Going Up in Flames?

I will admit that I don’t know the intricacies of the Atlanta Spirit ownership and especially their dreadful ownership of the Atlanta Thrashers but I know that, as an Atlanta sports fan, it affects me and all others who claim Atlanta as their spiritual sporting home. While almost everyone sees the Thrashers as Atlanta’s fourth child, and to a large population they are the ugliest of the clan, there is a small percentage within the metropolis that is the most passionate fan base in the city outside of college football. Whether this stems from the lack that the franchise has had (one play-off appearance since the Thrashers inception in 1999) or from the genuine lack of hockey culture that 90 degree summers produce it seems that the Atlanta Spirit is beginning to push against the diminutive but dedicated fans that have propped up a badly managed and badly funded team since day one.

Two things help to make a franchise successful in Atlanta, 1.) An owner not just dedicated to the team but also to the area and 2.) A recognisable star that is as committed to the team as the fans are. It also helps to be a football team. For the purpose of this exercise I will ignore the Falcons simply because football would work anywhere (maybe even L.A who knows?). The Braves and Hawks both arrived in Atlanta in the late sixties and have been helped massively by the fact that, at one point in each team’s history, they have been owned by Atlanta’s most successful entrepreneur Ted Turner. Ted is the type of individual who especially during his time in charge of the teams wanted to make the teams successful for HIS city. As far as star power goes both franchises have had the major stars for significant periods of their history, the Braves arrived with Hank Aaron and his chase for 715, the eighties were the domain of Dale Murphy and if you’re reading this blog you shouldn’t need reminding of what the nineties were. The Hawks had Dominique Wilkins for twelve years that spanned the eighties and early nineties, Steve Smith was a fan favourite towards the end of the 90’s and now have the Smith-Horford-Johnson trio.

The Thrashers never had the Ted Turner owner who powered the franchise to better, they never had a superstar who genuinely cared about the well fare of the team and, most importantly, never gave the fans hope of having one. If Thrashers fans wanted a potential warning about the way the franchise might be going they had no further to look than the city itself. Six years after the Braves arrived in Atlanta from Milwaukee and four years after the Hawks arrived from St Louis a little team on skates arrived as a pair of NHL expansion teams. For eight years in the 1970’s the city of Atlanta had a hockey team in the Flames, one that made the play-offs in six of their first eight seasons and produced a steady stream of talented young players including goaltender Dan Bouchard. However much like we are seeing now, as soon as the costs got a little steep the ownership refused to commit time and/or money to a promising young franchise, instead they sold the Flames for $16 million, a then-NHL record. Guess what happened next...the Flames went to Canada. Does this sound familiar? It seemed like only minutes after announcing the five year contract signed by Dustin Byfuglien, one of those potential franchise making players, that Atlanta Spirit basically stuck the For Sale sign on the outside of Phillips Arena. The city of Atlanta simply cannot allow this hockey franchise to desert the city for the snowier climes of Winnipeg, the Thrashers need a Ted Turner in a world that doesn’t have many Ted Turner’s left. Surely dreaming isn’t a bad thing to do though.