The Tampa Bay Lightning vs. the Calgary Flames--The NHL Stanley Cup Finals

[Mr GrumpyAss]

I figured id try and see what peoples views on the Stanley Cup finals are. Of coarse being Canadian, im cheering for the Calgary Flames. Although an underrated team, they have managed to defeat the 2nd place Vancover team as well as the favored 1st place team in there division Detriot Red Wings. This is the first time in a decade that a Canadian team has made it to the finals. Something for all Canadians to cheer for.
As for the Philly vs Tampa series, im hoping for a big game 7 win from Tampa tonight. Calgary and Tampa are closely matched in size and speed,so it should be a good series if it comes to pass.
Anyone else have a playoff view?

[Full Bug]

All I will say is GO FLAMES GO!
I'm hoping for a Tampa/Calgary final as well......

[Lou]

I third that motion for a Tampa/Calgary final....


BECAUSE NOBODY WILL WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!

And I am rooting like hell for Calgary to win....


SO THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO MERCHANDISING REVENUE IN THE UNITED STATES!!!!!!!!!

[tobinentinc]

Let's go Bolts baybee

[POJO_Risin]

This should be a good one...The lightening and the Flames...let the games begin...

[POJO_Risin]

I think I'll change the name of this thread...

[Mr GrumpyAss]

Well guys we got what we wanted..Tampa vs Calgary,it's going to be a good one. I better go get my Calgary car flags!
GO FLAMES GO!
Bring the cup home!

[Lou]

The NHL, and ESPN are probably going insane. Knowing how piss-poor the ratings will be, and if Calgary wins, they have virtually no merchandising potential in the U.S. You know they were praying very hard that the Flyers would win so they'd at least have something.

Yes this will be big in Canada. Problem for the NHL is that the real money for this is in the US, and they have only one US market. Canadians won't be watching the games on ESPN/ABC.

I guaran-damn-tee this will be the lowest Stanley Cup ratings EVER!

[Full Bug]

Originally posted by Lou

Yes this will be big in Canada. Problem for the NHL is that the real money for this is in the US, and they have only one US market. Canadians won't be watching the games on ESPN/ABC.
I guaran-damn-tee this will be the lowest Stanley Cup ratings EVER!
Maybe the NHL should have thought of that before putting a team in Tampa Bay of all places.....
Its a shame most Americans dont give two shits about hockey, because this will ba a damm great series between two teams with great speed.....

[Bob_R]

Originally posted by Lou
The NHL, and ESPN are probably going insane. Knowing how piss-poor the ratings will be, and if Calgary wins, they have virtually no merchandising potential in the U.S. You know they were praying very hard that the Flyers would win so they'd at least have something.

Yes this will be big in Canada. Problem for the NHL is that the real money for this is in the US, and they have only one US market. Canadians won't be watching the games on ESPN/ABC.

I guaran-damn-tee this will be the lowest Stanley Cup ratings EVER!

BONUS Question: When's the last time Philadelphia won a championship? :D LMFAO!!!!!

[Bob_R]

Originally posted by Full Bug
Maybe the NHL should have thought of that before putting a team in Tampa Bay of all places.....
Its a shame most Americans dont give two shits about hockey, because this will ba a damm great series between two teams with great speed.....

Many Americans care Bug. Do not take Lou's word as gospel. He's full of hate.

[Full Bug]

Originally posted by EVH FANATIC
BONUS Question: When's the last time Philadelphia won a championship? :D LMFAO!!!!
29 years, in 1975, still not as long as the Leafs Stanley Cup drought though....

[Lou]

If the Flyers won a Stanley Cup....and I mean this....it would NOT COUNT as a championship in my opinion and lot of other people's opinions around here including some sports talk radio host's.

[Bob_R]

Originally posted by Lou
If the Flyers won a Stanley Cup....and I mean this....it would NOT COUNT as a championship

C'mon Lou give us a break!

[Full Bug]

Canada deserves the Cup

By Full Bug

I say hockey is still just a trend in Florida

If the Stanley Cup is to go where it is deserved, they'll be hoisting it in Calgary in the near future.

Calgary is hockey country, a place where the game has its roots and its most passionate fans, a place where everyone for hundreds of miles around knows the Flames and how their season is going.

In Tampa, the game is a trend -- and a very recent one at that. The building is sold out these days, but in a holdover from a promotion established in the hope of gaining fans, 200 tickets still go on sale each game day for $8.

Obviously, there is room for even more promotion. There were thousands of empty seats for first and second-round games against the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens, respectively.

As recently as last Tuesday morning, the day of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Philadelphia Flyers, 1,500 tickets were still waiting to be sold.

The Lightning fans, many of whom work in the local media, have no idea of the game's nuances, and for that matter aren't terribly clear on the rules.

None of this reflects on the organization, of course. General manager Jay Feaster has done an excellent job of building a team that is well-coached by John Tortorella.

The Tampa players exhibit a tantalizing blend of grit and skill and, as is invariably the case in today's National Hockey League, come from backgrounds so diverse that you wonder how they could ever play so well together.

You look at the undersized Martin St. Louis and Cory Stillman, castoffs from the team they are about to battle for the Stanley Cup; you look at Dave Andreychuk, the respected veteran going to the final for the first time; you look at Fredrik Modin, yet another player mismanaged by the Maple Leafs but now emerging as one of the league's better power forwards; you look at Vincent Lecavalier and see his occasional blinding flashes of brilliance, and you find yourself hoping that this eclectic aggregation can persevere and earn the ultimate triumph.

But only fleetingly. Because then you look at the Calgary Flames and see stories just as intriguing and players just as deserving of the Cup.

There's Jarome Iginla, perhaps the most likable person in hockey. There's the affable Mike Commodore, who fully expected to be at home reflecting on another minor-league season at this point. There's the effervescent Ville Nieminen, a rogue but a lovable rogue, more mischievous than malicious. And many, many more.

So you return to the original point. Which city deserves the Stanley Cup more?

The one with the louts in the stands who need their thundersticks to show approval and who use them to "playfully" bop other patrons before getting on their cell phones to tell their friends where they are?

Or, the people who make up the Sea of Red, who understand the game's intricacies, who don't assume that a penalty is coming because the linesman raised his arm, and who know that the Stanley Cup is not just another silver trophy, it's the Holy Grail?

It's not a difficult question to answer, at least not for any Canadian who has skated outdoors in winter -- properly skated, not wheeled past the marina on rollerblades.

This is a Canadian game and a Canadian trophy. We're the ones who will bleed next year while there's no hockey, while the Americans, caught up with basketball and football, will hardly notice.

No Canadian team has been to the final in a decade, and if this opportunity passes unfulfilled, who knows how long it will be before another one comes along?

The Cup belongs in Canada.......

[Big Troubles]

Amen.

[Mr GrumpyAss]

Excellent breakdown of the facts Bug,very well said.