There has been a lot of response to my blog post from late last week, when I went into detail about the overpowering Canadian influence on the possibility of the Phoenix Coyotes relocating to Winnipeg. Some people were metered in their response, while others were overcome with emotion and anger, letting my post get to them. Well, this "mongloid" has something to add.
↵Honestly, I said a few things that weren't fair to Winnipeg, and one thing that was patently false: it's quite obvious that there is a lot of passion for hockey (and the Jets) in Manitoba based on the responses I read. I apologize for that, but at the same time I still feel that the overwhelming internet push to dispatch the Coyotes from Phoenix has been detrimental to my city's pursuit of keeping its hockey team.
↵Living in Phoenix, there's a lot of reason to believe that the Coyotes are underappreciated. The arena rarely sells out, and even when the team is good there isn't a lot of interest by the local populace. That doesn't mean the city doesn't deserve a team; it means that there needs to be a grassroots following of hockey and a youth-based push to legitimize the city as a hockey town.
↵This hasn't happened yet, and that's why Winnipeggers are circling the sky like buzzards in the desert sun. The meat is fresh and they want a team, bad.
↵While relocation is nothing new in sports, this prospective situation is pretty unique. How often does a team move away from a city, only to return 15 years later? Should the Coyotes move back to Winnipeg, that would be the case.
↵This makes the argument and the debate all the more lively. Many Winnipeggers feel as though the team was stolen from them when it was relocated to Glendale, arguing that it is "their right" to have the team returned to the loving tundra of Manitoba.
↵I'd like to thank a Canadian reader, Ray, who sent me a link to JetsOwner.com, an interesting site with a lot of content. While I think that a lot of pro-Winnipeg individuals aren't being fair or realistic regarding their assumption that Winnipeg will handily support this team (see: Washington D.C.'s meager support of the Nationals), I imagine that a revived Jets team would do just fine in Manitoba.
↵With that said, just wait until something actually happens before getting too excited. That's not too much to ask, is it?