Here's a interesting Blog I passed that brought up the fact that this year's Booing seemed worse than normal, and why we shouldn't hate Bettman.
Quote:
Here are some reasons NOT to hate Bettman.
#1 He does so much behind the scenes that you probably aren't aware of. There wouldn't even be a Penguins had Gary not stepped in a forced Pennsylvania's hand a few years back. Governor Rendell said as much when announcing the new arena.
#2 The Winter Classic is a Bettman Idea.
#3 The fact that we didn't miss more than one year during the lockout had alot to do with the fact that Gary Bettman SOMEHOW got those 30 owners to work together during the lockout.
#4 Many of the new more progressive rules like getting rid of the two line pass were spear headed by Gary.
i was pretty surprised at how loudly bettman was booed. the only legible words he said were sidney crosby, which elicited cheers from the pen's fans in the audience. then he let go of the cup and the whole arena cheered .. make no mistake it was ONLY bettman who was being booed.. and booed not just because he is the head of the NHL but because he has a very tarnished reputation and has made many questionable decisions. bettman is the kind of guy who defends himself against accusations of 'making things personal' in his business dealings. if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.... anyone who thinks that the booing was in poor taste or unclassy, youre not being very democratic. the voices and dollars of the fans are about the only ways to be heard... in some countries, sports (especially soccer/football.. hehe, cricket) elicit vastly more passionate responses, shall we say. canadians and our friends to the south are usually very civil.
hockey town usa is a cradle for hockey... some would argue a paragon of the original six. detroit has a huge number of fans, including canadians, so they can weather not winning a cup better than most. i would venture to say a lot of canadians secretly like many hockey teams. myself i like toronto, edmonton, colorado, L.A., and to a lesser extent vancouver. quite a few ontarians would happily see the phoenix coyotes move back to winnipeg, manitoba, too. :-) the stanley cup or olympic medals returning to small towns in canada fills us with special pride and joy for our favorite *canadian* sport.. when don cherry pulled that purple octopus out of the detroit river at the start of cbc coverage of game 7, i really had to smile.
hats off to both the pittsburgh penguins and the detroit red wings for one of the most exciting stanley cup final games i have ever watched. the last 6 seconds were intense!
Last edited by makeitcanadian : 06-13-2009 at 09:41 PM.
I'm far from a Bettman fan myself, I know him and many of the other major sports' commissioners are not all on the up and up and hide behind different rules and bylaws. However, my only point is that (in my opinion) Booing during the presentation of the Stanley Cup or any other championship thophy seems like a attack on the thophy and all it's past, present and future champions. Forums and letters, phone calls and such are more than wonderful ways of expressing your opinion. However, For that One moment, Bettman isn't a man, He is the repersentative of the entire NHL, it's teams, it's fans and what it stands for, as it crowns it's champion. Also, The whole coyote situation is a big soap opera. Balsillie seems to be just a bully trying to find teams at their weakest moment and try to swoop in and move them to canada. He seems to be trying to just skip the NHL's processes. Instead of just doing the proper paperwork and applying for an expanation team, he tries to make his own rules, and yes, bettman is trying to prove he's right and making a big scene. But, i also think he's trying to do what he feels is best for the league and it's future. If everyone tries to use loopholes to do what they wish, then what would be the point of a board of Governors or the commissioner. It's ok to question people in charge as long as you respect the office and what it represents.
I'm far from a Bettman fan myself, I know him and many of the other major sports' commissioners are not all on the up and up and hide behind different rules and bylaws. However, my only point is that (in my opinion) Booing during the presentation of the Stanley Cup or any other championship thophy seems like a attack on the thophy and all it's past, present and future champions. Forums and letters, phone calls and such are more than wonderful ways of expressing your opinion. However, For that One moment, Bettman isn't a man, He is the repersentative of the entire NHL, it's teams, it's fans and what it stands for, as it crowns it's champion. Also, The whole coyote situation is a big soap opera. Balsillie seems to be just a bully trying to find teams at their weakest moment and try to swoop in and move them to canada. He seems to be trying to just skip the NHL's processes. Instead of just doing the proper paperwork and applying for an expanation team, he tries to make his own rules, and yes, bettman is trying to prove he's right and making a big scene. But, i also think he's trying to do what he feels is best for the league and it's future. If everyone tries to use loopholes to do what they wish, then what would be the point of a board of Governors or the commissioner. It's ok to question people in charge as long as you respect the office and what it represents.
Are we sure bettman hasn't been buying you some lunches as well? :-) Well, I guess you could make the case that the Stanley Cup is so sacred no booing should be allowed in its presence, but I don't feel that strongly about it myself. Also, I'm not sure that you and I writing in this forum will have as much as an effect as that 30 seconds of intense booing at the game will. =) bettman looked pissed, and surely the other powers that be in the NHL understand how hated he is, and how badly the fans want someone new.
As for Jim Basillie, how is it that putting in bids to purchase NHL teams is "going around the process"? The simple fact is, this is his *third* attempt to go through the process, as you put it, but he keeps getting shut down because Bettman doesnt want him to be a team owner. Its as simple as that, dude. Basillie is a smart and 100% legitimate business man... co-CEO of RIM. Makers of that thing even the US president can't live without. Bettman on the other hand has, let actual criminals buy teams. =)
Its a pretty open and shut case in my book. Basillie Yes, Bettman No. =)
Last edited by makeitcanadian : 06-14-2009 at 11:09 AM.
#1 He does so much behind the scenes that you probably aren't aware of. There wouldn't even be a Penguins had Gary not stepped in a forced Pennsylvania's hand a few years back. Governor Rendell said as much when announcing the new arena.
Yes but he didn't move in to help Hartford, Minnesota, Winnipeg or Quebec City.
#2 The Winter Classic is a Bettman Idea.
Incorrect. Playing a high level hockey game outside with a lot of fans was a Michigan-Michigan State idea.
#3 The fact that we didn't miss more than one year during the lockout had alot to do with the fact that Gary Bettman SOMEHOW got those 30 owners to work together during the lockout.
If we didn't have Bettman there wouldn't have been a lockout so only missing one year is such a slight bonus on a major negative.
#4 Many of the new more progressive rules like getting rid of the two line pass were spear headed by Gary.
In doing so alienated many traditional fans and since they haven't been replaced by non-traditional markets apparently the minus outweighs the positive again. Also Bettman's first "progressive rule" idea was putting in a "two goal line" so long shots would be rewarded. How do you think that lead balloon would've gone over?
__________________ The 2008-2009 Battle of Alberta
Ok, there seems to be little confusion, I'm not saying I support Bettman, I only support the NHL in the coyotes' situation, I didn't like to see the team taken out of Winnipeg either, and even though this is Basillie's third attempt to get a team, why was a month or so ago the first time he actually submitted ownership interest application to the NHL. but, other than that, I hate the shootout, I hate the realiment of divisions, and there are much more I can't think of top of my head. But, I have respect for the office and what Bettman represents as long as he's in office, that's no different that I don't support all the decisions that President Obama makes, and I speak my mind in forums or send letters expressing my opinions, However, I respect the office and position as head of my goverment he holds. If I see president Obama on the street I'm not going to BOO and yell things at him. So, I respect Bettman as the leader of my league till someone new is named.
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Last edited by StlBluesfan4ever : 06-14-2009 at 06:00 PM.
Bettman is booed every yime he presents the cup even if the home team wins, so I don't think it was directed towards the Penguins. Just wait till the Draft in Montreal, that'll be something.
I think that for the most part the reffinf was pretty fair. There were some non-calls against the wings but non calls against the pens balanced them out (I was cheering for detroit)
booing the trophy presentations, but claiming such were directed at Bettman still shows a distinct lack of class by the fans, despite this lame excuse.
some would say that buying a ticket entitles you to boo and cheer whatever you would like. but this is bogus.
boo-ing Bettman when he is presenting trophies to PIT is entirely political, as Bettman had nothing to do with PIT winning.
perhaps it would be okay to boo the playing of national anthems, due to a disliking of that country's foreign policy or similar such political points of contention? no it would not.
as if any doubt existed that DET fans were booing PIT winning.... consider the crowd reaction when Crosby struggled to make it off the ice.
like i said, classless.
and cheers during the cup passing at the end, were from the PIT fans who made the trip. in contrast to last year, when the home fans stayed to watch the spectacle, this year the locals cleared the arena in moments it seemed and so weren't in attendence to continue booing.
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Bettman's booed anytime he does anything. Watch the All-Star Game, he was booed there. The upcoming Draft? Will likely be booed there. Shown on the Jumbotron in Pittsburgh? Oh yeah, he was booed then too.
Pittsburgh booed Bettman last year, and if a star player on the Red Wings were hurt in Pittsburgh, the fans there would probably be cheering too. If Phaneuf laid into a player on a rival team for the Flames at home, the fans there would cheer. If Orpik laid into a rival player, Pittsburgh fans would cheer. This has nothing to do with the Cup presentation, it's the fans cheering for their team getting an advantage. At the time, they probably just thought Crosby got rocked and had a stinger or was just winded. If they knew it was a serious injury, (i.e. requiring a stretcher, broken leg, knocked out) the reaction probably would have been different. You want to see a classless reaction to a injury resulting from a hit? Watch Campbell's hit on Umberger a couple years back.
Anyway, it's nice that people can make such a sweeping statement about the Red Wings and all their fans being classless when nothing out of the ordinary happened, with lackluster "proof". I sure saw a lot of red in the Joe when Pittsburgh was skating around the ice with the Cup, so clearly it wasn't just from Pittsburgh fans who made the trip, despite your claims. Sure some might have left, or not stuck around until the end, same thing happened in Pittsburgh last year. See the Cup, see it get raised, see it get passed around a bit.
Do they really have to stick around until all 40+ people involved hoist the Cup and the team has their picture taken? In my opinion, no. If the fans just went "screw this" and left as soon as the buzzer went and the Cup was presented to crickets, then maybe you could bring this up as a point. Leaving during a 30+ minute celebration for a team you don't support? There isn't a point in sticking around for the entire thing. They were there for the important stuff, much like the Pittsburgh fans last year.
Also, you seem to think that the booing is directed at the Penguins and the Cup presentation, but you later state that the booing was directed to Bettman and was entirely political. Of course it was, no one's denied that fact. However, bringing this up within two sentences of each other defeats your case for Red Wings fans being "classless".
Hell, for all you know, those Pittsburgh fans that made the trip could have been booing Bettman at the same time.
Hell, for all you know, those Pittsburgh fans that made the trip could have been booing Bettman at the same time.
They probably were.
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You ask Ovechkin if he would trade his Art Ross and Richard Trophies, to trade places with Sidney Crosby last June.
Bettman rightlyfully bood!!!
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