Monday, April 5, 2010

I Didn't Want it to Come to This, Winnipeg.

Dear Winnipeg,

I really didn’t want it to come to this, but in light of the latest round of Coyotes-back-to-Winnipeg rumors, I’m afraid there are some things that must be said. Let me start this off by saying that I am a counselor by profession and you need to know that this obsession you still possess for your long lost team simply isn’t healthy. I can certainly sympathize with you, having almost lost and still may lose; that very same team you are still mourning the loss of. However, here’s the difference between you and I: If the NHL feels the need to again move this team, regardless of whether it goes to Hamilton, back to Winnipeg, Kansas City, Vegas or Timbuktu, I won’t start a “Bring Back the Coyotes” campaign. Nor will I spend the remainder of my days harassing the team’s new fans on the internet. I will move on, adopt a new team and hope that the Phoenix area is able to get another NHL team some time in the future. But in no way will I make it my whole life to get a team back. That doesn’t make me less passionate about the game or my team than you are, that makes me sensible. I understand how businesses are run and I realize that it sometimes isn’t about me. It’s about the business; the leases, arena sizes, corporate sponsorships, television markets, etc. It's now been well over 10 years. It's past time to move on.

There’s another issue I’d like to address with you as well. It’s the issue that has come up from some who think the players want to go back to Winnipeg because the fans are better there. No hockey fan is any better than another. This is a strange thing to me. Perhaps it is because I am fairly new to the world of sports fandom but I simply cannot grasp the fan on fan hatred. Really, no fan is better than any other. In fact, no person is any better than another. Have you listened to any of the player interviews lately? Shane Doan will tell you that the team has been playing hard to prove that they want to be in this city and they want to remain in this city. Besides, no one wants poor Alex Burrows to have to eat at anything less than a five-star restaurant when he’s playing in an opposing team’s city… right…? Or any other player for that matter. It would be far too brutal for them.. Heh… (that's sarcasm there people, in case you couldn't tell.)

So as a fellow hockey fan Dear Winnipeg, I sympathize with your plight. I know you worked hard to keep the team in the first place but it simply was not meant to be. That doesn’t make it any easier on you, I know that as well. Having said all this, I think it would be healthier for you if you’d move on now. Stop resurrecting the Jets with the latest rumors. Stop harassing the fans in Phoenix. Move on. Go watch the Moose; they need your support too. If life in Winnipeg is so horrible without NHL hockey, then my advice to you would be to move. You’ve got 6 other Canadian cities that have NHL teams you can support. And if you’re really up for a change, there are 24 in America and we’ve got plenty of room down here for you.
 
<3 - The Diva

18 comments:

  1. Nicely said! I wish we could could a restraining order so they would have to stop harassing the Coyotes fans.

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  2. That being said...
    Dear Winnipeg...now go away..K..bu-bye!

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  3. So in a post where you harrass Winnipeg fans you tell them to stop harassing Phoenix fans? Hypocrite much?

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  4. NOTE: Not all Winnipeg Jets fans harass you guys... OH and you do the same to us. We are passionate and we choose to focus on getting the team back. Not necessarily the Yotes but a team. Our efforts will be successful sooner rather then later. If we would like to rally and have thousands and thousands show up, that is because we choose to fight for what we believe. You don't like it.. fine, thats your decision.

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  5. get a clue. winnipeg loves hockey as a city. phoenix sadly does not. and if you can find me a steakhouse in phoenix that is better than rae and jerry's in winnipeg. go ahead. but remember they'll have to serve canadianAAA grain fed beef, not the crap that ruth chris' serves. some of you have been in the dessert heat too long.

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  6. I 100% agree on the fan on fan hatred being idiotic and childish at best. But if you look on places suck as HFboards etc, you will see that comes full force from both sides. I read a post from a Jets fan just the other day, his take was that Glendale stood their best chance of keeping the Coyotes by siding with Jerry Reinsdorf. His reasoning made sense. He stated that IEH was looking for half a dozen games in Canada (lost revenue for Glendale no matter how you look at it) and they are also openly having to finance at the very least a large portion of this deal. Reinsdorf on the other hand, while from the outside looking in, does look to have some alterior motive, at least HAS the CASH money to make the deal happen and the deep pockets to keep it happening in rough times. This looked like a genuine hockey fan giving his opinion on his take of what it would take to keep the team in Glendale. Instant flaming from Phoenix fans ensued. Now of course it is happening the other way as well, there is always going to be an idiot in every crowd that makes everyone else look bad. Do the people of Winnipeg want the NHL back? Of course. Do they WANT it at the expense of other peoples loss? Of course not. Unfortunately that is the way it has to be, the same way as when the Coyotes moved South. In a perfect world both cities would have hockey teams and fill the arenas to capacity every single night.
    There are points to your letter that make a lot of sense, but in the same breath I think those comments should hit home with some of your fans as well.
    I have been to the Glendale Arena for a Coyotes game myself and it is a fantastic arena, I was happy to support the team no matter where their home was but as funny as it may seem to you, I got a lot of snide comments about my Jets hat that I proudly wore on my head to compliment my Coyotes jersey. This was 6 years ago so the current rumours and situation were not in play.
    I loved Phoenix and would love to go back. Myself I will not let the shallow mindedness of a few bad apples that chose to cuss me out for my jets hat ruin my impression of the rest. Please have that same respect for the good people of Winnipeg. For every 1 Winnipegger that will pick a fight on a mindless internet site, there are 50 more that will hold the door for you as you pass, smile and start a conversation, or buy you a drink just because they found out that it is your first visit to the city. Just like the nice gentleman sitting behind me at the coyotes game who bought me a beer and appologized for the actions of the others.
    We aint that different ;)
    To the fans of Phoenix, I wish you all a great day and the best of luck with your current situation.

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  7. You have got to be kidding when this team is back home next year you will have more time on your hands

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  8. It is a mission for us Winnipeggers to get the Jets back because you people in Phoenix DO NOT DESERVE THEM. Winnipeg lives breathes and dies hockey unlike you. Hockey is everything to Winnipeg and to Canada. We take it seriously.


    This was OUR team to begin with. And the situation you guys are in it looks better than ever for the Coyotes to fly back home to Winnipeg as the Jets. I am not a coyote basher. I am glad you people down there support hockey and have die hard fans. That is great!!! Honestly it is. I hope you can continue to grow it down there. But believe me, there is a REAL possibility this team will be back in Winnipeg for next season. 700 thousand people live in Winnipeg. Guess what, 699 thousand of them are hockey fans.

    I am sorry for the people harassing Coyote fans. I do not condone that and I apologize on behalf of them. I wish we could all be happy and have our teams in an ideal world..

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  9. Dear Winnipeg, My feelings were hurt by your passion for hockey. You have bad fans because of this, but I wont say that because I'm a better person than you.

    The above says about the same and was much shorter.

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  10. I don't agree with the bulk of this blog.

    Our passion is what makes the possibility of an NHL team back to Winnipeg a reality. Hockey is everything to Canadians, and being from a smallish city like Winnipeg, the Jets was our identity to the outside world.

    If the Coyotes leave you'll have the Cardinals, Diamond backs, or the Suns to cheer for and will make it easier to forget. Many of us obsessed fans lost the Jets when we were kids. Some of the greatest moments for us was cheering our NHL team along with our Dads, Brothers, Grandfathers, friends, etc. Those memories are cherished ones and ones we would like our children to experience.

    Most of us understand why the Jets left, and put it behind us. But saying that, Winnipeg will always be a hockey town with passionate fans. Unfortunatly the internet has given some of us passionate fans the platform to speak our voice directly to the few Coyote fans. Or in your words "harass" them. But it's tough to watch our beloved frachise be treated like an after thought.

    Welcome to the world of sports. Since it doesn't mean much to you and you will easily get over it if the team leaves, why don't you put your time to something more productive.

    I don't expect you to post this, since your bias to the Coyotes is exceptable and our bias to Winnipeg getting a hockey team is not.

    Have a nice day The Yotesdiva.

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  11. We are diehard hockey fans in Winnipeg, that's why we started the return of the jets campaign.

    Giving up sounds lame!

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  12. Dear Heather,
    It is called loyalty and really it is something that you may not understand. There is a huge difference in fans. This applies to college, NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.. There are certain cities in North America (yes Winnipeg is in North America) that have more passion and loyalty to the sport and to their team. The reason you are being defensive about this is because you know Phoenix lacks passion in numbers for hockey. This would be the case if Winnipeg had an NBA team here. It would not work.
    We were born and raised with hockey and dreaming of a Stanley Cup (by the way that's the NHL trophy)
    Maybe the same applies for the actual "born and raised" people in Phoenix. Not sure what that is, Basketball? Football? Dune buggy racing?
    Anyway, it is a privilege to have a team, not a right. so I will agree with you there. The difference is. If you lost your team you would not care would only wish or hope to get a team back. We actually have passion and are trying to get our team back.
    NHL won't make Winnipeg a better City to live but since it would be the only major pro team in the City, it certainly would make it more fun in the winter.
    Please keep these uneducated comments about our city to yourself. Also, if you did your research, most NHL players think it is crazy to have a team in Phoenix due to lack of support because there is NO passion. You may get to keep your team for a few years but it won't be long before they are gone. Not one year making money since 1996 is unacceptable!
    JP
    Pegger5

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  13. See? Thanks for proving my point people.

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  14. ROFLMAO

    Lots of passion, poured out in all the wrong places in the wrong way.

    How does bashing, trashing and denigrating other fans and other cities help get a team back?

    I didn't grow up with hockey but my kids sure immersed me in the sport. I would probably leave Phoenix for another city with a team if the Yotes leave. I am old and ready to retire so I have that option.

    I don't go around to various cites, crabbin at Jets fans, I do wish I could have a few conversations with some of them though. I would love to see pics and hear stories of how they were treated by the organization and who were their favorite players and any tales of fan events where special things happened for them or their kids.

    Unfortunately that will probably never happen because I am a Coyotes fan and will be forever blamed for 'stealing' the Jets.

    Such a waste of what could be a fantastic combined community, who could share a soul deep love of the world's greatest sport.

    I really hope the NHL places a few more teams back in Canada, things have changed and every city deserves a second chance. No city deserves to lose their team and I am thankful the NHL is more cognisant of that these days.

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  15. I (hope) I speak for the Majority of Coyotes fans when I say this:

    1) We don't hate Winnipeg, its Fans OR The Jets. We hate a SELECT portion of your fans who feel that it is their 'right' to have the Jets back. You guys of all fans should know how it feels to have your team taken from you. But it was not us who took them. They were LOST by Winnipeg - there was not the corporate support. There was Not a modern arena built for them (at that stage). And they could not afford to keep the team. These are not idle thoughts. These are facts.

    2) We still honor the Jets. I'm planning on buying a Jets Jersey eventually - I'm planning on having a Doan Jets and a Doan Coyotes Jersey framed in my Hockey room. JJ I'm sorry you got Snide comments about your Jets hat, I for one would raise a beer to you. Some fans don't have the appreciation of the history of this Organization - but the Majority of us do. We still have your retired numbers in Jets colors. And I for one would be in favor of the third jersey becoming Jets themed (or maybe along the lines of Calgary, worn a couple of times a season for special games). This is because the Jets are part of the history of the Coyotes. That being said - If a team is to come back to Winnipeg (by Expansion, relocation, or whatever) I hope it is as the Jets. I really do.

    3) We WANT Winnipeg to have a team. We do. Just not ours. I don't get all these snide comments about our attendance - 3 consecutive sell outs after months of growing attendance (including against the Oilers...), the playoff games almost sold out - Hockey CAN and DOES work in the Desert, Just look at Dallas. They put out a winning team for a few years and have great crowds - noone is talking about moving them are they? Remember at one point Chicago had shrinking crowds, was bleeding money etc too.

    I'm sorry you Jets fans feel your team was 'stolen' They were not. They were lost.

    We (as Coyotes fans) are just sick of being told we don't deserve a team. By the same logic, neither does Winnipeg. They were losing money when they were moved.

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  16. Please stop the bickering, it's so ......Canadian. Please move on as suggested, it would be the sensible and mature thing to do. Using the term "our" team and that PHX "doesn't deserve them" is, for the lack of a better word, retarded. Retarded in the sense that one's emotional growth has been stunted by choice. Choice not to give up the fight that can't be won. With two Canadain teams already suckin' pipe in their respective conferences, does the NHL need another dud up north?

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