Decius wrote:

After years of smart drafting, shrewd trades and clever free-agent signings, your team is in contention for the Cup.

Alas, it's hard to believe the club might be pricing the cost of moving vans in the near future.

The team is struggling desperately at the gate, ranking 23rd in the league. Despite all the winning, attendance is dwindling -- making it likely the Preds will miss the average marks necessary to qualify for revenue sharing from the league. And that's money they can't do without.

It should be made clear that the issue at hand isn't fan support. The die-hards at the Gaylord Entertainment Complex are as passionate and loyal as you'll find in the league. It's the empty seats that splatter the high-dollar lower bowl, and the rows of unoccupied luxury boxes that are the real problem.

The upper crust of Nashville's business community doesn't care about Hockey. I've heard that the impact of regulations on marketing in the healthcare industry might be part of the problem, but I also have to wonder how many Nashville businesses have sunk insane amount of money into seat licenses for the Titans. My employer used to have a half box in Atlanta for hockey/basketball. You could call up the secretary and get tickets. It was a nice perk working there. Unfortunately, they don't do it anymore...

GODDAMMIT! WRONGWRONGWRONGWRONGWRONG!!!

I can't believe this made SI. This entire piece of shit came from the buffoons at the Tennessean, who can't seem to understand the definition of 'journalism' much less 'truth'. What did the Tennessean have on the front page of the Sports section on Monday? A huge picture of Steve McNair. 1) Steve McNair doesn't play on any team in Tennessee anymore (unfortunately, since he's the bomb); 2) The team that Steve McNair played for in Tennessee is not in the NFL playoffs; and 3) The team that Steve McNair played for in Tennessee isn't playing at ALL at this time. So why the FUCK is Steve McNair splashed all over the front page of the Sports section of the TENNESSEAN when the Predators just swept Columbus in a home-n-home series the night before and managed to leap into second place in the NHL and be the first team this season to have 32 wins? That didn't even make the paper. What did was this crappy piece of shit article insinuating that the Predators will leave Nashville if they can't get attendance up.

Well guess what? Attendance IS up. It's up nearly 7% compared to last year and even higher than the pre-lock out season which saw Nashville make it's first playoff appearance. It may be ranked 23rd in the league in attendance, but that's better than previous years when it was ranked even lower. And having been to games in both Chicago and Detroit recently, there are more empty seats in these Original Six barns than in the GEC. Desperately struggling at the gate? This is just salacious journalism and a poorly calculated PR stunt by the front office to scare people into buying tickets.

The only real issue is not necessarily about corporate support, although that is sorely lacking and the Nashville business community should be ashamed of itself for its fickle support of what this market has to offer. This is about revenues and profits for the team, which needs to make a baseline average of 14,200 this season in order to qualify for the bottom tier of revenue sharing profits that will get distributed. Nashville is currently averaging 14,700, but I'm sure that's just a little too close for comfort for Craig Leipold. Especially if the team has another early exit out of the playoffs, where most teams make their real revenue, charging 3x ticket prices and making bank on merch sales. Given that the Preds are playing FANTASTIC hockey right now, an early exit doesn't seem likely. But anything is possible in the playoffs and I'm sure Leipold knows that.

But back to the sods in the Nashville business community and their idiotic understanding of how pro sports works in a real city. See... the sports team doesn't have the coddle you. You give them money. Period. Whether through advertising, suites, season tickets, or whatever, you give them money and they make your bushwhack excuse for a town worthy of national exposure (ie. jobs and investment). So stop crying about tax breaks, sweetheart deals by ownership and how the players aren't 'available enough' for corporate events because that's all bullshit. This franchise has done MORE than enough to not only bring an entertaining product to this market where none existed before, but it is the reason why anyone even mentions the word "Nashville" without conjuring up a corn cob and a banjo. The Hockey News has had the Predators on its cover SIX TIMES this season. Yes, the Hockey News. Published and printed in Canada. You can thank them later for bringing pro sports of any kind here at all. And by pro sports, I'm talking about one where at least two video cameras are present to capture the event.

The fact that this moronic topic is now on the national stage is a fucking nightmare of epic proportions. It doesn't have a shred of credibility to it and only exists to sell fish wrap. The franchise is performing exceptionally. Compare to hockey 'stalwarts' like Chicago, Montreal, Boston, the NY Islanders, Colorado, and Calgary. None of those teams will make the playoffs and games are hardly attended. Hell, Colorado broke its sell out streak. No one is calling for those franchises to move. Top teams in the NHL right now? All teams that people were calling for 'contraction' before the lock out. But no one is yelling about Buffalo or Anaheim leaving the league. You don't see problems with underperforming teams in other sports. No one is calling for the Detroit Lions, Tamba Bay Buccaneers, or San Francisco 49ers to move. When was the last time you heard of the Lions having a winning record? Yet, they still manage to operate at a profit.

What this team needs is a break in the media coverage dept. What was the big HD lineup on Versus this weekend? The Preds playing Anaheim? Buffalo? No. It was fucking Pittsburgh vs the Flyers. Two toilet teams fighting it out to see who can bore the fans more with the trap and rookie mistakes. Thanks NHL and Versus. Way to highlight the best matchups in the league in an effort to recruit new fans to the "New NHL".

I hope to GOD that Nashville makes it deep deep in the playoffs. Not because I'd give my right arm to see a Stanley Cup championship game here. But because it will be the only thing that will ever legitimize this franchise in the eyes of everyone. It took Cups for both Carolina and Tampa Bay before anyone would take them seriously. Fer cryin out loud... the Panthers are still living off of their appearance in the finals more than 10 years ago! So are the Washington Capitals. Dallas would've already been out of business except for that Cup they 'won' in 1999 (thanks to Brett Hull's foot!).

But here's where I'll get all conspiracy theory... this article was timed perfectly. It will coincide with the All Star break and Nashville is making a strong case for top team in the league before the break. This is HUGE people. FRIGGIN HUGE. And the League and most of Canada HATES that. Hockey 'purists' can't stand the fact that 3 of the last 4 Cups have gone to 'non-traditional' markets and that the last 2 Cups have gone to Southern US teams is grating on the nerves of every Canuckuckle head north of Oshawa, ONT. Whatever they can do to drag down this franchise, they have been doing. From poor press and media coverage (except from people who actually look at y'know... stats!), poor officiating (Scott Nichol overreacts and gets 12 game suspension. Alex Ovechkin slews and spears Danny Briere, no call), shitty scheduling (65% of the games so far have been on the road), and just general disrespect - this team has gotten the SHAFT. If anything, I hope that all the crap that is going to get kicked up from this meme does nothing but inspire this team to go ALL THE WAY just to silence this bullshit once and for all. When it's clutch time boys... think of all of these idiots and put their hot air into the wheelhouse of your shot, because that will be the only thing that will win something even greater than the Cup. Respect.

RE: SI.com - Allan Muir: Winning not enough to save Predators - Monday January 15, 2007