Grown adults laugh at teenagers and other adults that find themselves torn into two teams for a book and movies series. Odds are I don’t even have to name it and you know what is is just by me saying Team Edward or Team Jacob. We laugh, call them obsessed and say they need to get a life; yet we have done the same thing in the hockey world. So now it is your turn: Team Canadian Teams vs Team Sun Belt Expansion.
Everyone has their reasons for why they cheer for their own team: you grew up there, as a child your favorite player was from that team, you like the jersey colors (yes I’ve heard this from a few people).
People say expanding into the sun belt area of the United States is a mistake. Hockey doesn’t belong there. Why not? Because they don’t get snow and ice? Most of people in the north still go to indoor rinks. Hockey isn’t just an outdoor sport anymore. In fact playing it outdoors has become a novelty attraction.
"But Canadian teams are better than the Sun Belt teams"
Are they? Just because of location that makes them better? Didn’t the Oilers finish last in the league this year?
Lets look at it this way… The following are the outcomes of the Stanley Cup finals over the last 20 years:
1990 Edmonton Oilers One Point to Canadian Teams
1991 Pittsburgh Penguins
1992 Pittsburgh Penguins
1993 Montreal Canadiens One Point to Canadian Teams
1994 New York Rangers
1995 New Jersey Devils
1996 Colorado Avalanche
1997 Detroit Red Wings
1998 Detroit Red Wings
1999 Dallas Stars One Point Sun Belt
2000 New Jersey Devils
2001 Colorado Avalanche
2002 Detroit Red Wings
2003 New Jersey Devils
2004 Tampa Bay Lightning One point Sun Belt
2005 lock out
2006 Carolina Hurricanes One point Sun Belt
2007 Anaheim Ducks (Some call this a Sun Belt team some don’t so half a point)
2008 Detroit Red Wings
2009 Pittsburgh Penguins
2010 Chicago Blackhawks
That is 2 points to the Canadian Teams and 3.5 to teams in the Sun Belt. In the last 20 years the Sun Belt teams have almost double the Stanley Cups as the Canadian teams. So why is it we say that hockey doesn’t belong there?
The passion of the people?
Passion doesn’t come over night. The Montreal Canadiens have been around for 100 years and you want to compare their fan loyalty to towns like Phoenix who didn’t get their team until 1996. Yes I realize that the Winnipeg Jets established the organization in 1972 but Phoenix did not receive the team until 1996.
The NHL is a business and part of the business world is to grow your consumer base. It takes time for the loyalty to develop; Phoenix Coyotes need to stabilize as a business. People are not drawn to a company that is in constant conflict within itself. Sports are used to escape from reality, to put aside the stresses of daily life (especially in hard economic times) to find something to believe in, to feel apart of just like some with Twilight (there I said it).