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| Final game = Whalers 2, Lightning 1 |
As I've
discussed previously on this blog, the Hartford Whalers hold a very special place in my heart. Although I grew up as a Devils fan in New Jersey, I went to tons of Whalers games with my grandfather (a longtime season ticket holder), so I certainly felt like a part of the Whalers family. And here's the kicker -- the team's gritty captain, Kevin Dineen, has Crohn's Disease just like me! Plus, he used to emcee the charity golf tournament that my grandparents helped run in Simsbury each year to raise money for the
CCFA. Needless to say, I was devastated when he and the rest of the Whalers left for North Carolina in 1997.
I wasn't alone in my heartbreak. After living in Hartford and West Hartford for the last four years, I have found that people are still obsessed with The Whale around here. Whenever my
Brass Bonanza ringtone goes off, I'll notice a knowing smile from someone around me. Whenever I wear my Dineen jersey or any of my various t-shirts and hoodies featuring one of the
best logos ever, I inevitably get high-fives and a "Let's Go Whale!" cheer from passersby. Since I'm used to my spoiled peers (a.k.a. Yankees, Giants, Devils, and Nets fans), it is incredibly inspiring to see such passion from such a small market, especially about a now-defunct team that won only 1 NHL division title in 27 years!
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| Sean Burke with a glove save and a beauty. |
Anyway, as a member of the Hartford Whalers Booster Club, I have become familiar with Howard Baldwin. He's the guy who was awarded a WHA franchise in Boston, called his team the New England Whalers, and then moved them to Hartford in the 1970's. The team was eventually sold to
Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos -- who is the
Haman of Hartford -- who cowardly moved the team to Raleigh in 1997. Well, Baldwin has made quite a bit of money in his career, and now he wants to restore his baby to greatness. Despite the common belief that Gary Bettman will never let a franchise relocate to Hartford, Baldwin is doing everything he can to make Central Connecticut an irresistible hockey market. His strategy, it appears, is to pump up Whalers spirit (and hockey spirit in general) so that when a Sun Belt team inevitably fails (Coyotes? Panthers? Thrashers? Islanders even?) league officials won't be able to ignore Hartford.
And you know what? It's working. The plan is taking baby steps, but it's working. Baldwin started by renaming the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack (the NY Rangers' minor league team) the "Connecticut Whalers." Then he held a Whalers reunion golf tournament in Farmington, and a charity dinner the next night in downtown Hartford. Finally...the pinnacle. The
2010 Whalers Fan Fest was held on Saturday, August 14, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
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| Pucky the Whale, in person and on a Ron Francis jersey. |
Over 4700 people attended. About two dozen Whaler greats showed up, including Gordie Howe (who's in the NHL Hall of Fame), Ron Francis (ditto), and team captain Kevin Dineen. Chuck Kaiton, the radio voice of the Whale for 18 years, was also there. Amidst such star power, fans waited for up to 4 hours to get autographs. Kids played games, met players from the new Hartford Colonials of the UFL, and posed for photos with Colonial cheerleaders. Even Pucky The Whale came back to life!
Oh yeah, tons of merchandise was for sale. How much? Here's something that will stun you.
Whaler merchandise is among the best selling gear in the NHL. Despite playing in a small market, sandwiched between Bruins and Rangers territory, sales of Whalers items "rank in the top five nationally" according to a Mitchell & Ness representative. You've also seen the Whale Tail logo on such celebrities as
Megan Fox and
Adam Sandler.
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| Already advertising Whalers Hockey Fest 2011. |
But what's the bottom line here? The real point of all this is to
force the NHL to pay attention. The
NHL will be watching and we need to give them something powerful. Fortunately, there has been a ton of media coverage, including the
New York Times,
Yahoo Sports,
ESPN.com, and even little old
Bristol Press. The in-person turnout has also been huge, which helps show Gary Bettman that Hartford loves hockey enough to support a new team. Leaving aside the nagging problem that we'd need to build a new arena, having nearly 5000 people show up at a hockey rally for a
nonexistent team at 10:00 a.m. on a gorgeous Saturday morning in August is a very encouraging sign.
Finally, for all you fellow Whalers devotees out there, there is going to be a Whalers Hockey Fest in February 2011, featuring 10 outdoor hockey games at Rentschler Field, including a Whalers vs. Bruins alumni game, UConn men's hockey, various high school games, and a
Hockey Legends vs. Mystery, Alaska "Hollywood Team" (since Baldwin produced the movie). Until then,
all Hail the Whale!
Posts
I'll root for the Whalers to return!
ReplyDeleteHere's my question: Charles Wang is BLEEDING money with the Islanders. Why doesn't he just move them across Long Island Sound? Are there really more hockey fans going to Nassau Coliseum? I doubt it.
Thoughts Jay and Ari?
Andrew, it's a great question, and one that a lot of people around Hartford are asking.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of hearing the ridiculous argument that Hartford can't support a team because it's located "too close to the Rangers and Bruins markets." Nassau Coliseum is only 29 miles from MSG and only 39 miles from the Rock in Newark. By contrast, Hartford is 102 miles from Boston and 124 miles from NYC.
BTW, Hartford is the 44th largest metropolitan area in the USA with 1.18 million people. Plenty of hockey fans among them...
It should also be mentioned that the Islanders are 2nd-to-last in attendance (http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance) and they need a new arena. There is a hungrier hockey market not far away in Hartford that also needs a new arena. That market just sent 5000 fans at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning in AUGUST to a freaking rally....imagine what they'd do if given an actual team?!?
Tell me why this doesn't make sense. If Islanders fans really wanted to stick with their team, they can just take the ferry to Bridgeport and drive 45 minutes north.
Ohhh I just got the logo - it IS the best!
ReplyDeleteTotally. The negative white space between the whale tail and the "W" forms the "H" for Hartford. It's subtle but once you see it, that's all you see!
ReplyDeleteAnother well-known (and similarly effective) logo that uses negative space is the forward arrow created between the "E" and "x" in FedEx.
More from the blogosphere:
ReplyDelete"For Many, Hartford Whalers Represent the Final days of a Better NHL" http://www.puckupdate.com/2010/08/17/for-many-hartford-whalers-represent-the-final-days-of-a-better-nhl/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+puckupdate+%28PuckUpdate%29
"Whale Of a Time For The Hartford Faithful at Quirky Celebration" http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Whale-of-a-time-for-the-Hartford-faithful-at-qui?urn=nhl-262542
"New England Hockey Journal: Estimated 5000 Attend Whalers Reunion and Fan Festival" http://www.hockeyjournal.com/news/2010/08/17_estimated.php
I was in Rhode Island this weekend and there was a sports memorabilia store that sold Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Bruins...and you guessed it, Whalers merchandise - I went into the store three times and walked past it another 3 or 4 times. Each time there were groups of customers hovering around the Whalers stuff.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Connecticut my whole life but Whaler fans never really crept down into southwestern Connecticut. After living in Hartford for four years I've come to see how much people love the Whale. This past weekend in Rhode Island showed me that Whaler pride isn't just restricted to Hartford - it extends all the way to Newport, RI.
Although I've fought with Jay about whether or not I think Hartford can support an NHL team the more I look around and see Whalers fans at Mets games and Yankees games, and walking around the northeast wearing their Whaler pride, the more I think Hartford actually has a shot.
However, the issue still remains - buying a t-shirt and building a brand new arena in the middle of downtown Hartford are two very different things. I don't know if the amount of merchandise sold will convince Connecticut law makers to build a brand new arena.
What I do know is that a professional sports team in downtown Hartford would not only help the struggling downtown businesses immensely, it would also lift the spirits of an entire state.
Go Whale!
Go Whale is right! I just wanted to share one more article, and this one might top them all. Truly outstanding work, from Houston of all places. Here we go:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/08/game_time_whaler_fan_fest_-_oi.php
Here's one money quote about former Whaler Brendan Shanahan. And let me be the first to say it: Mr. Pendergast is absolutely, 100% right about Shanny. The man was a true dick, through and through.
To clarify, two things -- one, Shanahan spent one season in Hartford (1995-96) before bellyaching his way out of town and effectively landing the death blow for the franchise by trashing the city on his way out the door. If he didn't kill hockey in Hartford, Shanahan dealt it the blunt force trauma to put it on life support before Karmanos pulled the plug. Secondly, Shanahan is 6-foot-3, 225 pounds; Perugini is 5-foot-8, and can still squeeze between fence bars to sneak into minor league baseball games.
So with that said, Shanahan-Perugini I occurred at a bar outside Wrigley, where John walked up to Shanahan, got in his face and drunkenly slurred "You killed hockey in Hartford, you son of a bitch!" Were it not for the intervention of one Doug Gilmour (who my buddies and I now call "Gandhi on skates"), Shanahan would probably be using Perugini's head as his hood ornament. Instead, Shanahan had to be escorted from the bar before John's dismemberment could commence.
About seven years later, Shanahan was at the United Center doing studio work for Canadian television on the Stanley Cup Finals. Perugini decided to go in for a rematch, sidled his way up to the roped off broadcast area and started dropping catcalls on Shanahan (presumably several involving derogatory female names). Fortunately, Shanahan chose the high road this time and just ignored Perugini, which is not always the easiest thing to do.
But if the NHL team was going to move the Whalers there, why haven't they already? They own the Coyotoes, every Sunbelt team except for Dallas could probably be moved and teams in Columbus and Nashville are being hurt by the economy.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there's more to it than what we already know.
Andrew -- I think it comes down to one main thing. The main problem is the arena. The XL Center (nee Hartford Civic Center) was built in 1975 so it's old and undersized for a modern pro team. In fact, there are only 3 older arenas in the NHL: the Nassau Coliseum, MSG, and Rexall Place (Edmonton).
ReplyDeleteIf we had a brand-new arena, we might already have a time. That's what makes certain other cities (i.e. Kansas City with its Sprint Center) potentially more desirable.
If Hartford is going to get a new team, it either needs to build a brand new arena on top of the XL Center, or renovate/expand the current facility.
One other issue -- corporate sponsorship. Hartford is "The Insurance Capital of the World" so there are several big companies in town. Ex: Travelers (which already has a PGA event), Aetna, Cigna, The Hartford, United Healthcare, ING, Met Life, and XL itself. If we're going to get a team, one of these companies needs to step up and help out (buying boxes/tickets, naming rights, etc.)
I still don't see why UConn and Baldwin couldn't come together to support a new arena. Let's face it, tax payer money is going to pay for a good chunk of a new arena. Connecticut taxpayers may say that they want the Whalers back but the reality is, they don't want to pay for a new pro-arena.
ReplyDeleteHowever, CT taxpayers will do anything for the UConn basketball teams. Connecticut LOVES the Huskies - if UConn gave its support for a new arena it would garner way more taxpayer support. UConn is going to need a new arena soon. Gampel only seats about 10,000 fans and is 20 years old and half of UConn's home games are played at the out-dated XL center. UConn basketball is the pride and joy of Connecticut. If baldwin can get CT legislators to look at this as a necessity for not only the Whalers but also for UConn I think the arena may have a shot. Without UConn's active support I just can't see Baldwin getting a new arena.
Do either of you know of any instances where a pro team and a public university teamed up on a new arena?
The Hartford area was built in 1980....you forget your history. And how can the NHL consider Winnipeg when the MTS arena only has 15,000?
ReplyDeleteActually, the Hartford Civic Center was built in 1975. It closed for 2 years in 1978 when the roof collapsed, and it reopened in 1980.
ReplyDelete