News Flash: Flyers get screwed in Montreal.

[kexodusc]

I hear this all the time, and don't understand it. Hab fans fill the arena every night and it is known as the best crowd in hockey - yeah if they are playing like shiite, the crowd, press, fans, community let's them know it - doesn't mean that we're "off the bandwagon". I've been a fan since I was 10 years old - never seen a bandwagon , don't know what it looks like, and have never either been on it or off it; but i have allways realistically assessed the qualitry of hockey the team on the ice is delivering. So, what's wrong with that?

As for Kovalev and his relationship with the fans this ytear versus last - did you see him play last year? Whatever criticism he got, he deserved. This year he's a different player, and what's wrong with showing our appreciation for a guy turning his career around?

The best 3 crowds I've been too are Calgary, Edmonton (those two tie, and are far beyond all others) and Minnesota. I went to a Habs game this year and we were asked to sit down be quiet by the guys behind us!!!

Well I won't call ALL Habs fans bandwagoners, but they run their own out of town like nobody else. Roy, Samsonov, Brisebois, etc. Every team has their goats, but if you're the guy in Montreal they crucify you. Maybe that's "passion" but it needs to be focused better. They have a tough time attracting free agents because of it. I think the media has a lot to do with it - far beyond cruel.
But look at the sad sack Leafs. Every year those fans really think they're just 1 player away from the Cup and they love them, every year, unconditionally...everyone knows they have no chance of winning - except Leafs fans. They won't accept it. That's passion, in the positive sense, as much as I hate them (and at times pity them).

I'll be honest too - being razzed daily by Habs fans the last month has soured me on them so I'm venting a bit here but I would think Montreal should always be the centre of the hockey universe, not Toronto - at least Montreal has the history and dignity to back it up. The fans only rally when the going's good though. That's only conditional support.

[ForeverAutumn]

I went to a Habs game this year and we were asked to sit down be quiet by the guys behind us!!!

That's what happens when you heckle the home team.

But look at the sad sack Leafs. Every year those fans really think they're just 1 player away from the Cup and they love them, every year, unconditionally...everyone knows they have no chance of winning - except Leafs fans. They won't accept it. That's passion, in the positive sense, as much as I hate them (and at times pity them).

Huh? Everyone else is just dead wrong!

The only thing I dislike more than the Habs is the Habs fans (present company excluded ). GO FLYERS!

[Ex Lion Tamer]

The best 3 crowds I've been too are Calgary, Edmonton (those two tie, and are far beyond all others) and Minnesota. I went to a Habs game this year and we were asked to sit down be quiet by the guys behind us!!!.

I'm not just spewing my opinion, I'm quoting 1. Recent Hockey News poll of players voting Bell Centre as the best building/best crowd in the NHL. 2. Jim Hughson, who spends most of his time broadcasting Western games called the Bell Centre crowd the best in hockey.

Well I won't call ALL Habs fans bandwagoners, but they run their own out of town like nobody else. Roy, Samsonov, Brisebois, etc.

Roy ran himself out of town - when he told the team president in the middle of a game that he'd played his last game in Montreal. Samsonov? Please - Chicago ran him out of town pretty good, as did Edmonton - the guy stunk up the joint everywhere for the last couple of years. Brisebois - you might have a point there.

But look at the sad sack Leafs. Every year those fans really think they're just 1 player away from the Cup and they love them, every year, unconditionally...everyone knows they have no chance of winning - except Leafs fans. They won't accept it. That's passion, in the positive sense, as much as I hate them (and at times pity them).

I'll take the results that the Habs fans additude seems to produce rather than The Leafs. Look the Habs have mostly been out of the playoffs more than in since for the last 15 years or so, and I don't see interest in hockey waning, or any empty seats at the Bell Centre. And this bull about Toronto fans loving their team and players unconditionally is just that - bull. Andrew Raycroft - sure he never got criticized, Larry Murphy - a hall of famer - was run out of town. Oh, John Ferguson, Jr. he wasn't crucified in the papers - nor Mats or McKay or Kubina for not waving their no trade - nope no criticism there.

I'll be honest too - being razzed daily by Habs fans the last month has soured me on them so I'm venting a bit here but I would think Montreal should always be the centre of the hockey universe, not Toronto - at least Montreal has the history and dignity to back it up.

See, now you're making sense,

The fans only rally when the going's good though. That's only conditional support.

Yeah, unlike say Washington where the arena is empty for 90 percent of the year and fills up in the playoffs...maybe. Please show me these towns where fans rally when their team is in 12th place Woohoo, we're #12, we're #12.

[kexodusc]

Yeah, unlike say Washington where the arena is empty for 90 percent of the year and fills up in the playoffs...maybe. Please show me these towns where fans rally when their team is in 12th place Woohoo, we're #12, we're #12.

I mentioned the Leafs....

[Ex Lion Tamer]

I mentioned the Leafs....

So what - Leaf fans are in the streets, singing, honking horns, attaching flags to cars for finishing 12th? What have leaf fans done that earns them this rep as such unconditional fans? Following a loser? So what, every city in Canada does or has done that. So Montreal fans criticize their a bit more, so what? They still vote with their wallets.

[kexodusc]

So what - Leaf fans are in the streets, singing, honking horns, attaching flags to cars for finishing 12th? What have leaf fans done that earns them this rep as such unconditional fans? Following a loser? So what, every city in Canada does or has done that. So Montreal fans criticize their a bit more, so what? They still vote with their wallets.

That's the point unconditional support is...UNCONDITIONAL! Real fans shouldn't need their team to do anything to "earn" support. Do you quit being a fan when they're bad?

Voting with the wallet in Canada for hockey doesn't mean as much as it might in other sports, say...baseball. Canada's a different animal when it comes to hockey, and city like Montreal that has something like 3.5 million people in the area should never be anything less than sold forever, regardless of team success. Small cities like Edmonton and Ottawa sell out more often than not on less than 1/3 the population of that city. In a far larger center, it's just simple math, 3 times the population, we'd expect 3 times the fanbase, even in bad years. Far beyond the arena capacity. There's tons of per capita support across the country. There's certain big percentage of people in Canada that are big time hockey fans. Some cities are just lucky enough to be bigger than others, and thus benefit from having more core fans buying tickets all the time. So, the fact the Bell Centre is sold out really doesn't speak to the level of support the fans give them.

I'm not knocking the guys who've had season tickets 30 years. I'm knocking the "all of a suddent I'm a Habs fan again" fans. Having spent considerable time in different US and Canadian hockey markets, I can assure you Canada has a lot more of these kind of fans. Loyal to a team only when they're winning. For whatever reason, I've experienced that more with Habs fans than any other team.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

That's the point unconditional support is...UNCONDITIONAL! Real fans shouldn't need their team to do anything to "earn" support. Do you quit being a fan when they're bad?

Voting with the wallet in Canada for hockey doesn't mean as much as it might in other sports, say...baseball. Canada's a different animal when it comes to hockey, and city like Montreal that has something like 3.5 million people in the area should never be anything less than sold forever, regardless of team success. Small cities like Edmonton and Ottawa sell out more often than not on less than 1/3 the population of that city. In a far larger center, it's just simple math, 3 times the population, we'd expect 3 times the fanbase, even in bad years. Far beyond the arena capacity. There's tons of per capita support across the country. There's certain big percentage of people in Canada that are big time hockey fans. Some cities are just lucky enough to be bigger than others, and thus benefit from having more core fans buying tickets all the time. So, the fact the Bell Centre is sold out really doesn't speak to the level of support the fans give them.

I'm not knocking the guys who've had season tickets 30 years. I'm knocking the "all of a suddent I'm a Habs fan again" fans. Having spent considerable time in different US and Canadian hockey markets, I can assure you Canada has a lot more of these kind of fans. Loyal to a team only when they're winning. For whatever reason, I've experienced that more with Habs fans than any other team.

I guess I don't really understand your point because its a concept that's foreign to me. Are true fans alowed to boo their team? Are they alowed to call some players over-paid bums if their playing bad? At what point does a fan become a bandwagon fan?

I'm a Habs fan. I was when I was 10, I was when I moved to Winnipeg, I was when I moved to Ottawa, and when I moved back to montreal. I was when they were winning cups and I was when they were missing the playoffs. If they miss the playoffs for 20 straight years - I'll styill be a fan in year 21. And if in year 21 they win the Stanley Cup I will probably be somewhat more enthusiastic than I was in the previous 20 years. I always was and always will be. Am I more enthusiastic today than I was last year? Yes. Am I talking more about the team? Yes. Are their some people around town who don't normally follow hockey who seem to be showing an interest. Yes. This is a natural occurence isn't it? Would this same thing not happen in Toronto.

I;m also a Minnesota Vikings Fan. Always have been, always will be. Never cheered for any other NFL team, never will. If the Vikes are a dominant team next year, do you think I'll show more interest in their week 16 game than I did last year - Yes I will? Does this make me a bandwagon fan?

Do you think the last decade hasn't seen a resurgensce in the enthusiasm of fans in Boston for the Patriots and the Red Sox? And even turned some people into fans of those teams? I think so.

I lived in Ottawa for the past 15 years and believe me Ottawa is different this year than it was last year...are they all bandwagon fans because you don't see as many car flags as you did last year? Don't be rediculous.

Are you a Leaf fan Kexodusc? What is it really, that makes a leaf fan better than a Habs fan? Because that's what you're saying. I really do want to understand. Let's take last year, both teams missed the playoffs. How did this unconditional devotion to their team manifest itself in Toronto differently than in Montreal? Please explainf it to me.

What I think is that this is just a cop out that fans of unsuccessful teams use to dump on successful teams - because ultimately they can't criticize the team so they take cheap shots at their fans, because they are an easy target. Fans are fans. They all ***** and complain when their team sucks - and the interest in the team is greater, when the team is doing well. That's sports.

Sorry to vent like this, but someone has stick-up for Montreal fans against all these hollier-than-thou fans from TO.

We're Toronto fans so we're better...BULL****E!

[kexodusc]

I guess I don't really understand your point because its a concept that's foreign to me. Are true fans alowed to boo their team? Are they alowed to call some players over-paid bums if their playing bad? At what point does a fan become a bandwagon fan?

Booing is fine, to an extent when it's because they want the team to be better, it shows they care - it's when they stop caring altogether and disappear. Lion Tamer, I've got coworkers wearing Habs ties, and the likes razzing me about the Habs this year that I had no idea were even hockey fans. In the past they've cowered away, like they were embarrassed to admit they were Montreal fans. These are the bandwagon types. Quick to criticize (excessively) and then jump off the wagon so to speak when the team struggles. They stop supporting, deny their affection for the team (or hide it, whatever), then they win one playoff series and profess their love to any who will listen. Not all Habs fans are like this. I just experience this phenomenon more with Habs fans than any other team by a huge margin. Maybe the Habs just appeal to casual fans. I don't know.

Ha ha ha ha. No, I am NOT a Leafs fan. Never will be. I'm a Senators fan (loud and proud, no matter how much they suck) and you hit the nail on the head, I went to 7 games at Scotiabank Place this year, each visit the mood was more gloomy than the previous. But the building still sold out because the market is strong enough to endure...still, not as many flags, jerseys, etc. Sens fans fell off the bandwagon this year. Big time. But the reality is, the Sens have been a struggle their entire existence in most aspects, and the fans they have are used to disappointment. So when the going is bad, well, it's not like we've lost most of our fan base, just like thousands didn't come crawling out of the woods for the cup run last year.
It seems to come and go in bigger numbers for the Canadiens. And these part-time fans are usually the mouthiest and most annoying to talk to.

Hope that clears things up. I have nothing against the Habs in general, and respect any team's hard core supporters (even the Leafs).

[Swish]

I'm a Habs fan. I was when I was 10, I was when I moved to Winnipeg, I was when I moved to Ottawa, and when I moved back to montreal. I was when they were winning cups and I was when they were missing the playoffs. If they miss the playoffs for 20 straight years - I'll styill be a fan in year 21. And if in year 21 they win the Stanley Cup I will probably be somewhat more enthusiastic than I was in the previous 20 years. I always was and always will be. Am I more enthusiastic today than I was last year? Yes. Am I talking more about the team? Yes. Are their some people around town who don't normally follow hockey who seem to be showing an interest. Yes. This is a natural occurence isn't it? Would this same thing not happen in Toronto.

...after that great 7th game win over the Bruins. Nice.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist.

Swish