Millionaires vs Billionaires: Who cares?
Money, or to be more precise $3.3 billion USD. This is the revenue generated by the NHL in the 2011-2012 season.
Those are a lot of reasons to care about something, and an obvious source of conflict if it has to be divided.
The problem is: how to allocate it between the owners and the players: 57:43? 46:54? 50:50? Plenty of numbers have been thrown around through proposals, speculation and pure guesswork. Blame is being bandied back and forth. There are talks of concession and even 'sacrifice'.
Those are a lot of reasons to care about something, and an obvious source of conflict if it has to be divided.
The problem is: how to allocate it between the owners and the players: 57:43? 46:54? 50:50? Plenty of numbers have been thrown around through proposals, speculation and pure guesswork. Blame is being bandied back and forth. There are talks of concession and even 'sacrifice'.
Everyone has a different view on the whole topic. A PR war is being raged as I type, with some brilliant crisis management on display; just look at the players video released as a message to fans:
To quote Puck Daddy, "Get Toews and Backes in front of as many cameras as possible. They sell the PA side of this with believable integrity." And it's true, they make brilliant figures to base a spin campaign on, but that's all it is at this point - one side spinning things to sell an idea, a concept, a belief - their beliefs.
The NHL owners are also releasing their own version of 'A message to our fans'. They aptly finish the message with the line, "We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans." This is what is forgotten throughout all of the spin and all of the PR point scoring - the NHL fans.
The truth of the matter is that point scoring means nothing to a fan. That there have been a total of four strikes or lockouts since 1991 (the year I was born - therefore a great year!) speaks volumes.
So while talk of 'sacrifice' is being used by the NHL and NHLPA, it is just wrong. It is not they who are sacrificing, it is us - the fans!
The average wage across the USA/Canada is $46,500 a year. It is these salaries that are used to fund a career that the fans themselves dream of, so the players may live that dream. The average NHL salary is $2.4 million, while the average NHL franchise is now worth $240 million. Who is sacrificing more? The player, the owner or the fan?
This story has been covered in a variety of ways by a number of reporters and bloggers; many seem to blame the owners or the players and a few incredibly blame the fans for their rabid support of the NHL even after the last lockout. Ulitmately the players and the owners are in this because of the fans - those who dream of playing in the NHL; those who watch every game and witness every moment. There are $3.3 billion reasons why the NHL is locked out, but they are missing the point:
The NHL isn't about the money to the fan - it's about the memories. And because of that, I do not care who 'wins' the labour strike; the NHL or the NHLPA, because as a fan I have already lost.
This is why I post this petition and video - not because I believe in the message that 'Bettman is the sole cause'; but because you do need to get angry; you do need to make some noise and you need to stand up and be heard in any way you can.
The NHL is created FOR the fans, funded BY the fans, aimed AT the fans. Yet is currently locked out DESPITE the fans and I for one have had enough!
So while talk of 'sacrifice' is being used by the NHL and NHLPA, it is just wrong. It is not they who are sacrificing, it is us - the fans!
The average wage across the USA/Canada is $46,500 a year. It is these salaries that are used to fund a career that the fans themselves dream of, so the players may live that dream. The average NHL salary is $2.4 million, while the average NHL franchise is now worth $240 million. Who is sacrificing more? The player, the owner or the fan?
This story has been covered in a variety of ways by a number of reporters and bloggers; many seem to blame the owners or the players and a few incredibly blame the fans for their rabid support of the NHL even after the last lockout. Ulitmately the players and the owners are in this because of the fans - those who dream of playing in the NHL; those who watch every game and witness every moment. There are $3.3 billion reasons why the NHL is locked out, but they are missing the point:
The NHL isn't about the money to the fan - it's about the memories. And because of that, I do not care who 'wins' the labour strike; the NHL or the NHLPA, because as a fan I have already lost.
This is why I post this petition and video - not because I believe in the message that 'Bettman is the sole cause'; but because you do need to get angry; you do need to make some noise and you need to stand up and be heard in any way you can.
The NHL is created FOR the fans, funded BY the fans, aimed AT the fans. Yet is currently locked out DESPITE the fans and I for one have had enough!
