It’s been an interesting few weeks, hasn’t it?
I won’t say I’m any smarter than I was a month ago, but I’ve learned something. You, the fans have a voice. It may not feel like it most of the time, but you do have some clout from time to time.
Remember the Calgary Flames players “boycotting” their own charity golf tournament? Whether or not a team-wide boycott was indeed in place or not, fans of the team went crazy. The story caught fire and in less than 24 hours, the group of players announced that whoever was not going to attend NHLPA meetings in New York would in fact take part in the golf event. Would they have teed it up if the fans hadn’t caused such a stir? There’s no way to tell, but from where I sit the overwhelming negative reaction from the public certainly played a part.
The NHL has locked out it’s players. Everyone knew it was coming, but once it became a reality the venom among fans really started to escalate. What did we see in the days that followed? Players going on their Twitter accounts and pleading to the fans to understand their vantage point. The PA released a video where the likes of Jonathan Toews and Mike Smith tried to help fans really understand that they weren’t the bad guys. Why bother? It certainly wasn’t to try and sway Gary Bettman. It was for the fans. For whatever reason, the PA felt it was necessary to try and win the public relations war and get you on their side.
Replacement officials in the NFL almost made the internet explode after the debacle in Seattle Monday night with the Seahawks beating the Green Bay Packers. The sporting world went crazy. Members of the Packers spoke out, players from other teams spoke out and fans spoke out in droves. The commissioner’s office received over 70,000 phone calls in the 24 hour period that followed the botched finish. I can’t say for sure that Roger Goodell and the League sprinted to the negotiation table to carve out a deal with the referee’s union to appease the fans, but it was clear by the avalanche of negativity they realized the damage that was being done.
Maybe fans can make a difference.
All too often it seems like sports teams take the paying customer for granted. Pretty cool that every once in a while, when the fans align, they cannot be ignored.