I've never really followed hockey. It's possible I went to one Golden Eagles game. I know I've been to at least one Grizzlies game (the first iteration of the team in the 90s). I attended a ridiculous Salt Lake Roller Bees game back when roller hockey became a thing in the early-ish 90s and at the same time had a family move in across the street (lived in a cul-de-sac) where the dad maybe played some kind of professional hockey in some fashion. Neighborhood kids got into playing street hockey back when rollerblading was a thing (and the Mighty Ducks movie, etc.) Anyway, that's all long gone. I don't follow hockey but I know who Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are. And that Candace Cameron Burr married a hockey player (though I have no idea who he is other than apparently having the last name Burr). I share some feelings that @fishonjazz has regarding Utah getting more and more congested and there's been an endearing part of having the Jazz be the only professional sports team in the state (I don't care about MLS... WTF cares about soccer? This is America.) However, I do feel that expanding into professional sports is just a reflection of, and downstream from, the growth and not a driver of it, so maybe that's a bit irrelevant.
But with regard to the hockey thing, I think there's a bit of excitement on my side. Maybe it's really just the novelty of it. I'm not a huge hockey fan and I doubt I'm going to get too deep into it, but it allows me to be a casual. I can take the family to a game, not be too invested in the outcome, if they win... cool. If not, oh well... hey, we saw something new! If they make it to the playoffs and can be the typical casual that tunes in at that point, not really understanding any of the nuances and can just be excited if we win. But if we lose, oh well... I'll be over it pretty quickly. I think it gives me an excuse to have another novelty available at my entertainment disposal that requires no investment on my part. There's a part where it went from "hey, I've heard something about Ryan wanting a hockey team" to "hey, there's going to be an NHL team here in 6 months" that was pretty cool and exciting. The other end of this is that I've at least had some conflicting (but mostly positive... like 80% positive) if we were to get an MLB or NFL team (maybe like 75% NFL... baseball is definitely higher for me). The thing about the hockey is that it seems to occupy too many of the same lanes as the NBA. They're both indoor sports, the seasons run concurrently, they're both in the winter and while basketball isn't a "winter" sport, we're known in Utah for winter and snow. Something like baseball or football really changes a dynamic because they're happening at totally different seasons and times of the year (less so football) and being played outside helps to better incorporate the natural surroundings and also show the different side of the state that's overlooked. I don't mean this from a marketing standpoint or trying to draw anyone to the area or rebranding ourselves. What I mean is that, for me, professional sports has been largely limited to following the NBA, and for me that's a winter association. To have something that takes in that summer feel and expands family memory times to a completely different season and setting would be a pretty cool feel.
Building off that, I really did like the field design they put out a year or so ago. However, as I've gone back to look at this rendition (now on a PC), I must have been looking at a small image on my phone because I didn't remember it being so Nintendo 64-ish.
The setting and view would put that as one of the best ball parks in the league. Obviously need to get rid of those three eye-sores and in newer designs they seem to move it over.
I think that would be a great location going in on the other side of the freeway and not further crowding the other part of downtown. It'd be a lot of fun to have all these historic baseball franchises that I grew up hearing about and feeling so distant to be coming in to Salt Lake to play a series. Football would also be interesting but I've just never been a huge football fan. When I was growing up, baseball was really my sport (in terms of playing).
Anyhow, as I reflect on this, I really think the biggest thing that may be drawing me to this is perhaps just how wrong I've been doing it with the NBA and the Jazz. Being a fan is part blessing but largely curse. We often complain about casuals. They're ridiculous, they know so little, and they're incredibly annoying. But I think this whole process has opened my eyes to the glory of being a casual. I believe it's a lot like this scene from The Matrix:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JODWCwycNmg
Maybe there's envy. Being a casual allows you to reap the benefits of being a fan and partaking in the excitement when it's there and being able to tune out all of the other nonsense. Maybe I've been doing it all wrong all this time. Or maybe this just offers a new window to have a sports mistress and engage in no-strings-attached fantasy.
But with regard to the hockey thing, I think there's a bit of excitement on my side. Maybe it's really just the novelty of it. I'm not a huge hockey fan and I doubt I'm going to get too deep into it, but it allows me to be a casual. I can take the family to a game, not be too invested in the outcome, if they win... cool. If not, oh well... hey, we saw something new! If they make it to the playoffs and can be the typical casual that tunes in at that point, not really understanding any of the nuances and can just be excited if we win. But if we lose, oh well... I'll be over it pretty quickly. I think it gives me an excuse to have another novelty available at my entertainment disposal that requires no investment on my part. There's a part where it went from "hey, I've heard something about Ryan wanting a hockey team" to "hey, there's going to be an NHL team here in 6 months" that was pretty cool and exciting. The other end of this is that I've at least had some conflicting (but mostly positive... like 80% positive) if we were to get an MLB or NFL team (maybe like 75% NFL... baseball is definitely higher for me). The thing about the hockey is that it seems to occupy too many of the same lanes as the NBA. They're both indoor sports, the seasons run concurrently, they're both in the winter and while basketball isn't a "winter" sport, we're known in Utah for winter and snow. Something like baseball or football really changes a dynamic because they're happening at totally different seasons and times of the year (less so football) and being played outside helps to better incorporate the natural surroundings and also show the different side of the state that's overlooked. I don't mean this from a marketing standpoint or trying to draw anyone to the area or rebranding ourselves. What I mean is that, for me, professional sports has been largely limited to following the NBA, and for me that's a winter association. To have something that takes in that summer feel and expands family memory times to a completely different season and setting would be a pretty cool feel.
Building off that, I really did like the field design they put out a year or so ago. However, as I've gone back to look at this rendition (now on a PC), I must have been looking at a small image on my phone because I didn't remember it being so Nintendo 64-ish.
The setting and view would put that as one of the best ball parks in the league. Obviously need to get rid of those three eye-sores and in newer designs they seem to move it over.
I think that would be a great location going in on the other side of the freeway and not further crowding the other part of downtown. It'd be a lot of fun to have all these historic baseball franchises that I grew up hearing about and feeling so distant to be coming in to Salt Lake to play a series. Football would also be interesting but I've just never been a huge football fan. When I was growing up, baseball was really my sport (in terms of playing).
Anyhow, as I reflect on this, I really think the biggest thing that may be drawing me to this is perhaps just how wrong I've been doing it with the NBA and the Jazz. Being a fan is part blessing but largely curse. We often complain about casuals. They're ridiculous, they know so little, and they're incredibly annoying. But I think this whole process has opened my eyes to the glory of being a casual. I believe it's a lot like this scene from The Matrix:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JODWCwycNmg
Maybe there's envy. Being a casual allows you to reap the benefits of being a fan and partaking in the excitement when it's there and being able to tune out all of the other nonsense. Maybe I've been doing it all wrong all this time. Or maybe this just offers a new window to have a sports mistress and engage in no-strings-attached fantasy.
