As lockout enters second month, fans increasingly desperate; smoking their own scabs
By Gary Lim
VANCOUVER — Roger’s Arena stands empty. Where there should be crowds of cheering fans clad in blue and green, instead the stands lie bare, save for the occasional showing of Dora the Explorer on Ice.
As the NHL lockout reached its seventh week, both the owners and players are feeling the pain financially, as a compromise has yet to reached. Still, it doesn’t take a genius to realize the true victims of the lockout are the fans.
But it seems that some are only crying crocodile tears. While the NHL is still in talks, other hockey leagues across the country are fast filling the void left by the hockey giant. In many parts of Canada the FHL is reluctantly growing in popularity as fans search for their puck fix. The CHL, RHL and AHL reported record attendance of their games, while smaller leagues such as the GHL, HHL and MHL are struggling to find venues large enough to hold their prospective “fans.”
“The lows to which the NHL fan base has delved to are truly staggering,” said Dr. Hedrick Woodrow, a sports scientist and behavioral psychologist. “We saw this back in the lockout of ’04–’05. Hockey is like a drug in these people who follow it game-by-game. It builds a dependence in them, and when they’re deprived of it, they may turn to unconventional and often extremely dull ways to cope, like watching the CIBC Wood Gundy Lumberjacks play the Amherst Ramblers in historic Arthur J. Leblanc arena.”
However, this push toward alternate hockey leagues by the fan base is being praised by local bars and restaurants as a “life-saver”. Leslie Duke, owner and proprietor of Duke’s Tavern on Burrard and Inlet, talked about the influx of new customers.
“I guess it’s pretty good, people are eating out more to catch these games. So we might not be getting NHL levels of business
On the mention of the NHL, several bar patrons suddenly shot up, like a lonely dog catching its reflection in a mirror, before realizing what was happening and gradually returning to their stupor.
“Plus, rowdiness is down.”
[pullquote]On the mention of the NHL, several bar patrons suddenly shot up, like a lonely dog catching its reflection in a mirror, before realizing what was happening and gradually returning to their stupor. [/pullquote]
The Peak also caught up with Doug Tyson, a 65-year-old retired mill worker watching a game at Duke’s.
“Oh yeah, it’s not bad, for sure, I mean, it’s not like the hockey we’re used to. You don’t get anything like the heart-pounding action of Game seven of the Penguins playing the ‘Nucks. But the Quad City Mallards are looking like they’re going to take Ray Miron President’s Cup, especially after taking out the Sundogs in the fir — oh god, please bring back real hockey. Please I’ll do anything. I’ll cheer for the Leafs. GO LEAFS! GO BRAD BURKE! Please — just, ju-ju, bring back hockey.”
Tyson then composed himself and went back to watching the VHS recording of the 1984 British Hockey League championship game between the Fife Flyers and the Murrayfield Racers.
