*note 10:22 am: Ty Wishart has signed a contract in Germany with the Schwenningen Wild Wings. Training camp in Tyrol. It could be worse.
Among much controversy, (although not as much as Miley Cyrus Twerking) the Nashville Predators were brave enough to come out in public with a
“Keep The Red Out” promotion as a way to discourage Hawks fans from taking over their building. When I read Jeremy K. Grover’s article on it, I wondered if the Islanders could be served with the same type of promotion.
As a season ticket holder (back in the day), I would cringe at the amount of NY Ranger fans that would fill the Nassau Coliseum on game nights. I would head to the game knowing there would be trouble and I just wouldn’t have a good time. It has come to a point where I just stopped going to those games and would either sell or give away my tickets.
The sea of Red, White & Blue would also make the Islanders owner cringe in his suite. He may be the owner, but he is also a fan. I remember when I first started in the Blog Box, I had a conversation with someone who told me it upset Charles Wang to no end to hear “Let’s Go Rangers” in his own building.
Now, I don’t know if the same fan feeling transcends into the NHL board room where maybe Charles Wang has a few pointed things to say to Mr. Dolan about his team. And I’m pretty sure that Gary Bettman doesn’t have to call the Police to break it up as we have seen so often on the Coliseum concourse. But the team rivalry on the ice is nothing compared to the fan rivalry in the stands.
So could the Islanders FANS benefit from the same type of promotion as the Predators are willing to take on? As tickets go on sale now, should Ranger game tickets only be sold in conjunction with another Islander game? Would it work?
Over the past few days, I’ve posed these questions to various members of the Isles organization. No one was willing to discuss it on record -- or off for that matter. Perhaps no one club wants to comment on the way another franchise does business. That’s probably frowned upon in that same NHL board room. After all, a good portion of NHL marketing is marketing rivalries. Maybe the new business model of the Islanders will have a more Disneyesque feel to it and they’ll pump “It’s A Small World After All” through the concourse.
As a fan, I applaud the Predators for trying to take charge of their arena. I like it.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»