Alright, I’m probably beating a dead horse…well, at least I think it’s dead. The World Juniors is finally over in WNY. No more talk about how this is the greatest tournament since Russell Crowe beat down a bunch of Roman gladiators 2,000 years ago or when Steve Austin won King of The Ring in 1997. No more talk about how Kassian and Foligno are going to change the Sabres. It’s over, and I really hope everyone enjoyed it.
Now, let me be the first of many, to review the whole tourney. Look, I’m probably the worst person to write something up because I only watched one game, during which I attended with my Uncle on Sunday. If you don’t want to read on because of that, be my guest. I’m probably going to be in the minority when it comes to my opinion about it. I just didn’t care. I know some fans and media types will chalk this up to another one of those “Buffalo can thrust their chest out” moments, like when Miller was the darling of the Olympics or when the NCAA tourney (A real tourney may I add) came to Buffalo. However, I’d be more inclined to give it a mild golf clap.
Anyways, the game that I went to with my uncle was Finland vs Russia. Now, the game was entertaining, as the Fins broke out to a 3-1 lead. Then in the third period, the Russians tied it and won it in OT. Yes, it was a fun hockey game, but while watching it, I noticed one thing, the arena was a third full. Now, I couldn’t help but think back to a week earlier, when the rage on WGR was that the World Juniors Tournament was a top 10 sporting event across the world.
Really?
Last I checked, Russia had a really nice hockey following, yet, at this game, there must have been about 200 Russian fans. So, don’t give me crap about this tourney being along the same lines as the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals, when it comes to world domination. As for the fans who really cared…actually, the only ones that cared, the Canadians came through.
Hate to break the news, Buffalonians, but if god moved our city to the Carolinas, this tourney would have flopped, and probably wouldn’t have come at all. That’s the main reason they had the tourney here, because Canada will always invade our city whenever a hockey event is involved with their country. They are the main reason that you have to pay 250 dollars for 100 level seats against the crappy, ass Leafs. And from what I read, tickets were awfully expensive for this tourney. Hmmm…you think WJ’s adopted the same ticket philiosphy as the Sabres do with other Canadian teams? Um, yeah. Because of Canada, I’m sure they will do this hockey tournament a couple more times in Buffalo. So, mission accomplished, BuffaloCanada.
Look, I’m sure you think I’m being a jerk about it. Yes, I never gave this tournament any sort of shot when it came to impressing me. Yes, I wasn’t open minded about it. I still say, “How am I suppose to get excited about a bunch of kids that I’ve never heard of in a tourney that I’ve never given to sh!ts about before?” Frankly, I think some hockey fans in Buffalo felt the same way. Now, before you tell me that this was the 2nd most attended WJ’s in history, please look at exhibit A: Canada. Now, exhibit B: Canada. You get the point?
Now, if there’s one thing that ruffled my feathers about this tournament, it’s the way the Sabres, WGR and WJ’s tried selling this thing to us. Memo to those parties: Stop treating the fans as if we are a bunch of rubes. Yes, it may have worked when T.O. came to Buffalo and people rallied around it. Yes, it worked when Tom Golisano said he was committed to winning multiple Cups. Yes, we believed Bass Pro was coming. However, when all these once in a lifetime opportunities don’t exactly work out, fans start to smarten up.
I mean, how many times can we be told that “This is the greatest hockey tournament ever! That this is going to put us on the map!” How many times did we hear Rick Jeanneret and Kevin Sylvester tell us that this is going to be incredible? As I’ve said many times before, the Sabres are no stranger to over-hyping anything when it comes to their product. From the kids in Portland to how Lindy Ruff is the greatest coach ever, they just beat you down with that sort of rhetoric.
(On a sidenote, maybe the attendence would have been better in 06/07, when hockey was thee thing to do in Buffalo. I’m not saying it’s not anymore, but you’d be hard pressed to give me reasons why the hockey scene is better now than it was then. Just look at the stands for Sabres games.)
Now, here’s what they should have done when it came to selling this tourney to Buffalo. To me, it should have been about unfinished business. It should have been about how the Canadians beat Ryan Miller 10 months ago in the gold medal game. Yes, it’s apple and oranges when you compare the two, but at the end of the day, it’s still USA vs Canada. Also, how about telling us who these American kids are?
What makes the Olympics such compelling television, isn’t just about the event, but at the way the NBC producers introduce individuals to their audience. It can be the poor kid who lived in obscurity, who rescued the neighbor’s cat from a burning house, whatever. You have to introduce these kids. It’s not about saying “Hey it’s the Olympics and you have to watch,” it’s about the kids. I mean, do you really care about the medal count or if the flying tomato kid does his thing?
Besides Kassian and Foligno, no one talked about any of these kids. Hell, why not have Ryan Miller or Patrick Kane do a promo or interview with some of these kids about the importance of international hockey. Would it have hurt if they did some cross-promotion with American players that we have actually heard of? I can already picture a TV spot with Ovechkin talking to the best Russian player about beating Canada and Crosby doing the same. All I’m saying is that you can only go so far about telling me that this is a once in a lifetime tournament.
Hell, the majority of the fans didn’t even know or care about this tourney until it was announced that it was coming. I mean, why didn’t the USA Goalie come on WGR or do an interview with the Sabres? You know, for all the crap the hockey bloggers give to TBN, at least they did individual stories about certain players on each team. They covered it the way it should have been sold to us prior to December 26th. It was as if the organizers thought this tourney’s name recognition would sell in WNY. Sorry, but unless it’s the Winter Classic, you can forget it.
This is where the NHL is such a garage league, because they don’t know how to sell individual players. To me, this tourney should have been about that. Would it have worked? I don’t know, but it would have been a hell of a lot better than having The Bulldog tell me that the Canada vs USA game was going to be the greatest hockey game played in Buffalo history! Yes, he really said that and I almost drove my car off the road when I heard it. I guess he must have been riding his motorcycle during The Mayday game and the 3OT game against NJ.
Look, I’m sorry to disagree with some of my twitter followers, who were salivating about this tourney coming to Buffalo. Maybe I don’t love hockey as much as you do. Maybe, because you were told that this was the greatest hockey tournament ever, you felt that it was in your right mind to feel the same. I, however, didn’t feel it. I hope this made money for the city of Buffalo. I hope Tom Golisano can now finally walk away from the Sabres knowing that he milked the entire city for every hockey penny over the last seven years. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way I feel.
Anyways, it was nice knowing the WJ’s and I hope you come back again…really, I do. I just won’t be watching unless I get free tickets or my sister doesn’t rent the Movie Machete during the gold medal game. Opps, was I suppose to watch Canada choke up the gold medal?
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