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Al Cimaglia-Chicago Black Hawks-"The Real Problem" |
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There have been a some interesting blogs of late concerning hockey and
media exposure in the U.S. I have been thinking about writing a blog
concerning the no home TV game mandate that is synonymous with the Chicago
Blackhawk’s. In case there are a few that don’t know, this is it in a nutshell. Bill Wirtz has said for decades that putting the home games on TV would be an insult to the season ticket holders who pay for the right to watch the Hawks. Some may think that makes sense. Most Chicago fans hate him for that decision. The fact is now there are hardly any season ticket holders left to be embarrassed. The real issue is how did we get to this point. The real point of concern is far beyond Blackhawk TV.
Play along with me here for a few minutes...If I sat down and had a chat with Mr. Wirtz in (you fill in the year 1965, 75, 85, 95) and told him you are not growing your fan base, you are going to get less and less attendance over time. You will not be able to pay enough for talent because not enough fans will come to watch. Even though more and more kids play youth hockey in the US your fan base will shrink steadily over the years. One day you will have to pay to get games broadcasted on radio.
Your team will get hardly any press coverage. All of this largely due to the fact that you are not promoting your team properly due to your no home TV game Mandate. His response would most likely be something like this...I am the owner of the Hawks and I feel I need to protect my season ticket holders. I also feel my decision concerning TV is best for our Organization.
Now if my conversation with Mr. Wirtz was in 1995, I would have included
one other person. The person who is supposed to make sure that all oars are
in the water, and that everyone is pulling in the same direction. Sitting
next to Bill would have been Gary Bettman the Commissioner. Play along
just a bit longer....Mr. Bettman in the next 10 years I believe the
following will happen. Hockey in The U.S. will be expanded. You will add
additional teams to areas that never had hockey, but hockey will continue
to decline in overall popularity in the U.S. The gap between Basketball,
the third major sport and hockey will widen dramatically. You will have
major market teams struggling to fill seats. Your owners will be
comprised of those who will continue to do as they see fit because they
have been in the sport long before you finished elementary school. Also
you will have some newer mega millionaires owners that do what they see
fit just because that has made them successful in other businesses. ESPN,
who you will no longer be on, because of poor ratings, will show thumb
wrestling on week nights in January rather than a Hawks -Rangers game. And
his response to the above statements would be................................................I have no freak’n clue what he would say. That’s the PROBLEM. does he even think there is a
Problem?
Whenever I hear him talk, I get the impression that everything is great couldn’t be better. You would think every franchise is selling out the majority of their games, that the NHL has a great TV contract in place and all the owners are on the same page.
Figure head leadership for the most part. Should any NHL owner in 2006 be allowed not to have all his home games on TV,... NO. Should franchises be allowed to be transferred as if it they were hot potatoes. No. On again off again.........hello Pittsburgh. Should the popularity of this great sport be allowed to slip to the point of women billiards as far as TV ratings go, no please no. Should this great sport be on a TV station that mostly shows fly fishing, pheasant hunting and reruns of “Survivor”.
Let me answer once more NO. Let me add this one in, if the Chicago Bears
fired their GM and replaced him with the guy who sold programs at the main
gate, I think the Commissioners office would be on the phone. Then
Tagliabue would be on a jet to Chicago much faster than most could shoot a pheasant. How’s things working out on the Island so far?
In major sports owners don’t control policy individually, there is a script they all HAVE to follow. Look no further than the most impressive example the NFL. Revenue sharing, a great TV contract, a huge an ever increasing fan base. When a franchise comes for sale there is a stampede of buyers. Owning a football franchise is an annuity, only a question of how much you will make, not “if”. The Bears have won one Championship in over 40 years. They play in a stadium that until recently was better suited for chariot races, than pro football, and they don’t own that facility. There estimated value is around $950,000,000. Enough said. There will be no significant growth in popularity, or franchise value for the NHL, until everyone follows a well designed plan. The same plan.
The NHL mission statement could be: All owners will provide an on ice product that will be of the highest quality to insure continued growth in their fan base. Also no owner will act in a manner that will impeded the overall growth of the NHL.
That last line Gary is where you will have to be tough as nails, that will be very difficult in the beginning. Stop the continued back slapping and happy face company lines. You need to act now, everyone pulling in the same direction. Be strong and move this great sport forward.
Chicago don’t blame Mr. Wirtz, he thinks he is doing the right thing, even though he is wrong. He has thought the same way for over 40 years, the real problem is that
he still has the right to make that decision. Oh, and by the way this
lack of leadership helps everything stay fragmented. JR, nobody anywhere
cares about Phoenix, as most could care less that I can’t watch a home game on
TV. Every owner does what they think is best, for themselves, not the
sport nor the League. This has to stop before we reach a point of no return, and are never a major sport in the US.
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