On October 7, five days before the Nashville Predators were scheduled to face the Detroit Red Wings in the first game of the 2012-13 season (a game which had already been canceled at that point), I tweeted this:
December 15 is my cutoff. If there’s no @nhl / @nhlpa deal by December 15, I’m taking back my money from @predsnhl and never going back.
— Zack Bennett (@ZackTN) October 7, 2012
In full disclosure, I thought that was an extremely conservative deadline. After all, I’d been hearing hockey writers all summer say that everything would probably be resolved by Thanksgiving and blades would hit the ice around Christmas.
Well, here we are – December 17, with no end to the lockout anywhere on the horizon – and I don’t make empty threats. Today, I went to Bridgestone Arena with my season ticket package in hand, and I gave it back.
I’ve sat here the past 3 months and refreshed Twitter to see Pierre LeBrun or Bob McKenzie or Chris Johnston or Renaud Levoie or Katie Strang or any other hockey reporter I don’t normally follow tell me that the two sides met in an undisclosed location and nothing came of the meeting. I’ve heard three times now that the NHL & NHLPA were “dangerously close” to resolving the issues, only to have it all fall apart at the eleventh hour. Now I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of Gary Bettman. I’ve had enough of Don Fehr. And, for now, I’m done.
It was difficult. It was difficult to finally put closure to all those hopes of soon being back in Section 303, Row C, Seats 1 & 2. It was difficult to walk into that dark, empty Bridgestone Arena foyer and think about all the fun memories and all the new friends I made last season. It was difficult to look someone in the eye – someone who has exactly zero to do with the labor disagreement – and tell him that you’re essentially taking a few hundred bucks out of his pocket because a group of millionaires and billionaires can’t decide that enough is enough.
When I dropped by the office, I spoke to my former ticket representative, who now has moved on to another position within the Predators organization, and had nothing but good things to say. The Preds have been a wonderful corporate citizen, providing top-notch athletic entertainment at a decent price, and giving back to many charities in the area through its foundation. I know the lockout and all the crap surrounding it is not this organization’s fault. They’ve been proactive in engaging the season ticket holders during the lockout by offering fun activities and discounts at local merchants. Yes, technically, the Predators are one of 30 franchises complicit in preventing its labor force from performing… but we all know that everyone in that building would take the NHLPA’s latest offer, and would rather be preparing for tomorrow night’s game against Tampa Bay, while owners from some of the larger-market teams refuse to waver.
This was not something I wanted to do, but it was something that I felt I had to do. I had to do it to prove a point. I had to do it to inspire others to do the same. I had to do it to prove to myself and others that I’m not one to make empty threats. I know that Gary Bettman, Don Fehr, and everybody else whose name we’ve heard these past three months will never know that I did what I did. I know that by taking my money away from the Predators, I’m directly hurting my account rep and only marginally affecting this franchise’s profits & losses. I know it doesn’t even put a dent in the broken machine that is the NHL. But I had to do it. I had to do it because, as a fan, it’s all I can do.
It shrinks the pie for the NHL & NHLPA a bit, and that’s what they’ve lost sight of. They don’t grasp the fact that there are more Zack Bennetts out there. I’m not the only one doing this. More and more fans around the league are canceling their season tickets, because we’re tired of the greed. $2053.36 may not be enough to close the “hockey-related revenue” gap, but it sure means a lot to me and my wife, and we’re going to find a much better use for that money.
I fulfilled the first part of my threat – about taking my money back – and I definitely won’t be there for the first game back, whenever that may be. Will I hold up the second part of my threat? Will I ever be back? I really don’t know. That remains to be seen. But every day that goes by, I’m finding new uses for my expendable income that doesn’t involve the Nashville Predators and the National Hockey League. The really sad part: the league and the players don’t realize that there are 17,000+ other people doing the same things in every city in the league.
I could not agree more with Zack, I’ve done the same thing. Last Wednesday I went to the ticket office and turned in my STH passport with little fanfare, no news media covering it, no Tweets from NHL reporters, just a simple 60 second transaction that is happening more and more each day. The lockout and the potential to cancel the season will destroy this market. I also agree that the rank and file employees of the Predators have done all that they could do to placate the STH, to no avail though. Simply put, the ownership group is complicit and bears just as much responsibility as the rest of the owners. If when the season is cancelled they have no one to blame but themselves and will have the task of trying to convince a fan base that they deserve our disposable income. The NHL in general has been very smug throughout the lockout taking for granted that each and every one of us would be back just begging to give them our hard earned money. Fool me once shame on you (1994), fool me twice shame on me (2004), fool me a third time (2012) and shame on the game that we all love. I will not be fooled again, I will never again front an NHL team my money again. I grew up on this sport and have watched the greats from Orr to Ovechkin, Howe to Hall and everyone in between for the last 49 years. I’m finished, I will not be back.
Good plan guys. Just think, if enough people do this, there will be no more hockey in Nashville.
That’ll show ‘em.
Yeah, I guess that WILL show them. It’ll show them that they should’ve led the charge and taken a stand on behalf of the smaller, less well-funded teams, who need operations to resume in order to survive.
It’s not my fault the NHL & NHLPA can’t get their act together, and it’s not up to me to solve it, or endorse it by keeping my money in their account.
As an original STH, this lockout has hurt me more than I want to put into words. But at the end of the day, the reason this hurts so much is that I enjoy it so much. It also hurts because I have a friend who ushers to make extra money. I will be back game 1 and enjoy the sport I love. I just hope greed doesn’t kill it for good!
I love it, too, Bill. But I’ve been burned twice. I wasn’t a STH, but I did manage to attend 41 of the 44 regular season & playoff home games in 2003-04 — only to see the 04/05 lockout destroy the game. Then, I moved to Alabama and lost touch with the Preds during the dark days of relocation threats, and when I moved back to Nashville in 2010, I jumped back on board just in time for the past two seasons of unparalleled team success. I wasn’t financially able to get season tickets in 2010-11, but finally saved up enough to do it in 2011-12. So, last season, I attended 41 of the 46 regular season & playoff games — and now, guess what… another lockout.
So, at this point, screw ‘em. I’m not gonna do this a third time.
I don’t blame these guys one bit, were I a season ticket holder I would have done the same. It’s a shame we might lose hockey in this town but it’s a calculated gamble that Gary Bettman took. Look for some of the teams to begin trying to sell their ownership rights and look for a few to file bankruptcy claims. I don’t blame the players one iota, they are the lowest paid of the four major sports and they weren’t asking for more. It’s the actions of an unprincipled commissioner and few very greedy owners that have resulted in where we are at.
Not to try and start anything but…aren’t the NHL players also in the fourth rated sport in the U.S. and the other 3 sports have lucrative t.v. deals that the NHL does not have? Just saying…the players and owners are both at fault here…a very serviceable agreement was put forth a couple Thursday’s ago from the NHL with the $300M in “make whole” and other considerations and Fehr and the NHLPA blew it up. Guarantee if the players were allowed to vote on that we would be seeing Centennial aglow with a week long training camp and games by the first of January. Instead, the players will miss two checks (their own fault) and we are stuck in this quagmire of a lockout. Trust me when I say both are at fault and both are equally guilty of greed, either desire for money/contracts/length of CBA/etc.
That last offer that the NHLPA turned down finally turned me against them. 100% against them. Actually, I guess I’m 100% against Fehr and his manipulation of the NHLPA. I’m against them being total capitulating sheep. They had a great offer that, from what I’m hearing, many wanted to vote on. Fehr told them to hold out longer, and they did. How does losing another paycheck over 5 or 8 year contracts help the 3rd and 4th line guys? They’ve essentially resorted to cannibalizing their own in order to keep perks for the elite. It’s senseless to me. It’s also why I don’t buy the whole “they’re just trying to hold on to what they have” argument. What they have is pretty damn sweet. Giving up a bit to help the whole isn’t going to hurt them. So Ovechkin makes 8m instead of 9m.
That being said, I completely agree with Zack. Our owners should have been more involved in this process. The Predators have had ZERO representation in these negotiations. Are their interests even being served?
This most senseless lockout in the history of lockouts could have been prevented if both sides had acted like adults from the beginning rather than engaging in a pissing contest to see who could break the other. Once the season is declared dead I’m following in Zack’s footsteps. In fact, I plan on writing a letter to my ticket rep to alert them as to my intentions. If it comes to that point for me, this day 1, hour 1 season ticket holder is absolutely done with the NHL.
i did something today that i never thought i would do,i turned in my sth badge and getting my money refunded.i just reached a point of no return in this battle between millionaires and billionaires,while us fans are on the sidelines getting the shaft from the nhl.the only language they understand is the pocketbook unfortuanately.
This article says a lot of about how I feel.. I’ve been a season ticket holder for four years, and haven’t missed a home game during that time. Missed very few the year before that. I’ve traveled to many away games, and even made a trip to New York last year to see a game. I would hate to guess how much money I’ve spent on merchandise.
I am not a “casual” fan.
I’ve canceled my tickets.. Will I every be back.. I don’t know.