He’s booed when he presents the Cup. He’s booed at the Draft. Dollars to doughnuts he’s booed in his own house. It’s what happens, and it’s basically NHL tradition at this point.
You can criticize the rioters all you want, but criticizing Vancouver for booing Bettman is a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation.
I completely understood that they were booing Bettman, but still thought it was crass, disrespectful, inappropriate, impolite, and all around fucking assholish.
Way to fuck up another team’s enjoyment: assholes.
So if Boston had won in Boston the fans would have booed Bettman? Really?
I doubt it bothered them for even a second. For one, they just won the Stanley Cup. I don’t think anything bothers you in that moment. And I’d be willing to bet the players hate him even more than the fans - after all, he made their union crack and cost a lot of them a year of salary.
So why is Bettman booed everywhere? He always seemed like an ok commish to me.
It’s possible. The Stanley Cup hasn’t been won at home for a few years, and the last three times were in marginal, less savvy markets (Anaheim, Carolina and Tampa). There were scattered boos for him when New Jersey won it at home last time.
At least in the more traditional markets, he’s seen as a conniving bureaucrat who doesn’t actually care about the sport as its played, and favours “growing” the sport to places like Florida, Phoenix and Atlanta where they don’t care about hockey versus places that are dying for teams.
That’s a…diplomatic…way of putting it.
Bettman is pretty universally loathed in Canada. I’m willing to bet that he would have been booed even if Vancouver had won.
I still don’t understand why the loathing would be universal. Surely some fans understand the business side of the game. And players must appreciate that he’s trying to bring money into the game. And aren’t the places that are dying for teams the same places that once had teams that lost money and were forced to move? Perhaps this question warrants it’s own thread, but is the hatred of Bettman rational? Or is he just the whipping boy for any grievance that any fan has with the game?
Heck, Bettman was booed in the sports bar where I watched the game. It had maybe a 60-40 mix of Vancouver to Boston fans, but everybody booed Bettman.
Then we all had a good laugh when the Boston fans got a replica Stanley Cup (not full size, though) and proceeded to take their “victory laps” around the bar, just as the real Boston players were doing on the ice.
So I should enlarge my disdain to all NHL fans?
I don’t understand the loathing either. Expansion into non-traditional markets hasn’t panned out too well for some cities, but others are flourishing.
The latest player lockout in 04-05 has resulted in a collective bargaining agreement that contains a very workable salary cap structure that now makes it once again possible for places like Winnipeg and Quebec City to host viable teams.
The Bettman booing is just a case of ignorance, group-think mentality and poor manners.
The lockout has nothing to do with why the NHL is back in Winnipeg. Just two years after the lockout, the average NHL salary was already higher than before it. And the team salary that Winnipeg will have to pay out this upcoming season will be 2.5 to 3 times (in raw numbers) what it was the year they left.
The biggest reason that the NHL is more viable in smaller Canadian markets now:
1996: 1 USD = 1.37 CAD
2011: 1 USD = 0.98 CAD
Well, that certainly has a lot to do with it too, but small market teams were not going to compete with the New Yorks, the Torontos, the Montreals, etc. under the old “spend as much as you can afford” system. And supporting a losing team year after year after year isn’t much fun. Believe me!
Surely, as judged by the unending streak of dominance by Toronto, the Rangers and Montreal in the decade leading up to the lockout. (Montreal’s a bad example, actually, as they were always middle of the pack spenders). Hell, the year before the lockout, the two teams that made the final were both in the lower third in the league in salaries.
The Jets and Nordiques didn’t leave because they lost fan support (well, Winnipeg’s dropped in their last season when it was clear they were a dead team walking. See: Expos, Montreal). They left because they played in the smallest buildings in the league, didn’t have luxury box revenue, and had to pay their salaries in US$ while earning in C$.
Saying it’s the salary cap that’s bringing back the Jets because now they can compete is crazy when, to compete now, they basically have to spend to the cap, which is several times higher than what they spent on salaries when they left town. It’s actually harder for smaller market teams now, as they’re forced to exert themselves beyond their comfort zone. There are no Florida Marlins in the current NHL.
Hell, the salary floor is over twice what the Jets spent in salaries in their final season.
Can spending more money on players help you compete? Sure, but it’s not even close to a guarantee (see: Flames, Calgary and Devils, New Jersey). Can unending suck make it difficult to support a team? Sure. But the Oilers are currently on a six year sellout streak, despite having one good year in that run. They were a team frequently rumoured to move, don’t forget.
My son and I just got back from the parade in downtown Boston - using the duck boats, as all of our teams do for their own victory parades ;). The kid is still pissed over missing the Celtics’ parade, since he had to work that day, but otherwise his streak is intact.
Only a few of the players were recognizable without their helmets and playoff beards, and most of them had sunglasses over their hangover eyes. But there were still a million of us (not exaggerating) in our black and gold stuff, all just happy to see the Cup and the team that brought it back and to know IT’S OURS, BABY! YEAH! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
The so called “riot” in Vancouver was just a coverup for what really happened!!
So by winning the cup Chara became Godzilla sized?
“Became”?
Godzilla dreams of being Chara sized someday.
