The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
People make hollow threats all the time. A father warns he will turn the car around if his rambunctious kids don't settle down in the back seat. An angry teenager vows to never again speak to her oppressive parents after being grounded for breaking curfew. An aging band insists that after their seventeenth farewell tour, they really have had enough rock 'n' roll and won't be back. Over the past ten months, we've seen yet another example of this phenomenon: hockey buffs who have announced they've given up on the National Hockey League. It's a disturbing declaration to NHL owners, who throughout the lockout have been nervously discussing ways to lure back disgruntled fans. They've talked about lower ticket prices, rule changes to spark more excitement, and methods to enrich TV broadcasts. A number of players have no doubt been on the edge of their seats as well. No fans means the scary prospect of entering a world where jobs that pay $25,000 per hour are a tad difficult to come by. But neither side need worry. Just like the father behind the wheel, the pouty teenager and the dinosaur musicians, hockey fans are to be taken with a grain of salt. Sure, there might be a few casual spectators in Nashville or Carolina who have spent the past year discovering they prefer monster truck rallies and playing the banjo to hockey. There might even be a few diehards who hang onto their grudge and switch allegiances to a league where the almighty dollar seems less consequential. But most true fans, particularly Canadians, are a passionate bunch. They've grown up with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. They've forever dreamed of sipping from the Stanley Cup. They have an addiction to big league hockey for which no amount of counselling can help. They might claim they will never again waste their time with such a fan-unfriendly league. They might maintain that they did just fine, thank you, without the NHL. But just wait until CBC cranks up that familiar Saturday night music this October. Wait until the lights turn on at Toronto's Air Canada Centre and Edmonton's Rexall Place. Just as surely as Don Cherry tops the Fashion Police's most-wanted list, the fans will be there.
