Coyotes Improving; Fans Indifferent
January 3, 2009 by Big Tony
Perhaps it is Wayne Gretzky working his magic or maybe they are finally molding into a decent team by the Phoenix Coyotes are in 6th position in the Western Conference and in prime position to make a push toward the playoffs. Since finishing sixth in the 2001-2002 season the Phoenix Coyotes have had very little success and have frankly been down-right abysmal. But, at least for now, the Coyotes are a viable franchise that are unlikely to make any noise in the playoffs if they do qualify but some progress is better than no progress after all. For the most part the Coyotes’ roster consists of mediocre players at best with a goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov who is putting up pretty good numbers with a sub-three GAA and a respectable .911 save percentage. In the midst of the mediocrity there is a shining light who has been more or less unnoticed in the death pit of a sports market that is the great Phoenix (more on that later) and that is right-winger Shane Doan. Doan leads the team with 38 points (18 G, 20 A) with the next closets teammate at 28 points. He also leads all forwards on the team with an average ice time of 20:38 and is 4th behind only defensemen who traditionally have the highest average ice time. He is a work horse who can not only score goals but set up teammates regularly as he leads the team in both goals and assists. Overall there is not much going for this franchise (and hasn’t been since they moved from Winnipeg in the ‘90s) but for all the fans in that area who can get a chance to see Doan play they are witnessing something special—at least for this year.
Unfortunately for the city of Phoenix and the NHL the Coyotes are reportedly expected to lose 30 million dollars this year and are struggling to draw attention in a city that is not just a weak hockey market but a terrible sports market. The Arizona Cardinals are to host a home playoff game Saturday for the first time in Arizona and for the first time since the franchise was in Chicago in 1947. And yet despite that the Cardinals needed two extension by the NFL to sell-out the game so there would not be a local blackout in affect. The area does not even support America’s most popular sport when its team is in the playoffs let alone a sport that continues to struggle in some areas like hockey. The 30 million dollar loss may have something to do with the team’s futility over the years but not entirely. Sports fans in that region seem to be few and far between and if they are not going to support a team in Phoenix there are plenty of other cities who would. The Phoenix hockey experiment has basically failed and there is no reason to reward that city with a hockey team (or any other major sports team for that matter) anymore.
Good post, Big Tony. I have family in Phoenix and when visiting for holidays, had been to a few games back when they were playing in the same arena as the Suns….w/ about a quarter of the seating being partially blocked viewing. In fact, I and my wife were able to move down to the lower bowl during the 2nd period of one game with no problem due to the number of empty seats…even back then (late 90s).
I often wonder if its viable for a ’snowbird’ community to be expected to support a hockey franchise. On the surface, it would seem perfect – retirees from the cold north (hockey country) moving to the warm south (easier on the joints, you know!) and w/ retirement money on hand to invest in season tickets. But the reality might be that the nearby Indian Casinos prob. get more of that retirement cash than do the local sports franchises….with the exception of the Suns (NBA). For some reason, basketball is king there.
And just look at the brand new stadium for NFL Cardinals and the new JOBing.com Arena – someone’s pumping money into the bet that at some point, the youth and families will attend sporting events there. Perhaps marketing is the next big push for the ‘other’ sports there. The population continues to grow, many big colleges around…why aren’t the fans supporting their teams? It’s a mystery and perhaps better marketing is the answer. I dunno. But if you can’t get interest in supporting the Great One as your local coach, well….just plain OUCH.
Great comments about Doan, too. He is a class-act in all facets…on and off the ice and he, w/ the bevy of young talent who are getting better w/ each game, are worth the price of admission to the top bowl…w/ sneaks down to the lower whenever one can manage!
Thanks for the post. Yeah I think they had the migration of people from all over to the phoenix area but instead with access to out-of-market team games the loyalty toward phoenix team (save for basketball as you said). But if things don’t get better there some consideration to putting another team in Canada or in the U.S. in a city like Milwaukee might be a viable option but we’ll see. Thanks again Forzenpill, we’ll see you again soon.