M.I.A.

It's been, like, forever since I've written anything.  Unlike the NHLPA is soon to be, I'm not being locked out.  All is well in the DEEICING camp of blogging, no worries on that front. 

I just have a problem with the NHL and the NHLPA and this whole CBA negotiation nonsense.  Millionaires bashing it out with Billionaires doesn't make any kind of sense in my head when there's so much economical strife in the real world.  I've always said this is a little boys' game being played by grown men getting paid for it.  I've always asked, aloud and to no one in particular, "how many millions of dollars in salary is enough?"  

That's not to say I'm blaming one side of the table over the other.  Owners are greedy bastards who perpetuate the market for overpaid players by getting around the loopholes in the existing CBA in order to get the big name players.  This allows them to charge insane prices for tickets, merchandise and concessions which we fans then willingly pay.  Players, who claim they just wanna play the sport they love, really just wanna buy another mansion on a lake in Canada, or get a bigger SUV, or put more bling on their baby mommas.  They get themselves agents who teach them the finer art of marketing themselves so that even if they are not one of the truly talented players in the league they almost always end up with a ridiculously long and lavish payout.  Hate on Bettman and/or Fehr (and I do, ever so much) all you want but they're doing what their employers are paying them to do.  Okay, Fehr is an idiot for not negotiating a contract for himself that guarantees his pay regardless of lockout/strike, but he's just as shrewd and weaselly as Bettman.  C'mon, they're lawyers, they're icky.  

Here's today's NHLPA Presser:
 

Followed by the NHL's presser:


So who do you hate more, blame more, point the finger at more when CBA time rolls around?  Who will ultimately get to say they 'won' when all is said and done? 

And what will you, the fan, be getting out of this year's 'labor' negotiations?  Will it be cup holders on your seats?  Perhaps hot water in the restrooms in the upper level?  Or how about an HD jumbotron?  Maybe even a real organ to replace the cheesy electric keyboard?

Make no mistake, when all is said and done the only thing that really changes from one contract to the next in the NHL is how much more the fans will be paying for their hockey experience.  Oh, the ticket prices may remain the same or even go down for one season in the smaller markets as a "Welcome Back" gesture but check your jersey prices and the prices of your favorite concession beverages and treats.  Or perhaps the cost will be factored in by a multiple year contract requirement on season ticket packages.  Ultimately it's the fans who pay the price of every contract negotiated in every major league sport.  And yet, we go.  We attend.  We show up as buzzing crowds, anxiously awaiting for the gates to open.  We are idiots.   

Yes, I will be one of them.  Because, as it's been so aptly marketed: This Is My Game.  I love this game.  This is the one sport I give a crap about, am passionate about.  Okay, OBSESSED and STALKERISH about.  **is that a word, stalkerish? 

All I know is that the following tweet made me tear up at the thought: 

From: robert bell‏@come2butt_head: If this place is empty all season I will die
To: @Dsetoguchi10 @Russostrib pic.twitter.com/tG3n0jw1                     

 

9:59 AM - 13 Sep 12        

 

So, millionaires vs billionaires going at it every 3-5 years is something we fans have to endure in order to watch the chosen sport we support.  Leave the battle to the lawyers and the bickering to the players and the owners.  The deal will get done eventually.  In the event of a lockout/strike there's always high school, college, AHL, ECHL...all is not lost.  And don't feel too bad for those players or owners.  They're living off of the money we've handed over for the last 7 years.  If they're too stupid to have invested that for their futures then they deserve to eat Hamburger Helper - right along with the rest of us poor slobs. 

 

What you should be feeling is sympathy for the venue and ancillary workers who are looking at being newly unemployed because millionaires and billionaires can't seem to agree on how many millions of dollars is actually enough.