Hockey Lockout

The NHL is again going through this ugly dance between Billionaire owners and Millionaire players. As a hockey fan I wonder how much concern these people give to their loyalty base. The last time this occurred there was little problems in getting the fans back into the hockey palaces. This time there will be increased hostility as the media has given much of the financial dealings to the public.

Few fans will have sympathy for either side because in times like this with all the economic woes people making millions do not get consideration from people who are just making it at their place of work. This is a confrontation with sides wishing a bigger piece of the pie. Greed we call it and one could solve the problem in minutes if both sides could work with the present agreement until a reasonable solution is found.

During the last few years I have been watching junior hockey and college games. I find a real joy in seeing the younger, energetic and eager players working hard for the love of the game and their team.

Two years ago I took my grand daughter to a Maple Leaf game as her father was unable to do so. I used his tickets and was amazed to see the price was nearly $200. per ticket. A hot dog was $3.50 and a Beer was $6.25. Everything that was sold to the patrons was double the value and to top it all off parking was $20. With these prices I wonder how the teams can pack the rinks and sell out year after year.

The reason is that Canadians love the game of hockey and are being denied their fix on Saturday night so don't suggest that they turn to cricket or soccer. The only antidote is hockey.