Friday, February 25, 2005
Anaheim Mighty Ducks in a Row
The (evil and twisted) Disney Corporation has finally found an owner/sucker to take the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim off of their hands: Billionaires Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Susan Samueli:
If anyone is to buy an NHL team in the midst of bad leadership and failed CBA negotiations, then these two very optimistic folks would be your best choice.
Henry Samueli:
Mr. Samueli has 18 filed patents and seems to be a master engineer. He will have to engineer a way to turn a soft market into a strong market.
Last season, Anaheim ranked 23rd in average attendance and will not support the team all that well unless they are winning. The tacky name and movie connection worked well for a few years, but the novelty wore off and perhaps it's time to ditch the 'Mighty' tag and awful uniforms. Perhaps it's time for the Ducks to grow up and market themselves as a 'serious' team.
Of course, the fans will flock to see a team called The Fluffy Pillows of Orange County if they are an exciting team and serious Stanley Cup contender.
At the very least, the NHL did not have to step in to protect the value of the franchise. That would have been just another embarassing log to throw on the NHLs fire of failure.
If anyone is to buy an NHL team in the midst of bad leadership and failed CBA negotiations, then these two very optimistic folks would be your best choice.
Henry Samueli:
"We're buying the team with a long-term plan in mind. We're assuming this (the labour dispute) will get settled shortly. We're assuming things will get cleaned up and we'll have a long and healthy future with the team."Samueli likely presumes that the NHL will get the union busting/cost certainty in order to make the Ducks a team that can actually turn a profit on a day-to-day basis.
"It's never good for the fan base when you have a lockout, but the Mighty Ducks have done really well over the years," he said. "We will make sure we do everything in our power to make it a winning team and a profitable team."
"I think we can restore confidence in the sport not only here, but across the country."
Mr. Samueli has 18 filed patents and seems to be a master engineer. He will have to engineer a way to turn a soft market into a strong market.
Last season, Anaheim ranked 23rd in average attendance and will not support the team all that well unless they are winning. The tacky name and movie connection worked well for a few years, but the novelty wore off and perhaps it's time to ditch the 'Mighty' tag and awful uniforms. Perhaps it's time for the Ducks to grow up and market themselves as a 'serious' team.
Of course, the fans will flock to see a team called The Fluffy Pillows of Orange County if they are an exciting team and serious Stanley Cup contender.
At the very least, the NHL did not have to step in to protect the value of the franchise. That would have been just another embarassing log to throw on the NHLs fire of failure.
Comments:
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interesting..."evil and twisted" you say?
I find it interesting that you and I have the same opinion about the "magic kingdom". I don't like them for many reasons.. mainly for ESPN's bias/issues.
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I find it interesting that you and I have the same opinion about the "magic kingdom". I don't like them for many reasons.. mainly for ESPN's bias/issues.
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