DON'T WORRY HOCKEY FANS. IT'S ALL GOOD.
I realize that by the time you read this, the NHL lockout will be over, your holiday plans will have changed, and the world will no longer exist as we know it. Nevertheless, I want to talk about those who live, eat and breathe sports. You know who you are. You spend your waking hours thinking more about your team than your family, your faith or your job. Your personal dreams always take a backseat to the success of the team. You cannot enjoy anything if your team is losing. Food has no taste, a hug offers no solace, a smile rarely crosses your face and you worry incessantly. But you can't help it. Your favourite team has you by the short and curlies. They always have. No matter how bad they are, you will never give up hope.
OK, I just checked and the NHL lockout is not over. But it likely will be by the middle of January. In fact, once the start of the season was cancelled, back in October, the league and the Players Association decided to dig in for as long as possible, and then come to a last minute agreement, and I mean LAST MINUTE. Because, really, what's the difference? If they weren't going to get in 82 games, pick an arbitrary number. For the NBA it was 66 games. For the NHL, it looks like it might be 50 games. Both sides knew they could posture and blather all they want for a few months, as long as they could get in enough games to make it worthwhile. In fact, the league announced today they have cancelled all games up to January 14th. There's your drop dead date.
The National Hockey League understands that they have a death grip on the Canadian audience. No matter how much the fans are abused and ignored and looked down upon, they'll still embrace hockey when it returns. Nobody will boycott NHL games. Those casual fans and fence-sitters may have found other things to do on Saturday nights, but they'll probably come back. Folks will spend hundreds of dollars on jerseys, caps, jackets, keychains and cufflinks. They'll drink the sponsors beer, watch, listen to and read about the games through franchise-owned media and maybe spend a small fortune on tickets to see the game "live".
But not all Canadians love hockey. In fact, the percentages are shifting. Recent studies show a decline in hockey registration at the grass roots level. Costs are skyrocketing. Fees, equipment, travel costs can add up to many hundreds, even thousands of dollars. When my son told me he didn't want to play hockey anymore, preferring basketball, I didn't shed a tear. We've probably saved 5 grand over the past few years, and that buys you a lot basketballs. More and more kids are going that way, whether it's soccer, basketball, swimming or whatever. Oh sure, people still love their hockey, but that affection comes with a cost. Not having the NHL for 90 some odd days is, for some, like quitting smoking, drinking or drugs. Thinking that the dispute will be resolved eventually gives us hope. All the experts say there WILL be a season. I think the principles on both sides knew all along that we'd have a season, and they're willing to go to the 11th hour to get the best deal possible.
So, here's my projected schedule of upcoming events.
January 4, 2013--A deal is reached (don't ask about particulars, just be happy)
January 5, 2013--Training camps begin
January 15--Let the season begin. 50 games in 77 days.
Thursday April 4--Playoffs begin.
Late June, 2013--Vancouver Canucks win Stanley Cup.
There WILL be an NHL season. It was always part of the plan.
Your welcome.
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