View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

A Fan’s Eye View: St. Louis Blues – A Baseball Town with a Hockey Problem

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Admittedly, I know very little about either St. Louis or the Blues. The previous extent of my St. Louis Blues knowledge was formed while playing an unhealthy amount of NHL ’94 on my old Sega Genesis. (Al MacInnis had an absolute rocket for a slapshot.) So for this post, I had to enlist the help of Dan who is from “the Lou” and a hardcore fan of his hometown hockey team. He was nice enough to share an insider’s view of the Blues and their fans.  He even helped me remember that Wayne Gretzky was once a member of the team.  Below is an edited version of our email exchange. Thanks for all the great help Dan. This one’s for you Jon Hamm!!

View My Seats: How would you describe a typical St. Louis Blues fan?

Dan: You have to remember St. Louis is a baseball town and the Cardinals are by far and away the #1 team and passion of the city.  The Blues fan base is definitely made up of your core hockey fans.  They are knowledgeable and passionate, but don’t have the same lewdness and craze that you would see from Rangers, Flyers or Wings fan.  STL fans were spoiled for so many years because the team always made the playoffs.  The streak of 25+ years was finally broken in 2004 or 2005.  Attendance took a big hit when the team started rebuilding because they lacked a big name without Pronger, MacInnis, or Hull.  Fans have finally started coming back this year with teams strong start.  Nearly all of the home games have been sellouts.  However, I did notice when we at the game last week that it was much more of a family crowd than I remember.  As a result the building lacked a lot of buzz, energy and rowdiness for a Saturday night game against a rival.  (They played Dallas and it was the second night of a home and home).  I was a little disappointed since I had been reading about how great attendance was this year.

VMS: What would an outsider say about the typical Blues fan?

Dan: An outsider attending the game I saw would probably have been disappointed by the fans.   However, core Blues fans are great.  Its just tough being that fan in a baseball town.

VMS: Do fans show up and support their team regardless of their record? [Read more…]

View of the Day: Gampel Pavilion

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Why can’t UNH basketball be more like UConn? Are the demographics between these two New England states all that different that one university system can support a perennial national championship contending DI basketball program while the other struggles to remain competitive in the America East Conference? Does it come down to interest? UNH is a hockey school with a basketball problem whereas UConn has used the basketball program(s) to help their football team emerge as this year’s Big East favorite for a BCS bowl bid.

I may live in Connecticut but I grew up in New Hampshire and can tell you that I would love to see the Wildcat basketball program become a regional power. For tonight however, please Huskies take mercy on our Granite State souls! Share your views.

NFL Week 13 Power Poll

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Last night, Philip Rivers looked like a better quarterback than Peyton Manning. During the Colts 36-14 loss at home to the Chargers, Manning looked old and injured.  Rivers orchestrated his offense with ease and was hailed as a “great, inspirational leader” by both Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth. Personally, I have never been a huge fan of either Manning or Rivers, mostly because they have been two of the Patriots, and Tom Brady’s, main adversaries during the past decade. So, it makes no real difference to me that Manning looked past his prime last night while Rivers continues his quiet ascension to the upper echelon of NFL QBs.

Enough is enough. On to the week 13 power poll!

1. New England Patriots (9-2): Welcome back Deion Branch. Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

2. Baltimore Ravens (8-3): Appointment TV Sunday night when Ravens host Pittsburgh for control of NFC North.

3. Atlanta Falcons (9-2): Fact. Tony Gonzalez shows no signs of aging.

4. New York Jets (9-2): I’ll be waiting all week for Monday Night!

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3): My heart is still breaking for Buffalo. Also, my new personal grooming philosophy is to grow facial hair like Ryan Fitzpatrick.

6. New Orleans Saints (8-3): People aren’t talking enough about Malcolm Jenkins and his amazing strip of Roy Williams during the Thanksgiving game vs the Cowboys. That play kept the Saints alive for the top seed in the NFC.

7. San Diego Chargers (6-5): Mike Tolbert is built like a rubix cube.  He also won me my weekly fantasy matchup.

8. Chicago Bears (8-3): You know how people always say that the tv adds 10 pounds. Well, in the case of Jay Cutler, the tv makes him look at least 45% more unlikeable what with all the poor body language and dismissive gestures.

9. Green Bay Packers (7-4): Aaron Rodgers is a gunslinger. GUNSLINGER!!!

10. Philadelphia Eagles (7-4): I hope Soldier Field never gets rid of the grass but man, that field did not look easy to play on Sunday.

Share your views.

NFL Week 12: Buffalo and the Ultimate Sadness

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The Buffalo Bills lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-13 in overtime.  Pittsburgh came into this afternoon’s game as a 7 point favorite over the much maligned Bills.  Buffalo had their fair share a chances to win the game, including a dropped touchdown in OT by Stevie Johnson who has since used twitter to blame a higher power for his misfortune.  Today’s loss ends the Bills two game winning streak and helps the Steelers keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.  Of greater concern to me is wondering what the current state of mind must be like for the city and fans of Buffalo after yet another devastating loss.

Like most of the country, Buffalo has been hit hard by our most recent economic downturn. Fans in upstate New York continue to turn to their beloved Bills in search of an opportunity to escape from the daily doldrums of financial insecurity.  As far as I can tell, Buffalo continues to fill up Ralph Wilson Stadium and care about a team that hasn’t been a threat in the AFC East since the days of Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas. And how is the organization repaying their loyal fans? By moving games to Toronto….Canada. I understand that the NFL is looking to expand into new markets and owners are driven to increase revenue by building stadiums with more luxury boxes.  But the Bills organization owes it to their city and fans to put a better product on the field and help keep the team in Buffalo. If they go, what happens to the city?

I’m on your side Bills fans.  Keep showing up to games and here’s hoping your team remains competitive this year and beyond (especially against the Jets). Share your views!

College Football: Who needs a playoff system?

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For those of you on the East Coast who stayed up to watch the entire game last night, congratulations.  You probably won’t forget what you witnessed  for some time. Nevada’s early morning 34-31 overtime victory over #4 ranked Boise State is an example of why college football does not need a playoff system.  It already has one, it’s called the regular season.  Every single game carries such enormous weight that by adding a playoff to the end of the season, games like last night are not as important.

This morning, Boise State is out of the BCS picture and most likely headed out of the top ten.  What makes college football so special is that every game comes with consequences, good and bad, for the teams and their fans.   The current system is the reason why we watch a 10:26pm start between two WAC teams the day after Thanksgiving. This was the biggest game in both programs’ history.

I’m sure fans in Idaho disagree with my position this morning.  What about the rest of you?  Is Boise still deserving of a BCS bid?  Is everyone else out there clamoring for a college football playoff? Now is the time to share your views.