Breakfast at the Barn 5-2-08

For some reason, there was no traffic on the Oakdale merge Friday morning. I left my house at 6:48 am in anticipation of struggling to make it on time to the Coliseum. I pulled into the parking lot at 7:30 am. It actually took me less time to get there than it normally does to get to work in Farmingdale.

Webby has done an awesome job detailing what was said at the meeting that has relevance to the fan base and us at NYIC. I won’t reiterate the points, but if you haven’t read it, here is the link to the thread. http://z11.invisionfree.com/IslanderCountry/index.php?showtopic=9365 I’ll give you my… uh… what’s the word? Right! My “unique” perspective of some of the other little details of the morning.

We met up in the parking lot, unsure of what we were about to hear. Travelchick59, Webb20, Westfall18, Snowman39 and I all parked together in the executive lot. We waved to Garth Snow as he arrived and parked in the circle closer to the doorway. We waited for Totallypucked for a few minutes before deciding to head into the Executive offices. We were on time, that’s all that I cared about, as I am notoriously LATE for everything! Not this time. When you are asked to be at a meeting with Chris Dey and Garth Snow, the least you should be is … on time.

Now, I’ve actually seen this movie before. Just about a year or so ago, members of NYIC were requested to meet with then recent ex-GM Mike Milbury for the same reason: What will make you people happy? At that meeting, Webb20 pulled out a 5-page thesis of what was wrong with the NY Islanders. I was mortified. Mike Milbury just laughed, took a copy and dealt with us the way only Mike Milbury could -- with stern humor and mild abrasiveness. I remember watching John Davis at the table gasping for air occasionally. Mike Milbury is a “quote machine.” His off-the-cuff remarks are what sports headlines are made of. Luckily, Garth Snow is not.

Webb20 was somewhat kinder this year as the “plan” he put together for Snow was only three pages long. The difference was that later in the meeting, Snow went point for point with Webby, crossing items out as he went, like a college kid taking a test that he knew was a piece of cake.
It was a very pleasant surprise to have Mike Bossy in the meeting with us. Befittingly, he sat at the head of the conference table with Dey next to him. Snow sat directly across from me. I figured he did that so he could chuck grapes at me from close range for all the pointed emails I’ve been sending him about Bergenheim. (Ok, so some things stay the same, just the names change.) Nevertheless, he was a great sport, and even laughed aloud when I handed him a jar of cake sprinkles that SteveDepot was kind enough to make a label for which read “Garth Snow’s UFA Sprinkles.” I suppose it was just because I listened to “the Plan” speech too many times on ITV, but the “Sprinkled with UFAs” line made me want to just bang my head on the table.

I found myself drifting off into my own world of thought every now and again as Nick and Mr. Dey lead the meeting. One of the things that stood out for me was watching Bossy, Islanders royalty, talking about his current role with the Islanders. Webby asked if he and Trottier worked with the young players, to guide them. He said that Trottier did, but that he would only walk into the locker room to say hello. This triggered something that I remembered from listening to NHL Live a few weeks ago. An ex Habs player was talking about how wonderful it was to have Jean Beliveau around for the young players. I would imagine that Mike Bossy has that same effect on the rookies, even if Bossy isn’t anywhere near as old as Beliveau.

Westfall told a great story of how his dad would take him to games on Saturday nights when he was five, but that he would have to WORK for the privilege by being good in school and “eating his vegetables.” Bossy loved that story, so did everyone else at the table. I do not have the history the rest of the discussion group has. I did not live through the glory years or have that family bond with the team. I only started following hockey in 1994. The rest of the participants have lived with their passion almost all their lives.

Then it hit me, this is why the thread on the message board regarding the Town Hall meeting took such a devastating turn for the worst. Those who were the most vocal and angry were those whose passion has run the longest. This is what makes marketing hockey such a difficult task. There are actually three markets: The old guard, the newer fan and the “not a fan yet” market.

The old guard doesn’t want to let go of the past and the glory that was, but even Mike Bossy agreed it was time to move on. History can be revered, but it has its place. What is important is the here and now, and of course, the future. That is what everyone is looking toward -- The future. The future of the Lighthouse project, the future of the Islanders franchise, and the future of Long Island.

With the Lighthouse project with no clear-cut completion date, we discussed the status of the current building. This is the first time I really considered that the state of the Coliseum does play a part in being able to attract the most elite players. However, Garth put it in a clear perspective.

“Think of it as you are going to spend $150 to stay a night in a hotel. It’s the same $150. But you can spend it on one night at a Red Roof Inn, or one night at the Ritz Carlton. Which are you going to chose?” Moreover, after seeing the locker room up close and personal, I have changed my mind about it being a factor. Considering the locker rooms in other clubs are two to three times the size, it now makes sense to me. The Islanders locker room is so small that I have tripped over equipment bags, been pinned against stall walls, toppled garbage cans and even shut the lights off in half the room when I was squeezed against the doorway by the throng of Media. It is the size of an average Levittown cape master bedroom! Now pile 40 people in it and see what happens.

Garth then continued about the attendance, and this is where he almost broke my heart. It seems that players really DO need to feed off the crowd and with a weeknight crowd that can average fewer than 10,000 in a building that is designed for over 16,000, we seem to be stuck with a Catch-22. We need larger crowds to attract and keep elite players; we need elite players to attract larger crowds. We are stuck.

The Islanders are looking to sell 10,000 season tickets this year. This is going to be a difficult task considering the state of our local economy. If the gas prices do not get any better soon, I can only imagine what a tough sell this will actually be. Mike Bossy is personally hitting the pavement promoting the Islanders Business Club, their endeavors and the great benefits that come along with membership. If you know anyone who owns a business, this is the group for them to join for business-to-business promotion and Islanders hockey.

Nevertheless, the attendance issue is really up to us, the die-hard fans that hockey truly relies on for its existence. If you are in a position to purchase a full season package, do so. If you can purchase one of the great partial plans they will be offering for next season -- do it. If that too, in this economy, is a financial burden and not possible, then make a promise to yourself to go to the number of games you can afford. When the individual tickets go on sale, get out the calendar and BUY them. Buy them for special occasion days, buy them for holiday presents for loved ones, buy them for special promotion dates, just BUY THEM and SHOW up.

If you have a child who has a birthday from October to April, have a hockey party and book a group rate. You cannot beat the value, the kids have a great time and you don’t have a mess to clean up in your home. You’ll also be helping develop new fans from the ground up.

We complain about the Ranger fans in the building on rivalry nights. Well, it is time for us to do something about that too. If you are an Islanders fan and you can only afford to go to two or three games a year, then buy tickets to those games, show up in your Islanders jersey, and be loud and proud. We cannot let them overrun OUR building next season. Remember when Chico Resch complained about the Rock being over run with Ranger fans during their first round playoffs this season? Well, the last thing Mr. Dey told us was how he said to Brendan Witt during the last Islander/Ranger game this year “How would you like to lose $25 million dollars and have to hear ‘Let’s Go Rangers’ in your own building?”

Ouch. Looks like we all have a lot of work to do. The Islanders management is up to the task -- are we? I think so. How about you?