complete with call-ups. one of the Aeros' better players was called up over the last couple of weeks, but sent back down in time for the AHL playoffs. not sure how many of you care about minor league hockey, but the Aeros are really good this year. loads of fun to go to those games.
There isn't a team in the league that averages that... Tampa averages 17K Carolina averages 16K Miami averages 16K I have a difficult time understanding why people think Houston can't match that.
As a Houstonian and former WHA Houston Aeros fan, I'd be ecstatic. Frankly, I'm astounded that we've gone all these years without an NHL team. Yet here we are. As msn or MadMax already mentioned, we have a big market .. ... yes, the aforementioned corporate involvement is a given ..... But I believe ultimately that it's the timing with regard to general economic conditions and the state of the League which determines when we finally get a franchise.
I second that. The Aeros are currently up 2-0 in their first round AHL playoff series. If you get a chance, get out to an Aeros playoff game. The ticket are relatively inexpensive. You can get in the building for 15 bucks.
I am primarily an NHL fan, and when I talk to my friends about the Aeros I feel the need to dispel some misconceptions. The Aeros organization is largely a product of Minnesota Wild personnel decisions from Tom Lynn (or whoever is up there now) on down. They operate fairly independently but they were designed as a farm team for a flagship team, there's no such thing as the Aeros making the jump to the NHL. By definition the Aeros ARE players on NHL contracts who aren't good enough to make their own mother team full time. They are players whose rights are owned by NHL teams signed to 2-way contracts managed by an NHL team. A smaller portion of the AHL are fringe guys that are NHL free agents on 20-40k/year minor league contracts. For those of you familiar with baseball think AAA ball. AAA ballclubs don't jump into the MLB. It doesn't make sense.
"this isn't St. Louis". How is St. Louis all of the sudden the gold standard of sports towns? How'd the Cardinals fare in St. Louis? Or the St. Louis Hawks? *ALL* cities have "bandwagon" fans; *all* cities will see attendance suffer when the teams stink. How on earth is this such a difficult concept for people to grasp?
it's amazing to me. St. Louis was 30th in the NFL in percentage of tickets sold...they were 30th in attendance per game, as well. Somehow they're sports nirvana by reputation, though. Here's the deal...FOR THE MOST PART..with just a few exceptions...if the team isn't winning, people aren't showing up at the rate they do when the team is winning. Obviously that becomes more pronounced the longer a team keeps losing (over more seasons). Really not a difficult concept. The exceptions to those rules are usually teams with gigantic track records of success; old franchises that span generations of support over a century or so; and brand new franchises that carry a novelty effect. Mavs tickets were giveaways in the early to mid-90's. You could pick them up at Taco Bueno if you ordered enough tacos. Today, they're a tough ticket to get. Can you guess why??? I'll give you a hint...it rhymes with "sinning" and starts with a "w."
St. Louis is the gold standard in the minds of some largely because of the Cardinals. Cards fans were packing Busch even when the Cardinals were terrible. I truly believe they are the best fans in baseball. Blues fans aren't bad either. Their ownership situation is unsettled right now, the team is mediocre at best, and they play in an older building, yet they still show up. I'll admit, though, that Rams fans aren't good. I think it's the product of a splintered fan base. Some fans in the city continued to cheer on the Cardinals when they moved to Arizona and many of the team's current fans are way out in LA and continued to follow the team after the move to St. Louis. There are really few examples of a hardcore Rams fan from St. Louis.
I would love to see an NHL team here. I'm tired of always being told that I'll always have the Dallas Stars to cheer on.
Why would anyone want to match that? Those 3 cities, as well as Phoenix, Nashville, Miami, Atlanta & even Dallas to a lesser extent - the southern expansion of the league - all had really high interest levels initially and are all now struggling to draw fans. There's no reason to think Houston would be any different, and I would hope the league has learned from its many mistakes.
Why would I want to match that?? Because I'd have a local NHL team to root for. Really that simple. I'm not managing the gate and I don't get a cut...so I'm fine with 88% of tickets sold if it gets me a team here. The examples I gave: Tampa - sells 88% of their seats Miami - sells 94% of their seats Carolina - sells 88% of their seats. Essentially, Tampa Bay and Carolina sell the same percentage of tickets that the Houston Rockets do. I don't think anyone is suggesting the Rockets should be looking for a new home. Worst in the league at percentage of seats sold?? the NY Islanders. I have a difficult time believing Houston couldn't sell the NHL at a higher clip than Phoenix or Columbus. I think this corporate base could easily match what you see in Tampa and Carolina...and, no, I don't think the NHL is going to contract. If that were going to happen, I believe it already would have happened after the strike/lockout.
The nay side of the argument has done nothing to convince me. I want me some NHL for America's fourth largest city. Think of the new avenue for drivel the Chronicle could take advantage of! There'd be a whole 'nuther sport about which they can show they know almost nothing!
The Chron would love this! Richard Justice could go for years pretending to be an NHL expert before the knowledge level this town got to a point where he'd get called out! By then he could retire!
Should it have? and Could it exist? are two different questions. But if we did, I would want Les to own it over Uncah Dreyton or Boob.
Les controls the building. If Les doesn't want a team here, it won't happen. He'll be the owner or no one will, unless of course he sells the Rockets. This is why I think it won't happen.
True, wasn't the Aeros owner close to a deal and Les nixed it? Edmonton I think. We could have the Houston Oilers again...damnit!
