I’m tired. Not just tired; no, I’m apathetic. Even as I write this I had to will myself to start pressing keys on my keyboard. I am just so sick and tired of being sick and tired over this NHL lockout. The only motivation for writing this article was more of an ‘I told you so’ angle.
Back when the lockout started I chronicled my thoughts and ever growing despair about this lockout for weeks. I made it until Halloween. That’s when I gave up hope. I believe it came right after the NHL canceled the Winter Classic: the biggest revenue producing single event the NHL has. But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
Well now it seems I’m not the only one who has given up hope. The NHLPA itself may have just done the same. The latest rumors are that the NHLPA is going to disband itself, abandoning talks and any hope of rationalizing with the league. Players would then have the opportunity- individually- to bring their own litigation against the NHL. The league itself went forward with a motion to bring lockout negotiations into the New York City Court System. None of these things, simply put, are good. But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
I want to laugh at anyone who thinks we are going to have a season, albeit a shortened one. Hell, I want to laugh at anyone that even cares anymore. But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
I want to rant and rave on and on about Bettman, Fehr and Daly. About the sheer incompetence these men and their ‘mediators’ possess. I want to shake all three of them, demanding to know where they get off keeping us puckheads away from our favorite sports release. I want to smack each and every NHL owner that hasn’t been involved in negotiations because of their arrogance. I want to right hook every player that hasn’t been involved in negotiations because they are playing overseas. I want to slap shot a puck at Alexander Ovechkin’s face because… well, just because. But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
My Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup jersey is hanging, collecting dust, in the back of my closet. No need to bring it out- my dad and I won’t be going to a single game this season, which has been a tradition since before the last lockout. All I’m wondering now is what the NHL doesn’t understand about its ability, or rather lack thereof, to withstand its second lockout within the course of a decade? But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
The NHL isn’t the NFL or the NBA. It’s not even NASCAR. The NFL boasts $9 billion in total revenue per year. NASCAR- $3.3 billion. The NHL projected revenue they are about to lose on this season? $2.7 billion. Nothing to snuff at, to be sure, but it’s still less than NASCAR. The NHL is acting like the biggest diva of them all, when in reality they aren’t even close. In keeping up this attitude they are going to lose fans. A lot of them. But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
I want to encourage fans to stay the course. I want them to create an uproar- give Bettman and the NHLPA no choice but to figure this thing out fast. I still can’t comprehend why the rowdiest fans in professional sports have been silent these past few months, standing idly by watching as the season slips out from between their gloved fingertips. I want to tell them to care. I want everyone to care.
But then I remember- I just don’t care that much.
Girl With a Sports Problem 