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Divisional
foolishness
Eliminating interconference games a
mistake
2/16/05 - By Paul Krill
The
NHL doesn't offer its fans the best deal possible, that's for sure. A couple
seasons' back, the league hoisted nets in front of end-of-the-rink seats. Then,
in a historic move, a whole season was lost as a result of the lockout.
After all this, one might expect the league to bend over backwards to
please fans.
Well, ticket prices are going down. (Yay!) However, the
league is severely reducing the number of interconference games and is trying
to sell us fans on so-called divisional rivalries. So the NHL is adding more
games against divisional teams that we see too much of already at the expense
of coveted games against the other conference.
For Sharks fans, this
means visits by the Rangers, Flyers, Maple Leafs et al only once every three
years. No Sidney Crosby anytime soon, either .Wow, what a bargain this is.
The idea that the resulting less travel will help the
Sharks won't hold water: all the other teams will have less travel, too. And
light travel sure hasn't helped the New York Rangers any lately, has it? Maybe
the possibility of more empty seats at Sharks games might motivate the
organization, though.
As for me, I'm kind of in a difficult position
here: I can complain with the best of them, but I'm not dumping my tickets. At
least not at this juncture.
So I eagerly look forward to the new
season and the return of the Sharks. But my pre-season ritual of scanning the
schedule in July or August to see when those Eastern Conference teams come in
is gone.
Nice way to boost the anticipation, NHL.
Contact Paul at at pkrill@hotmail.com
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