The End of an Era

Twenty years is a long time to be anywhere. Twenty years on a job is almost unheard of in this age of revolving door employment. This is something I have personal knowledge of with June 5th being my 28th anniversary in the same place. Mind you, I was 10 when I started there, and did have two brief breaks from full-time to part time work, but I always had one hand on my office door. When you work in one place for that long, it’s not just what you do, but WHO you are. It’s how you define yourself in your own head, and to the rest of the world.

Such is the case of one Mr. Chris Botta, (ex) VP of Media Relations for the NY Islanders. Weathering the storm of twenty years of changes in a sports organization is a daunting task. There are economic changes, management changes, perpetual crises, and office politics to navigate. Mr. Botta and I have a lot in common, including sharing a birthday, if you discount the year. I’m certain he did it the same way I have: Humor, adaptability, constant learning and a good dose of vodka. (I can’t guarantee the last one on his part, but it’s a big reason I’ve been in the same place for so long.)

It’s a devastating situation to remove oneself from a position you love that you’ve held for so long. It was a shock to all of us in Islander Country in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday the 6th. It came with no warning, no reasoning, no real positive spin, even though Greg Logan tried. We may never know the details of what actually transpired. Office politics can be tricky. If you divulge the truth, you burn your bridges both behind you and ahead of you. That is financial suicide and something that smart people don’t do. If there is one thing that CB is… it’s smart, bordering on brilliant.

The only thing I can add to this depressing turn of events is my personal opinions, views and memories. I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing him very long, but what I have seen in just about a year leads me to believe that we ALL are losing something very special out of the organization we spend so much time, money and emotion on.

So, some facts: Chris Botta is the guy who wrote a book about the Islanders with Stan Fischler appropriately titled “Pride & Passion.” He’s the guy who in 2002 gave a lifelong, blind Islanders fan a day she’d never forget at the Coliseum. In April 2006, he was the guy who offered to leave me tickets at the will call window after I had sold off my own, even though I had no idea who he was other than the guy with the great blog. But he knew who I was, Milbury probably warned him. But he seemed to know everything behind the scenes, yet he was never visible. There are hardly any photos of him at company events. He was there, but not in front of the camera. He was the guy working behind the scenes with the media, giving them what they needed to get the story straight. And on Dec. 22nd 2007, he was the guy who stood on the ice with his family by his side and was honored for twenty years of loyal service with a Piaget watch and a mounted, customized jersey with his name and the number 20 on it. Still, I bet there are no photos of that either.

I don’t think this guy was ever off the Islander time clock or ever slept. Sure, this could come from raising three young boys, but I think it was more his work ethic that kept him constantly driven. Some game nights you’d find blog entries written in the early hours of the morning, and email notifications by 10 am. He’s the guy who ran the morning skate press conferences, the pre-game press conferences, and the post game press conferences. He’s the guy whose phone would ring off the wall every time something miserable happened in the Islanders camp that needed an explanation and a quote. He’s the guy with the time clock in his head who never had to look at that Piaget to see when Ted’s 4 minutes during post game were up to keep everything running smoothly. He’s the guy who could carry on a conversation with a visiting hockey dignitary and still have one ear on what an interviewing player was saying, just in case. He's also the guy that wrote about the Dragons, and the Lighthouse and a whole raft of other things that I never even bothered to read.

Botta is also the guy who came up with this crazy idea that gave me, the oldest living, non-sanctioned, intern a chance to do what I could only dream of -- WRITE about hockey and actually be recognized for it. The handful of people he took a chance on tried desperately to make him proud. I think we did a half-way decent job. I’m sure my blog box buddies will give you all their own personal views on working with CB or “The BlogFather” as we liked to call him. So, I won’t speak for them, just me.

I’ve had three bosses who I believe made a difference in my life. There was Herman Aaronson from CBS Entertainment who taught me at a very young age that it would be harder for me to make it in a man’s world unless I could deal with them on their level. Secondly, Richard Wilen who taught me there was nothing I couldn’t do, only things I didn’t know how to do… yet, and Chris Botta who basically, at this late stage of my life, reinforced everything the first two taught me. I CAN make it in a man’s world, but not if I'm treated differently and there’s nothing I CAN’T do, if I want to. He never told me what to write, just said “Write from your heart.” So I did, just as I’m doing now.

I can never thank this man enough for the opportunity he gave me. EVER! He was the first person to call me a “journalist.” I had to look around the room to see if there was someone else there. He would challenge me to look in other directions, even though at the time I thought he was scolding me.

He HATES the fact that my website is called “unique” perspectives. It seems to stick in his throat every time he says it.

“Your views can’t be ‘unique’ Mrs. Karl if you’re saying the same thing as everyone else. You really should find another angle.”

When I would complain about the late night delays in the press room, he would just quietly and calmly say “If this is too much for you Mrs. Karl, don’t do it.” The rest of the blog box boys would just shudder and step away figuring pointed shoes would soon be flying. But they never did. I would just grumble and growl and curse under my breath and go home and write until 1 am. He knew what motivated me.

He made me a better writer. No, wait, that’s not enough. He made me a writer, period. Something I never thought I could actually be. He made me work harder than I ever thought I could (especially for no money). He gave me friends I would never have had and an acceptance I would have never otherwise been offered. HE made my year in the Islanders organization stuff only dreams are made of.

Long standing jobs are like long standing marriages, they take a lot of hard work and two willing partners. I’ll consider this celebration & “break-up” year of the Islanders and Chris Botta the same way I consider what happened to me back in 1990. In September of 1989, for my fifth anniversary I renewed my marriage vows. By September of 1990, I had finalized divorce papers in my hand. You never know what tomorrow brings and things can end in a blink.

I only hope that Chris stays connected to the NHL. To lose this man, his passion and his insight for our game to another sport would be even more devastating than losing him from the Islanders -- and that is already crushing. There is no truer fan; there is no more loyal employee, no more compassionate man to those looking for assistance, no better friend than Chris Botta.

We’ll keep the light on for you CB, so you can always find your way HOME.

4B

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?