[A] Hockey People Need Not Apply

[klemmer]

To a point Klem. But I go a step further and think it most definitely could have been more than that. Call me a conspiracy believer, but I think it had more to it than just Stan being a rookie and was the plan the minute the debacle of Tallon was complete. Even had Tallon still been a "Sr. Advisor" I have a hard time believing Wilson makes that move.

I'm not so sure on that. The Sr. Advisor's input was no longer valued and/or wanted.

 

[R K]

I'm not so sure on that. The Sr. Advisor's input was no longer valued and/or wanted.

My point was he still being here. It was easy when he was no longer here. Wanted or not.

 

[Pez68]

As long as fans put their butts in his seats, pay for his concessions, and pay to park in his lots, what does it matter? Until his pocket book is effected and John McDonough is fired, the Chicago Blackhawks will show more of the same. At this point, the Blackhawks are in a free fall back into the same pit they were revived from and there is no safety net to catch them. The product on the ice no longer matters as much as the money that lines the owners pockets and maybe it never did. If it did matter, Wirtz would have let his hockey people run the show instead of turning it over to the marketing expert and accountant to cut corners.

Most important part of this article is right there in the last paragraph. Keep filling the seats, all the while bitching and moaning about the people running the show. Just like Bears' fans that ***** about ownership and management, yet, continue to spend money on the product for decades on end. Cubs fans? Just the same. Chicago fans are their own worst enemies. I never understood handing over large sums of money to an ownership and management group that obviously doesn't give a flying **** about the fans or winning. Blows my mind.

 

[R K]

Guess you don't remember the days both the Bears and Cubs had hard times selling seats.



For the Cubs last year comes to mind. For the Bears there were blackouts and games not sold out. Little easier when you only play 8 home games in a season.

 

[PatrickShart]

Its very similar to how Yzerman bolted the sinking ship in DET to go Tampa



And how Scotty bolted to come to Chicago



And Maclean bolting for greener pastures in OTT

 

[BiscuitintheBasket]

Not supporting one side or the other...but wasn't it widely speculated that Dudley was going to get the GM gig in ATL by the end of his first season there? Could have sworn there was a ton of chatter about that, and mostly because he was buds with the team president. Oddly enough, he also helped the Hawks get out of cap hell, too bad Ladd was part of the deal.

 

[Pez68]

Guess you don't remember the days both the Bears and Cubs had hard times selling seats.



For the Cubs last year comes to mind. For the Bears there were blackouts and games not sold out. Little easier when you only play 8 home games in a season.

The Cubs averaged over 37,000 a game last season..... Fifth in the majors... That's a hard time selling tickets? The Bears have had a season ticket waiting list for how many years, now?

 

[puckjim]

The Cubs averaged over 37,000 a game last season..... Fifth in the majors... That's a hard time selling tickets? The Bears have had a season ticket waiting list for how many years, now?

The Cubs were hurt by the decreased value in the secondary market. I believe they invented the concept of teams scalping their own tickets. The brainchild of a certain glory-hole employee that now sits atop a throne on West Madison, I believe.



The Bears have sold out every game since 1984, I believe. RK and I are just old fucks that remember the days of home blackouts. Usually it was the Tampa game. Maybe the Lions game, too.

 

[supraman]

Ton hit the nail on the head. The players have no passion. They just go to work, do their jobs and go home. They just punch the clock.



I dont get why Chicago ownership seems so fucking inept. Bears and Hawks mainly cubs....lost cause

 

[R K]

The Cubs were hurt by the decreased value in the secondary market. I believe they invented the concept of teams scalping their own tickets. The brainchild of a certain glory-hole employee that now sits atop a throne on West Madison, I believe.



The Bears have sold out every game since 1984, I believe. RK and I are just old fucks that remember the days of home blackouts. Usually it was the Tampa game. Maybe the Lions game, too.

I remember going to a packer game with Vince Evans as QB where the Bears scored like 68-72 points and almost NO ONE at the game. I also rememember many Cubs game as a kid when Wrigley looked like Comisky!! And the Cubs were CRUSHED last year in the secondary market, many games where the building was full of empty seats even the bleachers. What they sell as far as ST''s is far different than whats actually there Pez, but I'm sure you know that.

 

[R K]

The Cubs averaged over 37,000 a game last season..... Fifth in the majors... That's a hard time selling tickets? The Bears have had a season ticket waiting list for how many years, now?

Don't watch many of them games do you. I know it's hard to realize anything pez in that big head of yours but, yes, they had a hard time putting buts in seats....



http://www.ticketnew...-sales061123759



"The Cubs are drawing an average of 2,548 fewer fans per game at Wrigley Field, the seventh-biggest decline in baseball, and are on pace to barely exceed 2.9 million fans, which would be the first time they've welcomed fewer than 3 million fans since 2003 and their lowest figure since 2002."



"Even the Cubs' sellouts are not as robust as they would initially appear. The Cubs drew the biggest three-game crowd in the history of Wrigley Field (126,283), when the New York Yankees made a rare interleague visit to Chicago last weekend, but Max Waisvisz, the owner of Chicago-based Gold Coast Tickets, said the seats were filled with people who paid far less than list price for their tickets.

"They were selling tickets at $15 apiece — their own premium ticket division was selling tickets at half of face value," Waisvisz told TicketNews"

 

[R K]

Ton hit the nail on the head. The players have no passion. They just go to work, do their jobs and go home. They just punch the clock.



I dont get why Chicago ownership seems so fucking inept. Bears and Hawks mainly cubs....lost cause

I think Cubs NEW Ownership has finally figured it out. They have an EXCELLENT management team in place, one that's a proven winner. It's going to take a couple of years to dig out of incompetence though. We'll see...

 

[Larmer83]

I've posted this in the past, seems this thread is as good as any to post again. I understand that some will just dismiss it which= head buried in sand.



http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/17428-Campbells-Cuts-Expect-Bowman-to-get-more-power-in-Chicago.html



In fact, there are those who maintain Bowman’s hiring is simply greasing the skids for him to take a much more prominent role in the organization, with either GM Dale Tallon or coach Denis Savard, or possibly both, being replaced before long.



It is well-known new Hawks president John McDonough is not a big fan of either Tallon or Savard and that McDonough was the driving force behind the signings of unrestricted free agents Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell.



In fact, industry insiders maintain Tallon didn’t want to sign either player July 1, but McDonough insisted the Hawks sign them as both hockey and marketing moves.



The Atlanta Thrashers had the inside track on Campbell in the first hours of free agency. He was reportedly about to accept Atlanta’s offer when McDonough apparently ordered Tallon to improve the Chicago’s offer to Campbell, who ended up signing with the Blackhawks for $56.8 million over eight years.



It was much the same with Huet. The night before free agency opened, the Capitals thought they had a deal done with Huet for $15 million over three seasons. But again, apparently at McDonough’s insistence, the Hawks sweetened their offer, adding another year and $565,000 per season.

.

.

.

With McDonough at the helm, the Blackhawks are being driven as much by marketing forces these days as they are by hockey decisions, so hiring a recognizable and successful figure such as Bowman makes a lot of sense.

 

[R K]

I think Dales plan was always to get Campbell so that part I totally dismiss. Huet on the other hand, hook, line and sinker. I could be wrong but think Dales plan all along was to have Niemi come back up Khabi. Instead Huet threw a huge wrench into the plans. The talk about Campbell was LONG before Bill passed away. That I know for fact.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

I've posted this in the past, seems this thread is as good as any to post again. I understand that some will just dismiss it which= head buried in sand.



http://www.thehockey...in-Chicago.html



In fact, there are those who maintain Bowman’s hiring is simply greasing the skids for him to take a much more prominent role in the organization, with either GM Dale Tallon or coach Denis Savard, or possibly both, being replaced before long.



It is well-known new Hawks president John McDonough is not a big fan of either Tallon or Savard and that McDonough was the driving force behind the signings of unrestricted free agents Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell.



In fact, industry insiders maintain Tallon didn’t want to sign either player July 1, but McDonough insisted the Hawks sign them as both hockey and marketing moves.



The Atlanta Thrashers had the inside track on Campbell in the first hours of free agency. He was reportedly about to accept Atlanta’s offer when McDonough apparently ordered Tallon to improve the Chicago’s offer to Campbell, who ended up signing with the Blackhawks for $56.8 million over eight years.



It was much the same with Huet. The night before free agency opened, the Capitals thought they had a deal done with Huet for $15 million over three seasons. But again, apparently at McDonough’s insistence, the Hawks sweetened their offer, adding another year and $565,000 per season.

.

.

.

With McDonough at the helm, the Blackhawks are being driven as much by marketing forces these days as they are by hockey decisions, so hiring a recognizable and successful figure such as Bowman makes a lot of sense.

smh



Although he is good at what he does on the marketing side... still hurt this organization more than one could imagine.

 

[Pez68]

Don't watch many of them games do you. I know it's hard to realize anything pez in that big head of yours but, yes, they had a hard time putting buts in seats....



http://www.ticketnew...-sales061123759



"The Cubs are drawing an average of 2,548 fewer fans per game at Wrigley Field, the seventh-biggest decline in baseball, and are on pace to barely exceed 2.9 million fans, which would be the first time they've welcomed fewer than 3 million fans since 2003 and their lowest figure since 2002."



"Even the Cubs' sellouts are not as robust as they would initially appear. The Cubs drew the biggest three-game crowd in the history of Wrigley Field (126,283), when the New York Yankees made a rare interleague visit to Chicago last weekend, but Max Waisvisz, the owner of Chicago-based Gold Coast Tickets, said the seats were filled with people who paid far less than list price for their tickets.

"They were selling tickets at $15 apiece — their own premium ticket division was selling tickets at half of face value," Waisvisz told TicketNews"

The tickets are sold either way. I got the attendance numbers right from mlb.com. You can check any number of sites and get the same exact number. 37,259 average attendance per game. Over 3 million for the season. I could give a **** how big a decrease they had not even halfway through last season. At season's end, that decrease STILL had them sitting at 5th in the majors as far as perecentage of seats filled. Should I feel bad for a team that scalps their own tickets and then has a hard time selling them at the inflated prices?The Cubs haven't averaged less than 30,000 per since 1997. How many of those fifteen seasons were the Cubs actually competitive?

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

The tickets are sold either way. I got the attendance numbers right from mlb.com. You can check any number of sites and get the same exact number. 37,259 average attendance per game. Over 3 million for the season. I could give a **** how big a decrease they had not even halfway through last season. At season's end, that decrease STILL had them sitting at 5th in the majors as far as perecentage of seats filled. Should I feel bad for a team that scalps their own tickets and then has a hard time selling them at the inflated prices?The Cubs haven't averaged less than 30,000 per since 1997. How many of those fifteen seasons were the Cubs actually competitive?

6 or 7

 

[R K]

8

Two of them with a chance at a Championship. One of them 5 games away.



Again Pez the article I posted says it all. Just dismiss it.



As for you giving a ****, go back to posting random shit about Kaner then laughing at his Tshirt.

 

[Pez68]

6 or 7

And they probably finished dead last in their division that many times too. But people kept coming to games. The Bears are the same story over the last.....25 years. Lots of sellouts and top of the attendance figures for them, with dick to show for it on the field.

 

[Pez68]

Two of them with a chance at a Championship. One of them 5 games away.



Again Pez the article I posted says it all. Just dismiss it.



As for you giving a ****, go back to posting random shit about Kaner then laughing at his Tshirt.

The article you posted says shit, as it was in June of 2011.

Waisvisz believes the Cubs' woes at the gate go well beyond their poor performance on the field. The Cubs opened the season with the third-most expensive average ticket price, according to the Team Marketing Report, but a combination of their lackluster play and the still-stagnant economy has made it difficult for season ticket holders to sell those tickets and seeing the lovable loser Cubs — who haven't won the World Series since 1908 — at historic Wrigley Field is no longer the hook it was a few years ago.

"The [thought was the] words 'lovable losers' would keep on going, but it has finally caught up," Waisvisz said. "I saw an interview with [new owner] Joe Ricketts saying this is great, when they lose they still sell the ballpark out. And now the fans are all upset about that."

In addition, Waisvisz said the Cubs are alienating their season ticket holders by offering single game tickets at such reduced prices. "You don't give any worth to your season ticket holders," Waisvisz said. "You don't keep the season ticket holders, you won't have people going to your games."

So even with all of those struggles... .they still finished fifth in the MLB in attendance at 90.5%. The argument is that Chicago fans are blindly faithful homers, that throw their hard earned money at teams that suck. They continue to spend money on organizations that have greedy, inept management, that cares more about money than winning. Your counter point to that is... the Cubs were only at 90% capacity last season? For a team that won 71 games? Nice argument.