Operation: Save The Coyotes Day.... oh I forget.

Our first rally is planned for this weekend.

To my fellow Coyotes fans, I'd like to say this: Don't worry about the media. They are going to say whatever we do is a failure regardless of whether we had 30 people or 15,000 people. Those of us who are planning to participate in the first Save The Coyotes rally are fully aware that no rally is going to save the team. Especially in this situation. We have no delusions of grandeur. This is a prelimenary rally, we wanted to meet prior to the Coyotes court date on the 19th so that people know we are here and we're starting our efforts. This rally was planned on very short notice. Some people won't be able to get off of work to be there. Some people already had prior commitments. What we hope to accomplish from this particular rally is to come together as a group, share ideas, exchange information, network, etc so that we are able to pool our resources and be united in our efforts. Then we will return for the next White Out rally with a larger group. Yes, the media will be watching so the more people we have in attendance, the better. But regardless of what the media may write about it, its not about the numbers.


Of course Balsillie's group has major support, if we had an entire country at our disposal, we would too. If we had the kind of money to work with that Balsillie does, we would have nothing but good media coverage too. We would have been able to get our website immediately, we would have contacts that could get the word spread like wild fire. Hell, if I had his money I would've already bought the team myself & we wouldn't have to worry about any of this! But you simply cannot compare our campaign to Balsillie's. You cannot even begin to compare the backing of an entire country with a grass roots movement of fans who had a week to digest the news of the team's potential demise, form a group of people willing to battle a dude with that kind of power and plan a gathering of supporters.

Balsillie marketed his campaign to the entire country and a lot of the people supporting him were already bitter due to the Jets being moved from Canada to Phoenix and becoming the Coyotes in the first place. Go read some of the comments on our website if you want to see the kind of venom that is being spewed. I'm sure you guys all know what I am talking about, its not the first time we've had to deal with this as Coyotes fans. One thing I can certainly promise you is that if my team ever does leave, (which I hope isn't the case) I will not be so bitter about it 12 years after the fact that I spend all my time trying to bash the people who are their fans now.


When discussing this in a recent interview, the interviewer said to me: "Oh yes, they are such passionate fans!" My first reaction was "Yes, such passion". I have since changed my opinion. That is not passion. Passionate hockey fans would want to share their love of hockey with others. Passionate hockey fans want to see the spread of hockey in non-traditional markets. Selfish hockey fans think only one country deserves to have all the hockey teams to themselves. Selfish hockey fans want to blame the fans for the financial difficulties of a franchise when in fact it had more to do with poor ownership and management decisions. They don't educate themselves on the facts because they don't want to know the truth. If they did, they would have to admit to being wrong.

The Jets left Winnipeg because there was not enough corporate sponsorship and at the time they did not want to build a much needed new arena for the team. Not because of anything that the fans did. They had times of poor attendance, like every other team does every now and then. The Jets will not return to Winnipeg because the area still lacks that needed corporate sponsorship. Will they never have a team again? Who knows. I hope they can have another team some day. But for now that is not our concern. The past is the past and we are living in the here and now. We appreciate our team's history but with all due respect, we plan on keeping them here...

Operation: Save The Coyotes Day 3

Our beloved Captain Shane Doan

Has he ever let us down? No, he has not. He gives his all every night, every shift. He plays when he's hurt, though he shouldn't. He has made many a sacrifice to stay with this organization because he is committed to making hockey successful in Phoenix. Right now Coyotes fans, is when our Captain needs us the most. He needs us to make our voices heard. He needs us to stay strong and fight the opposition. He needs us to ignore the venom being spat at us from around the rest of the league. We know all eyes are on us right now, Phoenix. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. You only have to look as far as the Nashville Predators to see that the fans DO have a voice in the NHL. We've got Gary Bettman's support and regardless of what some might say/think about him, he was committed to putting this team here and now he's committed to keeping this team here. I believe that he and the NHL are doing all within their power to fight this right along with us.

Hockey has been a Canadian tradition for generations and generations. We have only had it in Phoenix for 12 years. The loyal hockey fans in Phoenix have been patient as we've had to endure poor management and ownership decisions concerning our team, poor draft choices, rebuilding and years and years of losses. We finally have some young guys on the ice who are showing some promise and now they want to take them away from us? Coyotes fans, we simply cannot stand for this! We've been patient, now its time to fight. Fight for what we've worked for. Fight for hockey in non-traditional markets. Why? Because you never grow, you never better yourself if you only stay where it is safe and a sure bet. Do we want to lose it before everyone in the Valley gets to experience fully this game that we all know to be the best game on earth? The time to fight is NOW. If they leave, ladies & gentlemen, they won't come back. Ask Winnipeg. I can truly sympathize with the fine people of Winnipeg now. I understand what you went through. This current dilemma occupies my every thought. I find it hard to concentrate on little else. If I stop to think for too long, I want to break down and cry. So for now I will simply fight. And I need each and every one of you to fight with me. Together, we can do this.

♥- The Diva

Graphics by Jordon

Operation: Save The Coyotes!

Some new developments have come about since my last post. Here's the rundown: sneaky snake Jerry Moyes has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the Coyotes. The bankruptcy is contingent upon him being able to sell the team to Blackberry doode Jim Balsillie. Balsillie wants to pack up my beloved team and relocate them to Southern Ontario Canada. The League had no part in this and allegedly had another investor lined up to purchase the Coyotes when the bankruptcy announcement was made. Quite a few things wrong with this scenario: first and foremost is the fact the Moyes didn't really have the authority to declare bankruptcy on behalf of the Coyotes. Earlier this year, he was loaned money from the League and informed that all financial decisions must be approved by the league prior to execution. This will all come to a head today as the case will be seen by a local judge who hopefully wants this team to remain in Phoenix.

We the Coyotes Faithful, will know better how we must proceed after the court appearance today. But for now, we've launched our "Save The Coyotes" Campaign. Myself along with Coyoteshipcheck, FiveForHowling & the team at Phoenix Fanster are doing all within our power to keep this team in the Valley and get the word out. But we're going to need your help. We'll be launching our own website www.SaveTheCoyotes.com later today. We will have t-shirts, signs, buttons, etc for sale so that you can show your support for the team we love. We'll also have a calendar of events and lots of other great resources. In response to Basillie's website campaign at www.makeitseven.ca we've started our own campaign: Keep It Six. You can even purchase T-Shirts . Basically we want everyone to know this:

WE'RE NOT GONNA LET ANYONE TAKE OUR TEAM!!!!

While we await the preceedings this afternoon, there are a few things you can do:

• Follow me on Twitter I will be tweeting the latest updates as soon as they are made available.
  
• Buy Season Tickets we've been assurred by our faithful Coyotes ticket reps that should in the unlikely event that the team packs up and leaves this summer, we will be refunded our money in full. We've also been assured that should the team stay but still sell to Basillie we will also be refunded our money in full. We refuse to support him here while he builds his new arena in Canada. Forget it. So there's no harm done in buying the tickets but there is MUCH good that can come from it!
  
• Make your voice heard: know anybody who works in radio? Television? Works for the Coyotes? Tell everyone you know what's going on & that we need their support! Open your mouth, YOU can make a difference!

• Join our Facebook Group and network with other Coyotes fans like yourself! Jordon has graciously created the group and made us some great graphics. Use them as your Facebook profile pic and Avatars. Let the world know you support the Yotes staying in Glendale!
  

Together, WE can Save The Coyotes!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

According to the Arizona Republic Jerry Reinsdorf may be interested in purchasing or investing in the Phoenix Coyotes.

Who is Jerry Reinsdorf, you may ask... Well, he just so happens to be the current majority owner of the Chicago White Sox & the Chicago Bulls. As owner of these franchises, he has lead them both to success. The Bulls have turned into a lucrative business under his ownership that won six World Championships in the 1990s (1991–1993and 1996–1998). As a baseball owner, he has also brought success to the White Sox franchise. The franchise made the playoffs in 1983 for the first time since 1959 and won the World Series in 2005 for the first time since 1917.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Mr. Reinsdorf- WE NEED YOU!!! I think we could make this work. You obviously know how to put together a winner, we need a winner to make hockey in the desert stick. Don't make me beg...

<3 The Diva

I know it's just the Toronto Sun but...

"Forget about the Phoenix Coyotes heading back to their Winnipeg roots.

Asked on ESPN Radio what he planned to do with the Coyotes, commissioner Gary Bettman said, "We're gonna fix them. That's what we do when we have franchises in trouble."

So, take that Kansas City and Las Vegas and Hamilton/Waterloo.

As for those who believe that the NHL is a Canadian game:

"If you think back to the late '90s early 2000s, there were numerous articles suggesting Canadian franchises other than the Maple Leafs couldn't make it and there would be only one team left in Canada," Bettman said.

"But we don't buy into that hysteria."

(I guess we Canadians have short, selective memories.)

Added Bettman: "We have a pretty strong record of being supportive of franchises where they are, fixing them and making them work."

Offside Tuesday

It made me feel better regardless.