7 out of 10 people hate their jobs.
No, I didn’t just google it, I’m only guessing. How many people do you run into every day who complain about working? Who complain about their bosses? Who complain about the hours? Who just complain and complain? Employees can gripe all they want about work hours and management teams, but nothing is going to change as long as the cash register cha-chings. Profits comes in, bosses stay assholes bosses and status quo stays status quo.
That’s pretty much how I feel about the NHL and fans who continually gripe about the product.
Complaining about the NHL has become like the 31st franchise. “Give a warm welcome to the Northeast Complainers!”
Pick your complaint and place it in our HR drop box:
- Not enough scoring
- Not enough penalties called
- Too much obstruction
- Head shots need to stop
- How can the NHL suspend this guy, but not the other guy?
It has been like this for years now. The above complaints have been recycled on talk shows and in newspapers over and over. Seriously, who doesn’t want more scoring? Who doesn’t want head shots taken out of the game? Everyone wants this, but Gary Bettman isn’t listening. Why? Because the NHL is making more money now than ever before.
Gare Bear, who sounds more like Bob Kraft every day, constantly talks about record TV ratings and money going into the owners’ pockets. Any time he’s greeted with any sort of criticism about the NHL’s scoring drought, Bettman’s nasally, high-pitched drunken voice says…
“If you look at the numbers, we are filthy rich because fans love the game. We have a great sponsorship deal with RC Cola and NBC Sports. Tickets are selling like beer in Canada. The Buffalo market can’t get enough of us! Here, let me unveil a bunch of Don Draper/Pete Campbell graphs that will tell you where we were in revenue gained in 2004 compared to now. We rule.”
Why should Bettman change the game if it is making so much money? It is no different than you working a job at which you are treated like garbage. The employers don’t care if they are making money. McDonalds sucks, but as long as people are getting a Big Mac, they aren’t changing the recipe.
There’s a reason the NHL decided to add shootouts, call more penalties, and eliminate two-line passes coming out of the lockout. The league was losing money. Sure, trying to gain the fans back after pissing them off with a work stoppage had something to do with it, but you didn’t see MLB, NBA or the NFL change their rules coming out of strikes and lockouts, did you? Money was the root of the changes. If the NHL wasn’t making 3 billion dollars a year today, we would see more penalties called and we would see more attempts at making scoring a lot easier.
Alas, like most leagues and businesses, the bottom line is what matters most. As long as turnstiles are turning and merchandise is getting sold, why change the game? Who cares if we are the 4th major sport?! We are making 3 billion dollars a year! Why rock the boat? Why piss off the Don Cherry crowd who loves hitting? Do you know any NHL fans who have walked away over the last five years in Buffalo because of concussion issues and lack of scoring? I don’t.
If you listen to the fans, they act like the league is a holding the sport back, but nothing seems to be holding those fans back from spending money on the product…and that’s all Bettman cares about.
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