November 28, 1998
By Jason Paul
The Hockey News
If Joe Fan was NHL commissioner, he would institute a salary cap, play
weekend games during the afternoon, move a few teams to Canada and tell
expansion teams to take a hike.
The NHL Fans' Association, an Ottawa-based Internet site, conducted a
77-question fan report of its 2,185 registered members. The results were
based on 913 responses.
Among the findings in the survey:
- 64 per cent said they don't want tie games during the regular season decided by a shootout.
- 77 per cent felt punishments handed out for serious infractions were not severe enough.
- 75 per cent felt there should be a player salary cap.
- 90 per cent were against the idea of ban on fighting, while six per cent felt a ban would increase the NHL's popularity.
- 66 per cent like afternoon weekend games.
- 76 per cent felt expansion has lowered the quality of NHL hockey.
- Only 10 per cent want to see more teams based in the U.S., while 81 per cent want more Canadian clubs.
- 65 per cent felt the league was not responsive to fans when making changes.
The NHLFA's membership is 56 per cent Canadian and 40 per cent American.
"We've been complaining about issues for years," said Jim Boone, who
co-founded the NHLFA with Jim Spendlove during last year's playoffs. "We
hope The Fan Report is the first step for the fans to have their voice
heard."
More than 800 fans signed up (membership is free) in the first week and
1,500 by the end of the playoffs. The NHLFA may be the first organized
fans' union in professional sports.
"The players have Bob Goodenow looking after them. The teams are being
taken care of by Gary Bettman, but who's looking out for the fans?" said
Boone, who hopes to have 10,000 members by the end of 1998.
One of Boone's biggest surprises to the survey results was the reaction to
the ice quality. Ninety per cent felt there should be stricter guidelines
for ice caliber and 93 per cent said they wouldn't object to arenas being
colder if it meant ice quality would be better.
The Fan Report can be found in its entirety at www.nhlfa.com.
|
