Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday Five: When Fans Get Attacked

It's time for the F5, where I question some of the week's happenings and then answer them and then huzzah-- filler blog post. And there's been plenty to talk about, or at least on one topic.

1. So....Rick Rypien, huh??

I haven't talked much on it, because....well, everyone more greater than me have already tackled it. In the end, all sides are stupid: Rypien for actually going after the fan; the fan for actually saying something while that close to the guy and then going the legal action route in order to milk the 15 minutes; and the NHL for not doing enough to send a message to the other players for it all. It's a bad situation all the way around and no one looks good.

2. With the smallish suspension, does this really stop any players from going off the hook??

In the end, I don't believe it will happen again for the short-term, but it's not a complete deterrent and it shouldn't be. If they did something heavier, it would show that, yes, the NHL is doing something to send a message; but it would give the fans the wrong message that they are infallible and can do anything and feel safe. The fans need to use their own discretion and actually not think they are innocent in this whole ordeal. While these guys should be professional, the fans should put themselves in their shoes and wonder how they would react in the same situations.

3. There has been sub-10,000 crowds in Columbus, Atlanta, and Phoenix this week. There's some people tired of harping over the situation, are you??

At least that's less for players to attack. But seriously, I'm not done harping because it is news. It's not new, though-- but it's something to talk and something that needs to be talked about. The fans of those teams hate it because they know how they are going to be roasted, but if they don't show up; they deserve to be roasted. While it's not the fans fault wholly, the team should see this and adjust their marketing and sales process accordingly. However, it's the fans who are going to have to buy into what's being sold and if not-- they have no right to bitch and complain if they were to move.

4. Big talk was Rick DiPietro's pink pads for "Hockey Fights Cancer" month, though he didn't use them yet. Can we look forward to see other gear going into the pink form to follow what the NFL does??

We've seen the pink sticks over the years with guys like Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist, and the rest of the TPS Hockey roster; but outside of that, I don't think we'll see much equipment being pink, aside from laces. You'll see a lot of major junior teams and minor league teams do a special jersey night were the teams will wear special pink uniforms on the ice and auction them off. While it'd be something to see the pink gloves and all of that, it's something that doesn't need to be done. You can wear whatever to create the awareness, but if you don't actually donate (either time or money)-- it's meaningless.

5. Apparently, the Edmonton Oilers are going to be the first Canadian team to have cheerleaders. Huh??

Well, are cheerleaders and ice girls different, because the Flames have their own ice girls already. In any case, the ladies and some of the hardcore fans will complain about this not being a part of the game and it needs to be taken out-- but it's not something bad about it. The game should be an event, especially for all the money you're paying for the game. If they aren't distracting the game-play, then I don't see an issue with it. It's a bit better than watching the players stand at the bench during a TV stoppage.

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That's another week......huzzah. If you want to chime in with a topic, email me at Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com for your question/topic/ranting. If you don't and you hate this-- then change it, dummies-- be dialin'!!

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