I’m proud to say that aside from a couple of sarcastic film reviews and the odd disappointed gig write-up, I’ve never lifted a pen in anger. Or even hit a keyboard (work-related frustration doesn’t count). I hate confrontation. I’m a happy, clappy, ‘why can’t we all just be friends’ hippy throwback who basically just can’t be bothered to get involved in the petty online sniping that always follows an overly honest report or opinion. I’d much rather cloak things in humour or engage in a detailed consideration of facial hair.
I have to break not only my silence of late on this here blog, but also the above unwritten rule I once set for myself, to respond to Nottingham Panthers fan Allan Decker’s blog post on the TCW Fanzine (25/10/2011). In it he raises a number of valid points about the finances of top league hockey in the UK at the moment, interspersed with some fairly controversial and I would wager intentionally inflammatory digs at other teams.
I was disappointed with the piece for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact it would have been a well written blog had it not been so needlessly antagonistic, the points Mr Decker was making held water and are issues the Elite League itself will need to consider and deal with in the future as they, and other leagues, have had to in the past. However, instead of making some practical suggestions, perhaps inviting a thoughtful response from his readers, or even – heaven forbid – adopting some kind of spirited ‘we’re all in this together’ mentality, he instead chose to vilify other teams at every opportunity in order to make his point. Productive? Er, that’s a negative.
So what has happened to the hockey community that I so recently came to know and love? It clearly experienced a congeniality bypass when it got to Mr Decker. Coming from the standpoint of a brand new hockey fan I feel I've had a unique insight that many long-term fans may appreciate and those who have read this blog before will hopefully have been amused by, and I can safely say that along with learning myriad rules, names of players, team history and generally fully ensconcing myself in the hockey lifestyle and experience last season, I above all came to discover one key thing: that hockey fans stick together. The fragility of the infrastructure of a sport such as ice hockey in a country that couldn’t give a teeny tiny hoot about its existence as a whole is tangible. Ask Vipers fans, but also Hull, Edinburgh, Fife. And those are just teams who have been hit by hardship of one form of another in the last couple of seasons. Looking back through the recent history of the sport you can see how volatile the situation is, and how unless we stick together – at EVERY level, from the fans in the stands to the guys in the boardrooms – it cannot be sustainable in the long-term.
‘Insufferable whingers’ as we may be (and yes, I include myself in this group – I AM a Viper – whether I have a team or not), there was no doubting that Vipers fans had friends in every rink last season, and this was no more apparent than when we were in dire need of support and fans from every other team chipped in to help, coming to Whitley Bay despite its less apparent charms, buying raffle tickets, even buying tickets to our games when they weren’t even able to attend. And I'd like think we would have done the same for another club in trouble. Is this the way things are supposed to be? No, absolutely not. But past bad business decisions or no, the management worked their fingers to the bone in the face of adversity to ensure they could survive the season, for the sake of the fans, the team and the league. And our friends around the UK did what they could to help us. It was no more apparent than at play-off weekend, where the loud, proud Vipers contingent were greeted in every pub and at every game with a real sense of empathy for the situation we found ourselves in. And the Vipers were there to support the sport, regardless of the hand we had been dealt.
What sort of fan in this so-called community brushes aside such effort, goodwill, friendship, and indeed history to complain about another team not having the money to compete with their team? Who will benefit, ultimately, from teams like the Vipers, Capitals, or whoever, folding? It’s impossible to sustain a league of any sensible size using the Panthers as a business model. Yes it’s working for them – but at what cost? Everyone has their opinions, but personally I would love for each team to be as strong, and competitive, as they possibly can. We didn’t ask Panthers to ‘play down to our level’ as Mr Decker twice opines in his missive – as I recall, we played over and above THEIR level on a couple of occasions last season. And us, with our resources, beating them, with theirs, made them the sweetest wins of all. Having supported an underdog football team for most of my life, I wouldn’t dream of taking that feeling away – it’s priceless. And isn’t that what sport is all about?
I have to break not only my silence of late on this here blog, but also the above unwritten rule I once set for myself, to respond to Nottingham Panthers fan Allan Decker’s blog post on the TCW Fanzine (25/10/2011). In it he raises a number of valid points about the finances of top league hockey in the UK at the moment, interspersed with some fairly controversial and I would wager intentionally inflammatory digs at other teams.
I was disappointed with the piece for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact it would have been a well written blog had it not been so needlessly antagonistic, the points Mr Decker was making held water and are issues the Elite League itself will need to consider and deal with in the future as they, and other leagues, have had to in the past. However, instead of making some practical suggestions, perhaps inviting a thoughtful response from his readers, or even – heaven forbid – adopting some kind of spirited ‘we’re all in this together’ mentality, he instead chose to vilify other teams at every opportunity in order to make his point. Productive? Er, that’s a negative.
So what has happened to the hockey community that I so recently came to know and love? It clearly experienced a congeniality bypass when it got to Mr Decker. Coming from the standpoint of a brand new hockey fan I feel I've had a unique insight that many long-term fans may appreciate and those who have read this blog before will hopefully have been amused by, and I can safely say that along with learning myriad rules, names of players, team history and generally fully ensconcing myself in the hockey lifestyle and experience last season, I above all came to discover one key thing: that hockey fans stick together. The fragility of the infrastructure of a sport such as ice hockey in a country that couldn’t give a teeny tiny hoot about its existence as a whole is tangible. Ask Vipers fans, but also Hull, Edinburgh, Fife. And those are just teams who have been hit by hardship of one form of another in the last couple of seasons. Looking back through the recent history of the sport you can see how volatile the situation is, and how unless we stick together – at EVERY level, from the fans in the stands to the guys in the boardrooms – it cannot be sustainable in the long-term.
‘Insufferable whingers’ as we may be (and yes, I include myself in this group – I AM a Viper – whether I have a team or not), there was no doubting that Vipers fans had friends in every rink last season, and this was no more apparent than when we were in dire need of support and fans from every other team chipped in to help, coming to Whitley Bay despite its less apparent charms, buying raffle tickets, even buying tickets to our games when they weren’t even able to attend. And I'd like think we would have done the same for another club in trouble. Is this the way things are supposed to be? No, absolutely not. But past bad business decisions or no, the management worked their fingers to the bone in the face of adversity to ensure they could survive the season, for the sake of the fans, the team and the league. And our friends around the UK did what they could to help us. It was no more apparent than at play-off weekend, where the loud, proud Vipers contingent were greeted in every pub and at every game with a real sense of empathy for the situation we found ourselves in. And the Vipers were there to support the sport, regardless of the hand we had been dealt.
What sort of fan in this so-called community brushes aside such effort, goodwill, friendship, and indeed history to complain about another team not having the money to compete with their team? Who will benefit, ultimately, from teams like the Vipers, Capitals, or whoever, folding? It’s impossible to sustain a league of any sensible size using the Panthers as a business model. Yes it’s working for them – but at what cost? Everyone has their opinions, but personally I would love for each team to be as strong, and competitive, as they possibly can. We didn’t ask Panthers to ‘play down to our level’ as Mr Decker twice opines in his missive – as I recall, we played over and above THEIR level on a couple of occasions last season. And us, with our resources, beating them, with theirs, made them the sweetest wins of all. Having supported an underdog football team for most of my life, I wouldn’t dream of taking that feeling away – it’s priceless. And isn’t that what sport is all about?
So what exactly is Mr Decker complaining about? That ‘pauper clubs’ are giving their poor club a ‘raw deal’ by having the bare-faced cheek not to be quite as good as they are, despite a massive lack of resource? Have Panthers fans even sat down and contemplated what their hockey experience would be like if purely the teams THEY deem to be appropriate were in the league? Who else, in reality, can sustain that level of financial outlay? Belfast, Sheffield, perhaps Coventry? A league of 3, maybe 4 teams? It’s an insane notion and I have no doubt that if they really considered it, Panthers fans would not want this. It’s not workable, and it would be unlikely to be attractive to import players let alone help to expand or improve the profile of our sport. It’s this sort of blinkered attitude that will get hockey fans exactly nowhere in their pursuit of a sustainable future for the sport and may ultimately cause the implosion of ice hockey at a professional level in the UK. And Mr Decker has the audacity to call US selfish.
So instead of complaining, what can we do? Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not professing to have the answers, I’m not even sure what all of the questions are. But one thing I know for certain is that sniping at each other is not a positive step. What makes ice hockey such a difficult sport to sustain at a high level in this country is also in part what makes it great: the feeling that we are all in it together, because it’s a minority sport. That desire to tell others about our great sport, to drag along a total newbie like myself and have them become as passionate about hockey as you are, cannot be an isolated feeling that only smaller team’s supporters experience? Because person by person, we can take small steps in the right direction. Fixing the problem as whole we may not be able to do – that would require more fundamental changes at a higher level and I confess I know little about that side of things, despite having gleaned some interesting insights during the latter half of last season. But the idea that individuals cannot make a difference has to be faulty logic in this sport – there are so few of us to begin with, in comparison with the really successful sports in our country, if we are all pulling in the same direction, surely it has to at least improve the situation?
My team is no longer in existence and yet myself, and plenty of my fellow supporters, have already been and will be journeying around the country to watch the sport we love this season and beyond, putting a few pounds in the pockets of YOUR club, but more importantly, into OUR sport. In the same way that two enforcers settle their differences on the ice, the differences we have supporting our own teams can be vehemently expressed during games, but surely can be put aside afterwards to work out how to move the sport forward in this country. And I’m speaking as a fan of Elite League Ice Hockey here, by the way. Not the Vipers. Us insufferable whingers don’t exist anymore, remember? I feel this way regardless of my allegiances. I want to support hockey. So I'm issuing an apology right now to the current Elite League clubs - sorry, but you're stuck with us. We'll whinge our way around the UK, and hopefully put the world to rights as we go. And maybe, just maybe, we might find a solution along the way. Together!
Time for this idealist optimist to shut her gob. See, I didn’t even say anything rude. Apparently it’s possible to make your point, however vague it might be, without insulting others. How's that for not playing down to your opponent's level.
