Been There. Done That.
March 14, 2017
As someone who suffered through an endless procession of disappointments during the NHL era of the real Jets, I read this article on arcticicehockey.com with considerable interest.
Penned by current season ticket holder Kevin Doherty, it eloquently sums up how years of neglect on the part of the Chipman organization has sucked the passion out of him and many other rabid fans. It sounded exactly like something I could have written back in 1989 when I gave up my season tickets for many of the same reasons. Or when I stopped going to Fighting Moose games back in 2004. Classic symptoms of Battered Fan Syndrome, something for which there really is no cure.
Having seen first-hand how Mark Chipman operates, the only surprise is that it’s taken fans this long to figure it out. Some still haven’t, while others choose not to.
Part of me is sympathetic. After all, it’s not the fans’ fault that they’re stuck with an owner who cares more about playing general manager and polishing his image than in delivering a quality product and treating his customers with some modicum of respect.
Unfortunately for fans like Doherty, it won’t get any better.
During a recent conversation with a friend, he made the point that sports teams need to sell hope to their fans. But with Chipman, there is no hope. The financial and emotional investment he expects from his “stakeholders” will never be returned.
And he will not change. Ever. Oh sure, he might shuffle a few of his cronies around. Maybe throw one or two under the bus. See Noel, Claude. Someone who, by the way, would likely still be behind the bench if it weren’t for an impending season ticket renewal deadline. But it will just be for show.
The worst part is that he’s not going anywhere. Flush with cash thanks to his practically unlimited access to public coffers and in a position of absolute power, there’s no reason for him to sell or step down.
As I’ve said before to people in that part of the world who laughed and figuratively wagged their finger in my face back in 2011, you wanted a Mark Chipman team, you got one. Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
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