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Tampa Bay writers, fans irked by Carolina’s rebuff
by David Lee on 10/08/08 at 09:12 PM ET
Comments (9)
Earlier, Paul wrote about a scheduling problem in the City of Tampa. It seems that some professional baseball team from the Bay area is participating in some post-season tournament, and one of their games is scheduled for the same time as the Bolts home opener against Carolina on Saturday.
Under normal circumstances, the city would just cope with it, as Detroit did when both the Red Wings and Pistons were simultaneously playing home playoff games on the same night last summer. Or they might petition the league to move the start time of one or the other game. In this case, Carolina has veto power on bumping up the start time of the hockey game because they will be on the back end of a back-to-back, and the proposed start time of 5:00 would be just 19 hours after the end of Friday’s game. Carolina said “thanks but no thanks”, and certain people have been rubbed the wrong way.
Carolina is used to having grenades lobbed its way by the press from the Sunshine State, but this is getting really silly.
This Erik Erlendsson fellow seems to think that the Hurricanes are being needlessly selfish by declining Tampa’s request to move the start time from 7:30 to 5:00 to accommodate the folks who want to watch hockey and baseball without being forced to make a decision. While the Tampa sun may rise and set on that baseball game, the harsh reality is that nobody else cares. And the thing is, that isn’t even the point.
The point is that Carolina is playing a home game on Friday night, starting at 7:00. That game will end around 10, and they’ll most likely go directly to the airport, and get to Tampa at some point in the wee hours. Playing on the road as the back end of a back-to-back is already a big disadvantage. Playing against a team that has been sitting at home resting makes it an even bigger disadvantage. I don’t think there’s a team in the league who would, without incentive, put themselves at an even greater disadvantage by giving up two and a half hours of precious rest in that situation. And in a division game, no less!
What really gets me is that Erlendsson is taking a “oh, this is bad karma” route on this. He thinks that Carolina should put their exhausted players on the ice two hours early just to be more accommodating to the sports fans in Tampa. He’s under the impression that division rivals do each other favors all the time and that Carolina is in debt on this one:
As far as my feelings on that, well, at some point Carolina might be asking the Lightning for a similar favor and all I can say is, what comes around goes around. I know in the pasta (sic) Tampa Bay has been accommodating to changes to schedules having to turnaround and start a game with less than 24 hours before start times. Guess Carolina can count on not getting any help from Tampa Bay the next time.
Ooooooh. We’re real scared. The Lightning might not invite us to their fancy dress.
According to Luke Decock, there might be a little more to it than a lack of desire to play two games with so little turnaround time. He thinks that Carolina, and the other 28 teams in the league are never going to be in a hurry to do a favor for the Bolts. A couple of summers ago, they reconfigured the access between the visitor’s bench and the visitor’s locker room. I can’t say, because I’ve never been there, but I’m gonna have to trust Luke on this. and this is the strangest thing I’ve heard in some time:
In the summer of 2006, the Lightning added an ice-level club to their arena and closed off the tunnel that connected the visiting locker room to the visiting bench. It was a double-whammy for visiting teams, not only forcing them to walk about 100 yards to get to the ice while depriving them of in-game access to their dressing room but forcing them to walk through a bar full of possibly inebriated Lightning fans to get to the ice.
(I added boldface to the existing text for emphasis)
I think Luke might be spinning a little there. There’s no way in the world that the players have to physically walk through the bar to get to the ice. Is there? Maybe near the bar, or down a hallway shared by the bar, or down a tunnel that passes through the bar. I’ve never been to the St. Pete Forum, so I have no idea.
Anyway, the Canes turned down the request, and the Lightning have said that they understand, but apparently, some folks are getting bent out of shape.
Filed in: Carolina Hurricanes, NHL Hockey | Red and Black Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Tampa+Bay+Lightning,
Comments
Yeah, I don’t see Carolina doing anything wrong here. And the whole “What goes around comes around” should really only be reserved when someone is being a dick to someone else. Not when they refuse a request they’re perfectly entitled to refuse.
Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 10/08/08 at 08:49 PM ET
David, since you have never been to the St. Pete Times Forum, I’ll cut you some slack. And I’ll give you credit for realizing that Luke took things a bit to the extreme in what he wrote about the locker room access to visiting teams.
As a season ticket holder who often hangs out in the XO Club where the visiting teams “walk through’’ to get to the locker room, I can tell you, the fans are not unruly and they are not a bunch of drunken fools. The players don’t interact as the walk off the ice, they are sectioned off and there is security keeping things in line.
And please explain the difference between this and Toronto, where the visiting teams have to walk through club areas to get back to their locker room. Or, low and behold, in Carolina where the visiting teams’ trainers coaches have to walk across the ice and the visiting goaltender sits behind the glass, away from his teammates.
And can you honestly think it’s a competitive disadvantage to play the game two hours earlier? As to your argument that Tampa would be a well rested team, try telling them how restful their trip to Europe was and how rusty they will be when the get back on the ice?
Your arguments just don’t hold water.
Posted by Paul D. from Tampa Bay on 10/08/08 at 09:20 PM ET
Thanks Paul D. Points well taken. Luke had me wanting to go to Tampa and just hang out at the bar wearing my Canes jersey...just for kicks.
Posted by AD from WS on 10/08/08 at 10:17 PM ET
Paul D. your point is what? What has your team done for the Canes? We didn’t want to change the time, so get over it.. I bet your team is tired from the trip to Europe because the Rangers thumped you around and gave you two loses..
Posted by jf on 10/08/08 at 10:18 PM ET
Paul D,
You’re right. There are other arenas where the visiting dressing room isn’t exactly nearby. And you’re right that the RBC Center is one of a few arenas where the backup goaltender for the visitor can’t sit on the bench. And one of many arenas where the coaches/staff have to walk across the ice. And you’re absolutely right that the Bolts played in Czech Republic on Sunday and traveled a lot since then.
The thing is that it’s Carolina’s option to say “no” here, and it isn’t some attack against Bolts/Rays fans. It’s them saying that they’d rather not play with such a quick turnaround. It already sucks enough playing back to back. Every bit of rest helps, and they don’t feel like giving up those two hours, even if it seems insignificant. Forgive me if I get a little ridiculous, but where would you draw the line? 3pm after a 7pm? Noon after a 7pm? It’s just a few hours. What difference can it possibly make?
Is player fatigue on the back end of a back-to-back games overrated? I dunno. If so, then I’m off base with that.
Posted by David Lee from Greensboro, NC on 10/08/08 at 10:20 PM ET
This Erik Erlendsson fellow seems to think that the Hurricanes are being needlessly selfish by declining Tampa’s request to move the start time from 7:30 to 5:00 to accommodate the folks who want to watch hockey and baseball without being forced to make a decision.
Well, here’s an idea. How about having the Rays start their game at, say, 3:00? Then everyone can watch both games. What? You say the Rays would never agree to make a change to accomodate the Bolts? Why not? They’re from the same city, right? Wouldn’t they want their fellow Tampa Bayites (or whatever you call them) to be able to see or go to both games?
Ohhhhhhh, right. No baseball team or fan in the South gives a rat’s patoot about the Bolts...or hockey in general for that matter. Well, gee, then I guess the Bolt fans should understand why the Canes aren’t going to waive their rights to help them out either.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 10/08/08 at 10:44 PM ET
My question is this… why do arenas (or teams) keep closing off the visiting teams bench from the direct route to their dressing rooms. I think that’s just unprofessional.
Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 10/08/08 at 11:02 PM ET
Man, if the Bolts fans and media are bitter about this, just wait till the team wins all of 6 games through November.
By the way, in what way does when a game starts impacts a team that hasn’t played a full game in about two years?
Posted by HockeyinHD on 10/09/08 at 07:29 AM ET
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About Red & Black Hockey
David Lee is a restaurant manager with an unused degree in political science. He can be found at Carolina Hurricanes games, Scrabble tournaments and indie-rock shows. Sometimes, all in the same day.
David has contributed to CBC.ca for their Stanley Cup playoff coverage in 2006 and to the New York Times Slapshot blog for theirs in 2008. Red and Black Hockey was founded in July of 2005.
I don’t blame the Canes one bit. Sometimes that is the way the ball bounces and Tampa would be better off by not even bringing it up.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 10/08/08 at 08:39 PM ET