Dollars and Sense

When this whole Balsille saga began in regards to Phoenix and the relocation to Hamilton, I will admit that I was really pumped. I was of the frame of mind that another team in Toronto would be a goldmine (it would,) that our beloved Leafs would never miss a beat financially and their on-ice product would not suffer (it wouldn’t …if anything it might improve due to having to battle for fans, however unrealistic that is to assume,) and that a ton of die-hard hockey fans would be able to start seeing NHL hockey without traveling 2+ hours to Buffalo, 4+ to Ottawa/Montreal, or paying $130 for scalped nose-bleeds the furthest back the ACC goes.

As things dragged on, I started to think a little bit more about what JB is doing here and the more time I have to consider this, the more I dislike it.

I LOVE the idea that another NHL team would be in the GTA and there is not a single argument with a legitimate foundation behind it that says it wouldn’t work, bottom line. I think that everybody knows that, including the NHL, JB, the media, and us the fans.

That being said, JB is going about things in the worst possible way, and not just for the NHL or the Leafs, but for professional sports in NA as we know them. He will set a horrible precedent that will haunt major league sports for the foreseeable future with a winning verdict that basically would create a loophole for anyone with the money to buy and relocate a sports franchise, effectively bullying the league’s into submission. Things have never been this way for a reason and although change is often a good thing, I doubt that many sports fans outside Hamilton (or even the GTA for arguments sake) would consider this change a good thing.

I haven’t said much that anybody else hasn’t also touched on, so here is my view after long hard consideration as a Leafs fan:
I hate the senators. I hate the habs. I would go see a hockey game in either of their arenas in a heartbeat, and I have done so in both places many times because I am a hockey fan first and a Leafs fan second.
I would think it was cool to have another team in the GTA at first, but can any single one of you honestly tell me that after the “Hamilton Coyotes” knock us from 8th to 9th place the last game of the season, or eliminate us from the playoffs, that you’d even consider cheering for them again? I know that I wouldn’t.. sure I’d go to games all the time but knowing that they will be a main rival of the leafs sooner or later, I figure that I may as well get a head-start on the Hamilton hating as a Leafs fan.

…I will go, and I will enjoy it no matter who they play, but I will sure never cheer for them…. unless they play the habs or sens, because I hated those two teams passionately first. Splitting allegiances is not possible with two teams that would play each other so often – not in my mind anyways!