Thread: Any Hockey Fans Out There????

I have seen a little hockey talk on the forum...a lot of it by me in unrelated threads but nothing that really stuck or goes very far. Most (I didn't initiate) is really old.
You would think living in Florida there wouldn't be much in the way of hockey or hockey fans but believe it or not two of the best teams in the NHL are in Florida. It actually makes more sense than you would think. First of all there are an awful lot of snowbirds in Florida. Second if you were a hockey player looking for work and you could play professional hockey and live in Florida you can see how that might be a draw for some players.
Just sayin'.
In fact Amalie Arena where the Tampa Bay Lightning plays has been sold out for over 200 games straight. I don't remember exactly how many. It's not quite as packed at BB&T Center in Sunrise where the Florida Panthers play but they also have a pretty big following.
Personally I'm a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan... Go Bolts! I wear Andrei (The Big Cat) Vasilevskiy's #88 on my shirts and jerseys. That guy will be a hall of famer for sure the way he's playing.The problem is I live 2 hours away from Tampa in Gainesville where the University of Florida is. They have a football team at UF. Maybe some of you have heard of them. The Florida Gators? Personally I'm more interested in watching grass grow or bread rise than I am in watching football. Unfortunately until this past season UF has not had a hockey team. They have no home ice here so they play in Jacksonville. Of course they suck because it's their first year but it's promising. If they get a home rink I could possibly watch college hockey without having to leave town. Another unfortunate thing is that Gator football overshadows just about everything here except for breathing and sometimes I think it overshadows that. Not a lot of hockey fans here so I don't get to talk hockey much locally... Soooo I figured what the hell. I'd put out a feeler, maybe throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Anybody out there dig hockey?

I think it's great that FL has such great hockey fans! Love it, 80F outside and boys are playing hockey inside Amalie Arena.
I love Hockey not only NHL but college as well.

Love the meme! Avs played a hell of a game the other night against the Bolts even if Compher did piss me off bowling over Curtis McElhinney in the goal mouth. But hey, they didn't sign on to square dance.

I like college hockey also. Similar to other sports they are young and unspoiled and they work like crazy to get to the pros. It's not as fast or as brutal but they sure have heart. I also like the minor leagues. You still get to see pro level play but BOY is it a lot cheaper. Only problem is it's still at least 2 hours to the nearest ones and none of those are televised.
I was late on the scene as a hockey fan. I always liked it but it was...somebody else's sport so to speak. Growing up there was no local team. The Bolts were founded in 91 and the Cats in 92. The Great One was fun to watch and I liked seeing it when I could get games but unless you spend the $$$ on sports channels games weren't readily available in my area. By the time the NHL came to FL I was busy working the family business on call and all that entails. Just a couple of years ago my wife took us to a minor league game for my daughters birthday. After that my daughter and I were both hooked. I have caught up quickly on the current stuff but there are a lot of holes in my hockey experiences.

I grew up in Toronto during the era of the original 6 team league and watched many of the greats of hockey history play in Maple Leaf Gardens. I knew every player in the league and could probably have recognized them on the street if they walked by me.

The Gardens are gone - only a facade of the original building remains. The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967. I have a lot of nostalgia for that time when hockey seemed much more personal for me.

The current crop of NHLers is probably faster, stronger and more highly skilled than my heroes of the past, but I feel there are too many teams and player trades move them around too often for me to create an emotional connection.

I do admit that if the Maple Leafs ever appear to be real contenders for the Stanley Cup, I might start watching again. That’s the curse of being a Leaf fan - hope never dies, but frustration and disappointment keep returning.

Yea, also watched it when they had the original 6 teams but gave up after the expansions began. Now the season is too long with too many games to care about. Watched it go from a sport where the players were under paid to now when they are overpaid. For Pete's sake they are not doctors. Then again you could say that about any pro sport today.

Bob

That's one of the things that I regret is that I wasn't able to become a fan as a kid. There's something about being a sports fan as a kid that is just magical. There is a commercial that they play before the Lightning games, a montage of different clips and in one clip there's a little boy that is probably five or six standing in the tunnel with his fist up for a knuckle bump as the players go by. He must be a kid of one of the players or trainers or something to get that kind of access but the look on that kid's face is so intent. You can see how awestruck he is. Those guys must seem larger than life to him.
That was an incredible time in the sport David. Those guys played so hard and they didn't wear helmets, the goalies didn't wear face masks and believe it or not The pucks went faster when they used the old wood sticks. There's only been one death on the ice but it's amazing to me there hasn't been more than that the way those guys played. I don't know what happened with Toronto. They're not out of it yet. They were third in the league and have dropped just outside the wildcard position. They're still number four in the Eastern Conference so they could still bring it back. Strange that it's been so long since they've won the Cup. They've got a lot of good players. You never know they could bring it back around this year.

So tonight is Blake Coleman's first night in a Lightning sweater. Sorry Devils fans. Eager to see how he fits here though. I guess we'll see in about 15 minutes or so. Heard rumblings about Tampa acquiring Jumbo Joe from San Jose. THAT I would love to see. Gotta love Jumbo!

Originally Posted by BobH

Yea, also watched it when they had the original 6 teams but gave up after the expansions began. Now the season is too long with too many games to care about. Watched it go from a sport where the players were under paid to now when they are overpaid. For Pete's sake they are not doctors. Then again you could say that about any pro sport today.

Bob

You know, I agree Bob on the salaries but I also love to watch hockey and without the players there are no games to watch. Also just think of the revenue that is produced by these teams, the broadcasters, the venues, the vendors... Everybody involved is making money hand over fist. Without the players there is none of that. It's true that some of these players sign 8.5 to 10 million dollar dealswhich is just an unfathomable amount of money for a kid playing a game that I would play for free but you also have to remember that one injury can put them out forever.
I think the thing, or one thing at least that I really love about hockey is that the season is so long that you just never know where it's going to go. Everyone preseason thought the Lightning was going to sweep everyone. Then they came out and lost a few games and everyone threw them on the tracks. Now they're the best thing since bottled beer again. So much can change in a season and 82 games is a lot to play.
You're right that it is a lot of money. I just think if I were watching the owners and everyone else make all that money I would want a fair piece of it also. You think the players make a lot of money. The owners are the ones really making the money.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

I just think if I were watching the owners and everyone else make all that money I would want a fair piece of it also. You think the players make a lot of money. The owners are the ones really making the money.

That is true. All made possible by the fans voluntarily paying for it. Too bad other more important things can't get the same kind of voluntary funding and support.

Bob