BY KYLE MYERS – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
Breathe a sigh of relief Canadians, the NHL lockout is finally over. It may have taken 113 days and 625 cancelled regular season games, but the NHL and NHLPA finally came to terms on a tentative CBA agreement in the wee hours of January 6th, 2013. So ends the second NHL work stoppage in the past 10 years, and the third since Gary Bettman became NHL Commissioner in 1993.
Many have speculated about the negative impact the 2012 lockout will have on fan attendance for what remains of the NHL regular season, but if the people on my Facebook feed and Twitter timeline are any indication, the NHL should be just fine.
These individuals, who just weeks ago were furiously typing expletive-filled tirades against Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr, are now singing the praises of the league and the negotiators who have brought them back their game.
Can they really be blamed? No, of course they can’t. All the anger directed at both sides of the negotiating process was purely a product of the void felt by fans with no NHL hockey to watch. I fully expected die-hard NHL fans to embrace the league they love the second that hockey was back, and I was not disappointed; after all, NHL fans are without a doubt the most loyal fan base in professional sports.
The unfortunate truth however is that although NHL fans have the most loyalty, our memories are also the shortest. Deep down, all we want is to be able to watch NHL hockey, and as long as that need is satisfied, all is well. This is the reason why the vast majority of posts I have seen on social media post-lockout have been overwhelmingly positive, with nearly no traces of bitterness. Hockey is back, and so the fan base is content.
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What fans must understand however is that this type of attitude, while honourable, is the precise reason why the NHL has had more work stoppages in the past 20 years than any other North American professional league.
Bettman, Fehr, and all of the other executives tasked with negotiating the CBA know how loyal hockey fans are, and they use it to their advantage. After the 2004 lockout in which an entire season was cancelled, overall league attendance and revenue actually increased, meaning that cancelling hockey for an entire year was actually beneficial for the health of the league.
A league is a business, and a business should be accountable to its customers. The failure of a business to consistently provide the highest quality product possible should result in the loss of customers and revenue. The NHL does not work this way. Fans of the NHL are loyal to a fault, which is why work stoppages have no negative effects on attendance or fandom for the sport. Fans love hockey so much that no matter how many times they are disrespected and ignored by millionaires arguing over percentage points, they will be ready with jerseys on their backs when those parties finally decide to be reasonable and come to an agreement.
By leaping right back into the waiting arms of the NHL the moment the lockout ends, fans are sending a very clear message to executives in charge of the league and the players that no matter how long they make the fans wait, they will be back. And while being loyal is an honourable trait, this loyalty is exactly why the NHL has a work stoppage every 10 years or so. Without true accountability to the fan base, the league is free to operate as they see fit, regardless of the wishes of the fans.
The 2012 NHL lockout is over, and fans can rejoice as their beloved game is back. However, considering the lack of repercussions the NHL and NHLPA suffer as a result of these all-too-frequent work stoppages, don’t be surprised if there is another lockout when the new CBA expires.
One can only hope that Gary Bettman won’t be around to negotiate next time.
Kyle Myers is a student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and an aspiring sports journalist. A lifelong hockey fan, in his teenage and young adult years his sports fandom and passion grew to include basketball, baseball, football, and soccer. In his spare time, Kyle tries to make up for his mediocre real-life sports skills by playing FIFA and NHL online. Kyle has been contributing to Sportsnet’s Fan Fuel since 2012. You can also follow Kyle on twitter @KyleWMyers
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