I've banged on the Jackets organization pretty hard this summer including how absolutely disgusted I am with the game operations performance.
Perhaps I'm hard headed and hold a grudge but I'm still pissed off about the whole Blackhawks goal song gate that occurred in the 2nd half of last season. That should never happen and someone's ass should have been grass for that incident. As I've stated before just imagine the outcry if the Michigan Wolverine's fight song was played in Ohio Stadium?
It's difficult enough to cheer on a perennial loser game in and game out but do we really need our own game ops staff to encourage the opposition?
Well the good news to report is that the Jackets appear to have listened to their fans and have opened up the lines of communication. I received emails from both Kevin and Jeremy (thanks guys!) pointing out that the Jackets have sent all their season ticket holders a link to a survey specifically covering game operations.
The questions hit all the main points such as which music would you like to have played to replays to should their be more or less of the "dancing fat guy". They ask about the movie videos, chipotle chutes, the kiss cam and everything in-between. It really is a thorough survey that I encourage every season ticket holder out there to fill out!
This is your chance to make a difference and help make Nationwide a much tougher place to play for the opposition.
Although I have yet to renew you bet your butt I filled it out. I stressed replays (especially the timing of them), not catering to the away team and staying far away from the goofy jumbotron acts.
My biggest point is its time to focus on why everyone is there and that is the game of hockey. Use game ops to keep the home crowd engaged and active. If there is bad call replay it and encourage the crowd to boo the hell out of the ref(s). If there is home team momentum don't play a stupid movie clip -- play a great rock riff and help keep the energy high... so on and so forth.
Really this is not Japanese Geometry here.
When I was in Philly for a Flyers game last year one of their fans put it best as I admired how their game ops worked the game and crowd....
"If you're worried about people offending kids then take them across the street to a Phantoms (Flyers AHL affiliate) game... this is the NHL".
Those folks take their hockey serious at this level and the absolute last thing they or their games ops do is worry about offending the opposition or their fans. The message -- this is our house, if you don't like it then get the f*** out!
It's time to stop treating the Jackets like a side show in town and take pride in our team and arena. We need to build our own traditions that we as Jackets fans and Jackets players can be proud of. If we think like an irrelevant market and fanbase then that is exactly what we will be.
We can't forget the players in this - you better believe they feed off the crowd energy and any morale or momentum boost that game ops can help provide.
I get the feeling that to many of the leaders in this organization this is just a job and paycheck - kind of like the daily grind most of us go through every day.
They don't get pissed off when they see the building half full of the opposing teams fans.
They don't care when an Octopi lands on home ice.
They aren't upset when the Jackets get dragged through the mud yet again when a coach with no NHL experience turns them down.
They aren't worried as much about the score or intricacies of the game as they are about the bottom line and # of butts in the seats regardless of the team they cheer for.
I wonder how much a Mike Priest or Larry Hoepner really thinks about the Jackets? Is it just a job to them? Do they turn it off when the punch out for the day? Have they ever laced up some skates and fired a few biscuits on net? Have they ever watched a pee-wee/high school/adult hockey league game?
In sports organizations this cannot be. Yes it's big business but the passion, obsession and fire has to be there from the top down first and foremost to make it a successful one.
They need to live and breath it every day. They must love what they do and genuily feel the thrill of victory and agony of defeat along with each and every coach, player and fan.
This drives accountability, continuous improvement and expectations. If the owners and front office have it then you better believe that will have a trickle down effect.
The paycheck, while certainly important (we've all got to feed our families), should be second fiddle.
I got on a roll there (what else is new right?) but in all sincerity I would like to thank the Jackets for taking a small step in this direction by sending out a comprehensive survey with the goal of improving game operations and thus the game experience for the home fans.
This has been one of the highlightes of the offseason for me as a fan as the lines of communication on a very releveant topic have been opened.
We want a winning team first and foremost but there is room for improvement everywhere in this organization which certainly includes a complete revamp of the game presentation.
We have an amazing facility here in Columbus Ohio - one of the best in the world - let's take advantage of it!!
FIRE AWAY - is this survey a sign to you that management is listening to its fans and that game ops will be changed accordingly?
-LTL
