double standard?

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: double standard?

The rest of it is just icing on the cake for the "Southerners don't deserve hockey" crowd.

I don't know if it's that some don't think Southerners "deserve" hockey as much as they assume that in general, Southerners don't WANT it.
Of course if you really look at sports fans' bases almost anywhere in this country, a majority don't give a rat's ### about hockey, but the ones that do are true die-hards. So it's just a question of if there are enough hockey die-hards in a given market to support it, Northeast, Upper MidWest, SouthEast, wherever...

 

[davyd83]

Re: double standard?

I don't know if it's that some don't think Southerners "deserve" hockey as much as they assume that in general, Southerners don't WANT it.
Of course if you really look at sports fans' bases almost anywhere in this country, a majority don't give a rat's ### about hockey, but the ones that do are true die-hards. So it's just a question of if there are enough hockey die-hards in a given market to support it, Northeast, Upper MidWest, SouthEast, wherever...

There are a lot of very passionate southern hockey fans. Teams in Charleston, Greenville, SC, Duluth, GA, Estero, FL, Odessa, TX, Shreveport, LA, Allen, TX, Hidalgo, TX and Corpus Christi all averaged better that RIT in its hockey mad part of the country!

 

[TigerFan86-87]

Re: double standard?

There are a lot of very passionate southern hockey fans. Teams in Charleston, Greenville, SC, Duluth, GA, Estero, FL, Odessa, TX, Shreveport, LA, Allen, TX, Hidalgo, TX and Corpus Christi all averaged better that RIT in its hockey mad part of the country!

First of all, don't get so defensive. I wasn't arguing with anybody or trying to claim that Southerners don't want hockey any more than anywhere else. Read my post a little more carefully. If there are enough hockey (or for that matter, any sports') fans willing to shell out the cash to support a program at whatever level, there is no reason to say any area of the country doesn't "deserve" the sport. It is just the general stereotype that Southerner's will never support hockey in great numbers as long as the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and NASCAR dominate the landscape.
And although I was not really talking about RIT in reference to any of this, as long as you brought it up... It's great that a bunch of beer league teams have managed to market themselves so well to fans who previously knew so little about ice, let alone hockey. But comparing the attendance of professional teams in markets where they are literally the only hockey game in town to attendance at RIT makes NO sense. And, FYI... RIT averages over 100% of capacity. So at this point I don't know how they could do any better.

 

[davyd83]

Re: double standard?

First of all, don't get so defensive. I wasn't arguing with anybody or trying to claim that Southerners don't want hockey any more than anywhere else. Read my post a little more carefully. If there are enough hockey (or for that matter, any sports') fans willing to shell out the cash to support a program at whatever level, there is no reason to say any area of the country doesn't "deserve" the sport. It is just the general stereotype that Southerner's will never support hockey in great numbers as long as the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and NASCAR dominate the landscape.
And although I was not really talking about RIT in reference to any of this, as long as you brought it up... It's great that a bunch of beer league teams have managed to market themselves so well to fans who previously knew so little about ice, let alone hockey. But comparing the attendance of professional teams in markets where they are literally the only hockey game in town to attendance at RIT makes NO sense. And, FYI... RIT averages over 100% of capacity. So at this point I don't know how they could do any better.

Not being defensive, I just want to illustrate to those who think that there is no hockey market in the south, that the perception is incorrect. I've been to many games in Birmingham where crowds exceeded 10,000. The team there averaged over 8000 on weekends after the first of the year. In Louisiana, the original Ice Gators once averaged over 11,000 for a season, the top number in minor league hockey. No offense to RIT, they run a great program and have had much success. I was just using their number as a baseline.

 

[Jason.Auckland]

Re: double standard?

There is a hockey market in the south. Having lived in Alabama for seven years, I like to think I'd know a thing or three about it. There is interest in hockey down their but you need the team to offer cheap beer and plenty of spit cups to get the farmers to come on out. Hockey in the south u.s. is dependent on the teams success and marketing unlike here in MN where thousands still go and watch the worst teams. Bring on the pbr!

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: double standard?

Tell you what, how about after Wisconsin wins as many National Championships in football as Minnesota, you come back and make this suggestion. It will never happen in your lifetime, so don't hold your breath.

They won polls, not championships. Championships go to those who won playoffs.

Had Air Force not left, they would likely be in the same boat as UAH in terms of a conference. This is presuming that Findley and Wayne St still would have folded. It would have been interesting to see if the NCAA would have kept granting exemptions for a 5 team conference.

Well, if Findley and Wayne State were still around, BGSU would be in a lot better position to rebuild the CCHA around itself. That probably would give Ferris the thought to tough it out with them as well. Huntsville clearly would be an easy add, and then you're looking at just needing one more AHA school for 6, 3 of them for 8 schools. Even if it was just Wayne State, the numbers would be a lot better.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: double standard?

They won polls, not championships. Championships go to those who won playoffs.

If we're talking about D-IA football, then no one's ever won a national championship? Wow, what a useful definition.


Powers &8^]

 

[4four4]

Re: double standard?

They won polls, not championships. Championships go to those who won playoffs.

Possibly the worst come back in a long time.

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: double standard?

If we're talking about D-IA football, then no one's ever won a national championship? Wow, what a useful definition.


Powers &8^]

Yep. As far as I'm concerned, that poll at the end of the year is nothing more than a beauty pageant.

Possibly the worst come back in a long time.

Said by somebody who's school got awarded their last beauty contest well before most of this board was even born and hanging their collective hat on that, to somebody who's school has gone out and collected 4 Football National Championships via the playoffs within the past 10 years, and is usually expected to be a threat to anybody else looking to take that title.

 

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Yep. As far as I'm concerned, that poll at the end of the year is nothing more than a beauty pageant.

Said by somebody who's school got awarded their last beauty contest well before most of this board was even born and hanging their collective hat on that, to somebody who's school has gone out and collected 4 Football National Championships via the playoffs within the past 10 years, and is usually expected to be a threat to anybody else looking to take that title.

Division II doesn't count...