I never knew "sports fan" was a synonym for "homophobe." You learn something new everyday I guess.
Well, if they want to move the team to Canada and keep the name "Coyotes"...
How about you just not post anymore unless you actually have something decent to say?
The NHL is already a big enough joke as it is in the eyes of the American sports media. It doesn't need to add more "Canadian" into the mix if it wants to elevate its status to the elite of the other 3 major sport leagues.
This whole fiasco with the Coyotes has been front page news here for weeks, and quite frankly, it's totally overblown. Who gives a flying f*** what happens to the Coyotes? If they move to Hamilton, that franchise will die a slow, agonizing death. No NHL player will be willing to play in that decaying abyss, nor will a team there aid the NHL in its quest for increased revenues and a high profile status. The place can barely support the Tiger Cats. Good luck supporting an NHL team. Maybe if tickets were 5 bucks a pop.
I'm a hockey fan first and foremost, but a Leafs fan at heart. That's the team I have and always will cheer for. I take pride in that team win or lose. I've seen many negative, sarcastic remarks about the team in this forum, and read it constantly in the daily papers. (Hello Damien Cox) The whole basis of being a sports fan is not to cheer for the BEST team, but the team that instills the most homegrown pride and connection, and which an entire population can embrace. Those wishing for a new team in Southern Ontario because "the Leafs suck", or "I want to cheer for a winning team" are pussies. (Yes I said it) Suck it up and stick with your team. Regain your sense of loyalty and quit being a bandwagon jumper.
Wow, ok, where to start?
First of all, a 7th team Canada will not change whether the league is better than the NBA, MLB or the NFL. We had more Canadian teams 15 years ago and the league was in the same spot. So the number of Canadian teams is irrelevant. It's the 4th best pro league in the US (and actually closer to 7th or 8th if you want to include college sports and ESPN national cheerleading competitions) and that will never ever change. And I'd rather have the league be strong with markets where the game is the focal point of the local sports scene (places like Boston, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Philly, St Louis) than a bunch of floundering teams in the sunbelt, simply for the sake of trying to appear "elite".
Second, why would a team in Hamilton flounder? Are you seriously comparing the Ti-Cats (who are well supported anyways, just in a bad stadium) to a potential NHL team? Also, if you think players won't go to Hamilton, why would they go to Detroit? Last I checked everyone wants to play in Detroit. The status of the city means nothing, and rarely does it play the defining factor in a player choosing to play in that city. And if they don't like Hamilton, well they can live in Oakville. Also, the team would be supported by RIM, one of the richest companies in Canada with tons of corporate ties. They'll easily sell out all of the boxes in Copps and I have no doubt that they'll sell out every game much like every other Canadian team. There's a lot of money in the Golden Horseshoe, and if you mix that with the love for hockey, it can't lose.
Also, a lot of people aren't Leafs fans for various reasons. I'm not one. I grew up in Niagara and have closer roots to Buffalo than Toronto. There's a huge population of people who would support a new team because they will essentially become another local option. It has nothing to do with bandwagons. And whether someone is a going to cheer for Hamilton instead of Toronto it's their own business and dollars, so what does it matter to you who someone cheers for?
Honestly, you sound like an out of touch 55 year old guy who reads the Sun and loves Don Cherry.
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It sounds like this "mediation" could go on for a week or so. I don't know what it will solve because I can't imagine the NHL going into a room with Moyes and Balsillie and coming to a compromise.
