Future of the Phoenix Coyotes and my mother battling cancer Part I

Well here it is 4 days left in the saga that is the Phoenix Coyotes.  We all trusted Greg Jameson when he claimed he had a group of investors but he would never name them. We believed we were on the road to a big win when we got the 4 – 2 council vote to approve the deal Mr. Jameson wanted. The lockout ended, season started, but where is our savior? The man who said he would save our Coyotes from the abyss.

We had a birthday party for my mother today. She turned 62 and there were a lot of people with their cameras out. Videotaping and snapshots were clicked off like she was at a press conference. There is uncertainty surrounding Sheila Baker as well. See she has cancer in her brain and lungs. Her family and friends think this could be their last chance to drive past state line or across town to see her. She was so happy. So shocked there was an Elvis impersonator who sang an entire concert to her. Not too many dry eyes in the house. At the end of the day I got home and cried my eyes out. I was so happy for her but so sad for me and my kids. This has been an emotional roller coaster for us. One minute you get bad news then later it is more optimistic. 5 years comes as music to the ears after you heard 2 weeks earlier. Up and down, back and forth. Hope, gloom, optimism, fear, and knots in the stomach. I only tell my readers this because this is exactly what it is to be a Coyotes fan.

In this household the big C is both horrible and wonderful. Cancer is truly a four letter word. It symbolizes anger, fear, sadness, and despair. Shane Doan also wears the C on his sweater and he is a symbol of hope, class, pride. honor, and loyalty. I hope my mother never reads this because she would know how much I am scared of losing her. I wish Greg Jameson would read this because I want him to know although this game of hockey is so small compared to the life of my mom, it is important to me, my family, and all the loyal fans here.

These are the facts. The NHL signed the CBA on January 12th. The season began on January 19th. Why is it taking so longer to get this deal finished? Where is the money? Are we being deceived by some huge conspiracy? So many questions and no answers. If I were an investor and Mr. Jameson was asking me for money I would look at the numbers. Every team in the league has upset fans who didn’t like the lockout one bit. Some blamed players but most blamed the league and it’s owners. Coyotes fans don’t have an owner to get mad at. No excuses. Yet we sit in last place of the Western Conference and worse, last place in attendance. By a lot. Regardless of an 8pm midweek game against Columbus we average 13,499. 78.8% of capacity. No other team is below 90%  really. Next lowest number is Winnipeg at 15,004 fans per game but that is 99.9% of their capacity. Sadly even if we sold out every game we would sit at 25th place. Behind the Islanders who everyone knows is moving. If you were an investor what would you think right about now?