Get over the work stoppage, already.

reposting something I sent to the Sharks list today, because I felt like it…

So, how can we, as humble,screwed over fans start a popular movement to get that idiot Bettman out of the commissioner’s office, and get someone in there who cares first and foremost about the game.

Sorry, I know you’ll hate hearing this, but I believe he does. That doesn’t mean I necessarily agree with his tactics, but he’s not trying to ruin the game. he’s trying to protect his part of it. Personally, I think the one that has to go is Goodenow (or go first), not Bettman.

but we also need to remember something important:

the NHL *is not a game*. It is a business based on the game of hockey. And Bettman isn’t ruining the game, or trying to protect it, he’s trying to keep the business he’s running from going under. Whether or not he succeeds affects the business, not the game it’s based on (at least, not directly). And every time a league fails, another one tends to pop up in its place, so this is far from the end of the universe.

But when fans look at the NHL as a GAME, they set up a vision that prevents them from seeing what’s really happening here. It’s big business, involving lots of dollars, and many jobs and financial investments are at stake. it’s ANYTHING but a game. And Bettman is doing exactly what he needs to do to protect those investments and jobs. The game, and the fans, are irrelevant to the problem until the problem is solved.

That is, if you think about it, no different than what happens when you have (say) a supermarket strike. You can talk all you want about the impact to the customers, but the customers have little to no influence over the outcome of the strike, nor, arguably, should they.

I’m open to suggestions.

Pitchers and catchers report in a couple of weeks. Find a pee-wee game, or a college game, maybe. watch the superbowl. You’re not going to affect the outcome, and you’ll only frustrate yourself if you try. And honestly, there’s enough at stake (including, perhaps, the existance of the NHL) that fans ought to just back off and let them fight this out. they are the experts in their business, we aren’t. As a fan, does this suck? Sure.

But the BUSINESS of the league has to be dealt with or there will be no league. And this is definitely a business. The stoppage is no game for either side, that’s for sure.

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