like a front-running fanbase (and some are bandwagoneers, no doubt), but having grown up around it, at their core, Blackhawks fans are good fans. Those who criticize for the poor attendance in the late 90's early 00's just can't understand unless you lived through it. Honestly, they (management) weren't even trying to be good."


There's a lot more to it, but that's the core of it. It's awfully funny that a Minnesota sports fan would ever criticize any other fan base for attendance issues. The Gophers are really good this season and yet there are lots of empty seats for every game. Weren't a couple of Vikings games almost blacked out this season? Remember the Twins season where they averaged about 8k fans per game and didn't have their first sellout till the division clinching game? Where are the North Stars these days?

This sort of thing isn't exclusive to Minnesota (or Chicago or Madison), not saying that they are, but glass houses you know! Just realize that fans get to decide what they spend their money (and time) on and if the product is inferior and management doesn't seem to care, why would anyone feel obligated to hand over their money?

[JDUBBS1280]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Gurt - Yawn.

Try having your team's ownership (the Grunds) get upset because the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission wouldn't let them develop a shopping area by the Met Center (because it already had plans to build the Mall of America) and threaten to move the team to San Jose.

Instead, Lou Nanne and Bill Wirtz convinced them to start a new team in San Jose. As compensation, they were allowed to take all of the North Stars star players and their top prospects. What remained of the North Stars on ice product was sold to Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg.

Baldwin and Belzberg tried to work out a deal with the T-Wolves to share the newly constructed Target Center, but conflicts between their advertising agreements (they had advertising agreements with rival companies) made that impossible.

Soon after, Baldwin sold his controlling interest in the team to Norm Green, who tried in vain to get massive improvements done to the Met Center. Then, following sexual harrassment claims by employees, rebranded the team and moved them to Dallas.

[JDUBBS1280]

I fail to see what the Blackhawks have to do with who the 7th member of the BTHC will be....?

Someone posted up above that Northwestern would be a logical choice for the next team to join the BTHC because of how die hard and awesome the Blackhawks fan base is.

Do You read these threads before commenting?

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Someone posted up above that Northwestern would be a logical choice for the next team to join the BTHC because of how die hard and awesome the Blackhawks fan base is

Go ahead and quote the post where someone said that. That's not how aparch and I were talking about it.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Go ahead and quote the post where someone said that. That's not how aparch and I were talking about it.

just ignore him, he's not worth your time...

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Gurt - Yawn.

Try having your team's ownership (the Grunds) get upset because the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission wouldn't let them develop a shopping area by the Met Center (because it already had plans to build the Mall of America) and threaten to move the team to San Jose.

Instead, Lou Nanne and Bill Wirtz convinced them to start a new team in San Jose. As compensation, they were allowed to take all of the North Stars star players and their top prospects. What remained of the North Stars on ice product was sold to Howard Baldwin and Morris Belzberg.

Baldwin and Belzberg tried to work out a deal with the T-Wolves to share the newly constructed Target Center, but conflicts between their advertising agreements (they had advertising agreements with rival companies) made that impossible.

Soon after, Baldwin sold his controlling interest in the team to Norm Green, who tried in vain to get massive improvements done to the Met Center. Then, following sexual harrassment claims by employees, rebranded the team and moved them to Dallas.

Who gives a puck?

[JDUBBS1280]

Who gives a puck?

Taking all the teams best players and best prospects and skipping town is no big deal, ha? How would you like it if all the Gophers best players and recruits were taken from them?

Oh wait, you'd probably enjoy that.

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Taking all the teams best players and best prospects and skipping town is no big deal, ha? How would you like it if all the Gophers best players and recruits were taken from them?

Oh wait, you'd probably enjoy that.

It's ancient history. Try living in 2012 for 10 minutes.

[JDUBBS1280]

It's ancient history. Try living in 2012 for 10 minutes.

If you don't learn from history, you're doomed to repeat it. Though I don't expect you to understand that concept.

Carry on hating on the team you claim to support, and I'll continue to mock your tired bit

[gopher wes]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Go ahead and quote the post where someone said that. That's not how aparch and I were talking about it.

Yes, I'd like to see that post as well.

Otherwise, I would much rather enjoy reading posts that are actually about the topic of this thread.