Like you, Spencer Ross is a die-hard Habs fan. Unfortunately, to the Montreal Canadiens organization, he doesn’t exist. When it comes to acknowledging fans beyond the borders of the home province, they have a severe case of myopia. It is both a shame and questionable business practise. Worldwide, more fans speak English yet they are the unacknowledged yet loyal supporters.
Spencer has agreed to share his views on belonging to that ignored group of Canadiens fans, in the first installment of his continuing column “Affairs of the Habs Heart.”
When Rick asked me to board the All Habs “train” as a semi-regular contributor, I attached a few strings to my acceptance. One of those strings was my ability to do so within the time constraints of my schedule (i.e., grad student life is not really a 9-5 job where I can catch all the games and then write). The other was that, despite my current academic training, I am not a stats and figures man when it comes to sports. While there is a relevancy of sports statistics, I prefer to take a big picture, broad-based viewpoint and write accordingly. That is what I will attempt through my subsequent posts.
It’s possible you’ve already read my previous All Habs post, “Musings of a Concerned Habs Fan”, where I already elucidated my point of view and how I became a Habs fan. Therefore, I’m not going to repeat myself in introduction and instead, am going to jump straight into Affairs of the Habs Heart.
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The ‘H’ Does Stand for ‘Habs’
SPRINGFIELD, MA — So often in response to decisions taken for political or linguistic reasons, Habs management replies that they are demanded by ‘the fans.’ It refers to a small segment of its fanbase – a fanbase that is large, socioeconomically diverse, and global. A fanbase that is devout to three colours, whether or not the team on the ice is playoff-bound or whether or not the team behind-the-scenes is making the most egregious management errors. A fanbase that watches every game on RDS, CBC, Gamecentre, Centre Ice, etc., regardless of whether or not it works in the C-suite of Bombardier, Bell, Desjardins, Gildan, Saputo, Jean Coutu, etc. And yet, in spite of this, the organization seems to feel compelled to continue making the same mistakes of yore by virtually writing off its non-francophone fans. Officially, the ‘H’ does not stand for ‘Habs;’ it stands for ‘hockey.’ Unofficially, the ‘H’ does – and should – stand for ‘Habs.’ And it would serve management well to take heed of this.
For those who haven’t been acclimated to the Montreal Canadiens vocabulary, ‘Habs’ is short for ‘habitants,’ a Québécois term used to describe the settlers/inhabitants who farmed the land along the St. Lawrence River. These were the workers – the backbone of the province. As the industrial era came along, habitants were no longer just the farmers, but also the factory workers down in places like Saint-Henri, epitomized by books like Gabrielle Roy’s The Tin Flute/Bonheur d’Occasion. The formation of the Montreal Canadiens in 1909 came during this time, enabling the ‘common blue-collar working-man’ to follow sport and idolize heroes.
Through the decades, Montreal Children followed the exploits of Plante, Vézina, Richard, Béliveau, Lafleur, Robinson, Gainey, and so forth; the Montreal Forum was the Temple of Gods – perhaps even more so than the Hockey Hall of Fame. And while the Toronto Maple Leafs became despised political and linguistic rivals to the beloved Tricolore, the Québec Nordiques were the in-province rivals. The 24 Stanley Cups only served to bolster the league’s interest and “storied” reputation of the team.
But something funny happened in 1994 that changed it all: The league went into a lockout, compounding financial woes for the Nordiques and forcing them to move to Denver, Colorado. The NHL, with its usurpation of power by Gary Bettman, would never be the same. A province turned toward the Montreal Canadiens for support but no longer would Montreal Canadiens’ management look at its fans the same way.
When the lockout ended and the abbreviated season continued in 1995, the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 25 years (since 1969-1970). To that end, nearly a third of the roster was gone before the end of the season, including many Cup veterans from the winning 1992-1993 season. The Molson Centre was already under construction. Just after the beginning of the 1995-1996 season set in motion the events that would ultimately lead to The Trade [of Patrick Roy], and the end of the season brought the Canadiens into the new arena.
Blame the Ghosts of the Forum if you will, blame The Trade, blame whatever else you’d like… but let it be known my contempt for the Reign of Gary Bettman, for I believe his shrewd interests for the league wrought the demise of our beloved Glorieux.
Since the lockout, the franchise has never seemed to reclaim its destiny; a series of trades, hires, and perhaps just bad fortune, has stuck its neck in our business as fans. A string of playoff near-misses and dud players never struck gold (or rather, silver) in the Molson Centre. I remember arriving at McGill in the 2000-2001 season and seeing hundreds of empty seats as the losses piled up. Even scalpers couldn’t move their inventory. In this “New NHL,” the team – whose habitant fans put season tickets in their wills – now had corporate seats, luxury boxes… the whole nine-yards… sitting vacant.
The league didn’t care. It didn’t have to; Detroit, New Jersey, Colorado, and Dallas were media darlings in a country that deemed hockey a fourth-rate sport. The rise of José Théodore and the jubilant ovations for Saku Koivu (one of my two fave in-person memories) were irrelevant compared to Martin Brodeur’s shutouts and Steve Yzerman’s goals. Corporate seats and luxury boxes just served to fund Gary Bettman’s “Sunbelt Strategy,” plying the NHL into hockey markets where there were none (Nashville, Columbus, etc).
But guess what? As the Habs started to dribble into the playoffs again, the seats at the Bell Centre filled up. Alongside the increase in attendance, the Canadiens started to benefit from the power of the internet as it drew hockey communities together to not only talk about the sport, but to watch it as well. The story of La Sainte Flanelle spread around the world… but the league didn’t care. And neither did the Canadiens’ management.
Instead, management started to take a myopic view that the only “fans” under consideration – the only fans by “market research” – were the francophone, white-collar, corporate types. The ‘H’ took on new meaning: ‘High Society.’ So long as the Canadiens could make the playoffs (even if it meant marginally hanging on to an eighth- or seventh-place conference finish), white-collar Canadiens “fans” could afford the new pricing schemes concocted by management and the rest would be turned away. It didn’t matter if the team would win another Stanley Cup because support from the regular working-man was a given factor – forget the rest of the world’s fans.
And in that manner, only satisfying the team’s sacrosanct francophone roots would ensure that Montréal would have a monopoly on Les Glorieux. If “we are/nous sommes Canadiens,” then that slogan refers to ALL the fans, not just the ones who are still searching for the elusive local francophone superhero – a.k.a. the next Patrick Roy. (n.b.–If Patrick Roy was the reason a little boy in the Hartford suburbs could eventually grow up to understand the symbolism of the Richard Riots, then management has to recognise that phenomena in sport have no borders.)
So what of the rest of us who follow the Canadiens? What of those in Chile, in France, in the US, in Indonesia? Has Canadiens management forsaken us? What of the heroes we internationals have bonded with in the past several years – the Russian Andrei Markovs, the Czech Tomas Plekanecs, the Francophone Maxim Lapierres, the Canadian Carey Prices (yes, even those who are international fans understand the historical importance of goaltending in Montreal lore). Those of us around the world who call the Canadiens “notre équipe,” we understand – even comprehend – the historical and linguistic ties to the province of Québec. For to be a Canadiens fan, one cannot operate in a cultural vacuum. We come from different backgrounds, but appreciate one thing: the Montreal Canadiens. Are we not all ‘habitants?’
So what is it like to faithfully follow a team that essentially doesn’t acknowledge my existence?
For starters, it is apparent that Gary Bettman has deemed Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin (and to a lesser extent, Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards) as more marketable and more accessible. The league has thrown its weight behind its Sunbelt Strategy, yet I remain a Habs fan now more than ever (and perhaps, also feel entitled to holler and hoot at the near-sighted decisions of Canadiens management, now more than ever). There is something about the history of the team and my connection to it that will ever be intertwined with my life’s story. I suspect this is the case with many of the Habs fans out there, regardless of whether or not management keeps us on the periphery of focus groups when it makes its “fan-demanded” decisions. It is unfortunate they choose to pass over our stories and, as businesspeople, pass over the potential of profit growth and external revenue streams. As the NHL moves to the future (whatever and however cockamamie it may be), Canadiens management has decidedly dragged its stale worldview into the 21st century; ultimately it does so at every fan’s expense.
Yet with the return of the Molsons as team owners, the franchise is at a crossroads of possibilities.
I have opined elsewhere that the history and mythology of the Montreal Canadiens has the ability to make its way into the annals of world sport. Manchester United has seized on globalization to be one of the most loved and most hated teams the world over. Yet their sponsorship deals are through the roof, the real fans still go to games at the Old Trafford, merchandise sells like hotcakes, and globalized superstar talent like Scholes, Rooney, and Owen still propels the team to 18 league titles, four League Cups, and 11 FA Cup wins. Manchester United has leveraged the power of the internet to attract new fans into the team’s narrative (and making it one of the most lucrative franchises currently in sport). From India, Korea, Brasil, and more, the fanbase of Manchester United is more than just British corporate types – it is a globally diverse base of habitants.
There is no reason why the Habs organization should continue to deny itself the potential to expound upon the history of the Montreal Canadiens. It is not up to Gary Bettman to define the boundaries of the team’s potential; it is up to the Molsons, to Pierre Gauthier, to the rest of the Canadiens organization to refine the team’s mission and global reach. In an era of globalisation, Québec doesn’t have a monopoly on the franchise’s potential. Why wouldn’t/shouldn’t they take us seriously? We are ALL habitants now, and the “H” does stand for habitants.
(Feature Photo: Can-West)
One has to wonder if the Canadiens actually fear the population and the media.
So many organizations, groups and individuals are so protectionist that anything from the outside is seen as a threat, something that will contaminate the water. So I’m not surprised that the Canadiens don’t do anything to acknowledge the fans in other parts of the world.
They’re quite smug in knowing that they have fans all over, but they only cater to the ones that spend tens of thousands yearly for tickets. As long as that money keeps rolling in, why would they bother?
As the world seems to be opening its borders and horizons more and more, the Canadiens almost seem to be withdrawing in to a shell; nepotism and myopic tactics rule the day, every day with the Canadiens.
It’s frustrating, and I can’t even imagine what it would be like to live outside Montreal and not be acknowledged in the least. For the foreseeable future, the Canadiens will continue to augment their efforts in the short end of the pool to satisfy a rabid media at the expense of more deserving and qualified candidates.
Maybe one day when other teams surpass Montreal in international support, they will open their eyes and realize that there’s more going on outside the belle province than just isolated pockets of fans waving the bleu-blanc-rouge flag.
What a great article you are 100% right and i am sure that most hard core habs fans already knew about Garry betman’s hate (and yes hate is the appropriate word to us here)for are Canadiens the ticket prices are so high that an average family may only have the chance to go to 1 game and not even the whole family may be able to afford to go all together. Lets not kid and say that anything above the luxury boxes is worth it you cant see anything and if i want to watch the game on a giant t.v ill stay at home. We can only hope that the organization will realizes that the middle class is there fan base not the high class
I’m trying to figure out what your gripe is here. What exactly is the Habs management doing (or not doing, rather) to ignore fans from abroad? Can you not watch the games on Center Ice, or online on RDS.ca? Do you not have access to all the same news and websites as we do? Can you not order merchandise online?
Moreover, I really disagree with what you seem to present as being facts – that there are more Habs fans worldwide than there are in the province of Quebec. Ratings on RDS often, if not always, hover around one million viewers, and there are definitely more than care about the team. I really doubt that the Canadiens even come close to doubling their fanbase internationally.
The only thing I can think of is the team’s insistence in hiring Francophone employees in management.
For starters, the GM and Coach have to frequently face the media, which is at least 50/50 French, so while they may not HAVE to be bilingual, the Canadiens are in a unique situation when it comes to having dueling media who speak different languages, so you can’t harp them for this. The example that’s always brought up is how national soccer teams hire foreigners as coaches so they don’t feel the media pressures. Most of those teams don’t have two official languages in their countries like the Canadiens do in their province.
Moreover, if you’re going to hire a french GM or a french coach, they should be allowed to hire who ever they please as their staff, and odds are a Francophone coach is going to have Francophone assistants. This is the case with Guy Boucher in Tampa.
The players are multinational and it’s clear that management has given up on finding the best francophone players, and has clearly moved on to finding the best overall players.
So really, what’s the problem? What is hampering on your ability to enjoy the Canadiens?
I honestly don’t get it.
George, the Canadiens stand apart from other teams as a brand, no? What can they do – what SHOULD they do to acknowledge their fans abroad? Center Ice and online is standard…everyone is there.
What can the Habs to do grow the loyalty of their international fans? Why couldn’t these fans simply switch allegiances? Would the Habs notice? Or care?
You can’t argue that nepotism and myopia rule on the 7th floor. Boivin turned over every stone and found Gauthier? He turned over every stone and found….his son? Are you kidding? Did he even pick up the phone to see if there are better qualified candidates for open positions? Probably not.
I don’t know how many fans outside of Quebec are Canadiens fans, but we do know there are many.
I would also mildly disagree that the Canadiens search for the best players available. Last year when Louis Leblanc was drafted, there were other players out there that better suited the Canadiens needs at the time. The fact that the draft was at home really made Leblanc’s selection a no-brainer for the management team. I’m not saying he was a poor choice, but you won’t convince me that he was the best choice.
It’s too early to say whether Leblanc was a good choice or a bad choice. Time will tell but he’s definitely on a good path. So I don’t think it’s fair to really criticize the pick. Moreover, the Canadiens have often looked over local players in past drafts. Last summer they signed 6 or 7 players, and only Marc-Andre Bergeron was from the province, and he was signed only after the season started as a last resort after Markov was injured. So I don’t think it’s really fair to isolate that one incident because Leblanc was local. Every team drafts and signs at least a few local players.
As for the nepotism/myopia argument, I don’t buy it, again. I was skeptical about them bringing in Boivin’s son at first as well, but I think people are making an issue out of nothing. From someone I know who worked for the team, Boivin Jr. has been head of marketing for at least 5 years and you can’t deny that the Habs have a good marketing team. The Avalanche hired their accountant to be the GM, so I hope that puts that in perspective. I say he deserves a shot as he’s clearly worked with the team for a while now.
Gauthier, love him or hate him, is and was one of the most experienced management people in the NHL, and knew the team inside/out as he basically ran it alongside Gainey. When your GM quits mid-February, you need someone to replace him and Gauthier was there. In retrospect, the Molsons giving him their support and confidence may not have been a bad thing.
And I still don’t understand what the team is supposed to do to reach out towards these non-local fans. If they put resources into reaching out to a few fans in BC, or India, or Virginia, or whatever, they have to take resources away from what they do in Montreal and Quebec, no? What do you people want them to do, pay for their trips to watch games here? I honestly don’t get it.
George, you nailed it. The Canadiens DO have a good marketing team.
Unfortunately, I don’t consider that the greatest thing in the world. The fact that the Canadiens marketing efforts have been the organization’s most successful venture speaks volumes. It’s the marketing that has pulled a wool over many, many fans eyes. Where once the only formula was winning to ensure success, now it’s all about agendas, politics, merchandising and public relations.
The Canadiens do those things very well so that they can deflect attention away, at least partly, from what matters most – winning.
Prax, I’ll let Spencer speak for himself as to ‘what his gripe is’ but I must say that I was amused by your comments.
First, let me correct you that any fans outside of Quebec are not considered “abroad.” There are plenty of Canadiens fans in the rest of Canada (not a different country yet!!) and the US.
When making your point about the things Habs management is doing for those “abroad” you list RDS, NHL.com, etc. We have long suspected ties between RDS and Habs management but it seems you are confirming them. :) That aside, if these are the best examples of what Habs management is doing for their non-Quebec fans, its obviously next to nothing.
But you ask what can be done? For starters, how about an English language TV broadcaster for their games? World-wide there are more English-speaking Canadiens fans than any other language.
You made the point that it was reasonable to expect that the GM and coach of the Canadiens would be bilingual. It was your reasoning that was amusing. Did you actually write “GM” and “frequently face the media” in the same sentence? The Ghost wasn’t even available following the Carey Price signing. How many pressers has he scheduled since taking over?
Abandonment also refers to the fact that the Canadiens use a small portion of their fanbase to justify decision based on language. It’s a red herring! They are ignoring their global numbers.
The Canadiens are making a bilingualism (Boivin used the word francophone) their number one requirement for hiring and it has ZERO benefit to the on-ice product.
Its an administrative assist to the media, nothing more, nothing less. It would seem an administrative solution – translation services – would be far more appropriate.
It would allow the Canadiens to hire from the best available – the big pool. Coaching has been one of the weakest parts of the organization since the last Stanley Cup and the restrictive hiring policy has a lot to do with that.
Definition of abroad from Meriam-Webster’s: Over a wide area / away from one’s home. It doesn’t necessarily mean overseas. Maybe look up the definition before correcting me, it doesn’t mean overseas ;)
As for the RDS/Habs comment, I really don’t understand what the point of that is… RDS streams games for a price on their websites if you’d like to watch them. Is there some sort of connection between the two? Definitely, it’s owned by CTV Globemedia, which is owned in part by Bell, which has its name plastered outside the arena. How is this a negative?
As for bringing in an english language broadcaster, there aren’t that many teams that broadcast all 82 games alone, yet alone on a single network. TSN shows a fair amount of Habs games, as does CBS and most games can be viewed on the opposing team’s broadcast, which is always in English and generally available on Center Ice or NHL.com. People INSIDE Calgary aren’t able to watch all 82 of the Flames’ games. Did you know that? And you’re complaining because there aren’t TWO broadcasts of EACH Habs’ game?
As for your GM/media comment, notice how I had written coach in the same sentence as well, who always talks to the media. If you want another reason, then consider the fact that he works in the city of Montreal, and often has to deal with French-speaking people. It’s a community thing and there are always plenty of good candidates who speak both languages. Hell, just look at the guy who ran the team the last seven years, he wasn’t a Francophone yet people are quick to harp on the team the moment they hire someone who’s first language is French.
I think the language issues work both ways. Yes, there are extremists on the French side who make bigger deals out of things than they are, but at the same time there people on the other side of the stone that are pretty “myopic” on the matter themselves.
As for the coaching, is it a coincidence that one of the best coaching prospects to come out of this team in a long time was Francophone? Or that 3 of the last 5 coaches coaches have been nominated for Jack Adams trophies since leaving the team (2 have won the award)? Or even that the current coach is a 3 time nominee and a winner himself?
And again with these “numbers” and “small portions” of the fanbase being inside the province. Where did you get these numbers?
I think the media in this city, whether it’s the MSM or the blogosphere, likes to make a big deal out of non-issues, and reaching out to international (or “fans outside of Montreal” if that makes you happier) is definitely a non-issue.
They’re the MONTREAL Canadiens, and if someone from thousands of miles away decides to be a fan of the team, then its his or her choice and they’re aware of the fact that they have to make sacrifices to follow the team.
As I said, most if not all games are available for viewing online, in both languages. There are also radio broadcasts and plenty of blogs and online magazines/papers/etc to fill the voids. And as I said to Kyle, any dollar spent on the fan in another province or country is a dollar that can’t be spent on a fan that’s inside the city or province. And how exactly is that fair?
Well Prax, I’m not familiar with Meriam-Webster. Perhaps you mean Merriam-Webster? Picking nits goes both ways.
Oxford Dictionary, my choice, begins “in or to a foreign country”… But hey, if you tell your friends that “I’m going abroad this weekend” before packing up for Cornwall, more power to you.
Why are you comparing the Canadiens to the Flames in terms of TV coverage? At the very least, choose a comparable that is relevant, like the Leafs or Rangers. But since in most cases it’s argued that the Canadiens are at the forefront of NHL franchises, perhaps they should lead rather than use your slogan “Well, at least we’re better than the Flames.”
I think your Math is off with respect to number of TV broadcasts. If there is coverage but it isn’t in a language you understand, there are zero available for you. CBC has figured that out with their multi-language broadcasts and they do it for a small (but growing) market.
I wasn’t aware that CBS is doing NHL coverage.
You are doing an excellent job making my point for me about the poor personnel choices that were made with respect to coaches. You are correct in noting that exactly zero won Jack Adams trophies while coaching with the Canadiens during the time span referenced.
There is no evidence to suggest that at the time of the vacancy the top coaching candidates in the league were properly vetted before the selection was made. Canadiens fans deserve better.
Honestly, you really have to get out more Prax. There are scores more than a “few fans in BC” who support the Canadiens. The Rogers Arena is jammed with as many Habs fans as can get tickets, and that’s only a fraction of the numbers that are in the province. Chants of Go Habs Go can be heard in strength every time the Habs play at a road arena.
The Canadiens are glad to accept their dollars from merchandising and TV revenue but you begrudge spending a dime to cultivate that interest?
You have said several times that you just don’t get it and I believe you.
Out-of-province fans would not a be drain on the Canadiens pocketbook. In fact, quite the reverse. They represent an huge opportunity. You would be surprised at the enormous return simply by fertilizing and watering an ignored garden.
Frankly, rather than criticize them, or abandon them as some have suggested, we should respect and admire them for their loyalty and persistence to remain part of the Canadiens fan community.
Right. And Cowboys fans all over the world are just as important as those in Texas. And people from outside the Boston area matter as much as anyone when it comes to the Cetics.
Just find a team close to your home and leave us alone.
Hey Bob, allow me to finish your thought: ‘go away and leave us alone’ but continue to send your dollars from merchandising and TV revenues. Is that about right?
I’m actually glad that you made the comment, because sadly, it is representative of a very vocal minority.
Some are reluctant to admit the our global world is shrinking, while others embrace the opportunity to use technology to discuss shared passions like sports with people from all over the world.
In my opinion, bridges are better than walls.
So Bob, what happens if you faithfully support the team in your hometown and then…oh, I don’t know…move somewhere else in the country/world where you don’t get much exposure to that team – are you suggesting that you should no longer support them just because they aren’t close by? Throw up your hands and say “Oh well, guess loyalty doesn’t really matter…now where can I buy a Bruins jersey?”
And shouldn’t every team try just a LITTLE bit to reach out to a fan base wider than the city limits? What’s the point in limiting marketing strategies and not making others feel welcome? In my experience, that’s simply bad business practice…and let’s face it, hockey is a business.
Fans are fans – no matter where they live. A fan should not be made to feel less-than-worthy just because they don’t live in the province.
Yeah sorry, I’m not buying what you’re trying to sell me (at least not yet) and not for the reasons you may think.
I actually agree that Bettman has been terrible for hockey and if you want to look at the main reason behind most of the shortcomings that you seem to feel, I think it has to start and end with Bettman and his policies.
To compare Man U and the Habs is laughable and comical as the way the Premiership and the NHL are run are completely beyond comparison. The concept of paying almost limitless amounts of money to buy players, etc. etc. We don’t need to get into the details of it suffice to say I would’ve used a different comparable. Of course good owners are essential in leading the charge for change but I believe we are well on the road to recovery from a bout of terrible ownership (Molson – the company not the family).
The biggest miscarriage of what is the Montreal Canadiens was to have them owned by a public company that was liable to its shareholders on a quarterly basis. You cannot build a brand over a period of 3 months and unfortunately that is what shareholders look at. Further, being owned by a company that’s main business had nothing to do with the sport of hockey didn’t lend any weight to them being forceful enough to influence other owners and by extension Gary Bettman to steer the NHL in the right direction.
When Molson (the company) came to sell, there was almost no one ready or willing to step up and buy such a fantastic brand within a growing sport. Why?! If this brand was so good and had so much potential to be grown (domestically or otherwise) then it should have been a no-brainer for many. In turned out that it had to be a genuine risk-taker who went bust twice who had a vision to grow the brand. His vision was parallel to the way he took all his business decisions, high-risk equals high-reward. The was to grow the brand domestically and profit almost fully from that growth and guess what? It worked flawlessly.
Starting with George Gillet, the Habs immediately started spending more for players/etc. The Molson Centre was starting fill up and the losses were subsiding. Although I do understand the point that ticket pricing schemes and such have almost taken the average blue-collar fan out of the Bell Centre, I also understand that this is a business where you have to make money out of where you can. Signing a deal with RDS to ensure that every game is televised for the blue-collar worker goes a step towards rectifying the initial problem of pricing them out and I say that while we both know there are still some very reasonably priced seats that YES are almost impossible to get. Also, the Habs believe that in order to further placate the blue-collar workers they need to take an extra step to keep a French identity within the team (although I understand why they are doing, I agree that this is the wrong way and although there may be an initial backlash, it’s for the greater good of the Habs to always get the best man for the job).
Now let’s get more focused on your gripe which is that RDS doesn’t cater to the non-Francophone fan. Well, I will blame the CBC and TSN for not carrying that load. TSN did and has continued to sign deals with the Habs to televise an allotment of games while the CBC almost overnight dropped the Habs exclusive coverage. I look at those two networks (along with Rogers Sportsnet) as the networks that should fill the void for non-Francophone fans in Canada.
In terms of international and US coverage. Well, Centre-Ice covers US fans and Int’l fans in some areas can order Centre-Ice while others can stream the games online.
Should the Canadiens have launched an English-based TV channel that covers all aspects of the Habs (a la Leafs TV). First off, they need to look at the costs associated with such a move and consider the fact that everything needs to be bilingual. Because if they do it in English the French will not be happy that they’re not getting the same service/etc. That is a big cost and a big risk with the reward being unknown and unsure. Can the Habs guarantee that this channel will be picked up by cable and satellite providers in the US and the world over?
Oh and don’t forget that type of revenue goes into revenue-sharing. So for all their efforts, any return will be split unevenly 30 ways with the poorer teams seeing most of the cash (this reinforces the Bettman is a moron – but that’s another story).
A quick note that nepotism and favoritism exists in almost all private corporations. It would be naive to think it didn’t and that is a fact of life that I’m willing to accept.
NOW, all that being said. I believe the Habs are on the right path by having owners that seem to care and owners that seem to be willing to fund the team properly. Continued profits and realizing that they are reaching their potential within the domestic market will force the Habs to expand their efforts for all other fans. I believe you will see an improvement in this regard in the coming years. It only makes simple business sense. And that will coincide with Bettman quietly realigning his sunbelt strategy back above the border. Phoenix, Colombus, Nashville, Florida will become (in no particular order): Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto #2, and QC.
Btw, great site!
It’s a great debate. Living in Montreal, and having always lived in Montreal, it’s hard for me to understand what it’s like for Habs fan living outside of this area.
I’d like to better understand from those outside of Montreal what you feel the team and/or league needs to do more, or do better for the “type of fans” you are?
As for the francophone thing, whether people like it or not, and whether the Diques come back or not, this will always be a subject of discussion. French Quebecers are passionate about their language and whether the team decides to go with many or few of them on the roster, the subject itself will constantly be in the news, in one way or another.
Entertaining read and replies!
“it’s hard for me to understand what it’s like for Habs fan living outside of this area.”
In some ways it’s better and some ways it’s worse. But I honestly don’t have any major complaints (or compliments) about the way the Habs treat me as an Anglo-Albertan fan. I’d like to watch more Habs games, but I’m usually able to find someone who’s streaming the RDS feed on Justin.tv, and I don’t have cable anyway. The Quebecois (read: Francophone) player & management thing irks me in that a) IMO, the best player/candidate for the position, no matter what, seems like the way to on-ice success and b) this ( http://bit.ly/amX2Di ) suggests the player problem, at least, is more complex than the simplistic MSM wants to admit. But I sort of accept it because the Habs are alone in the NHL in that, to their home market, they’re bigger than the game. And as long as that’s true, and as long as the language (and, to a lesser extent, sovereignty) issues persist, the Habs will be swept up in it in one way or another. And I have to admit that part of the reason I follow the team is because the CH is a cultural icon in their hometown/province in the same way that some European soccer clubs are, and with that is going to come a fair amount of baggage. But the writer of this article is right, those same soccer clubs have done a fair amount to build up a fanbase and supporter culture well outside their borders and it’s been a huge boon to them financially. So while I don’t hold a grudge about being “neglected”, I’m sure they could be doing more to foster the “supporter culture” outside La Belle Province. They’re certainly in a unique position in the NHL to really capitalise on it.
Stevo-
Thanks for the feedback; it seems like you were one of the few who was breaking out of the insular, provincial bubble to take into account my POV (which is important, because for a brief period of time, I did get to experience what living in Montreal was like, i.e., I *get* why French presence is important).
It is not that being an out-of-market Habs fan is impossible; it is just more difficult. Yes, I suppose this is the case with any sport, but my allusions were to the fact that such a storied, historied, important franchise in the NHL has potential to reap more if it sowed more. I contend that it’s not sowing enough because it chooses to look reflect inward, rather than outward.
Fundamentally, it feels as though there are two issues at stake: 1) treatment of blue vs. white-collar fans and 2) treatment of francophones vs. global fans.
Insofar as issue 1, virtually every sport raises that question. If fans are willing to pay high ticket prices and the seats fill up, then there’s nothing wrong with status quo. However, sports marketing is not my area of marketing expertise, so I cannot speak to pricing mechanisms of tickets. Nonetheless, in fairness (and this was always a complaint with Yankees tickets), the people who are the base of the team are completely neglected.
Which is similar to issue 2… Neglect doesn’t mean “there are TV deals, so deal with it” (P.S. I’m not getting into how I end up watching RDS feeds because I can’t afford GameCentre/Centre Ice, or how the Habs Zone offers more than shop.nhl.com…). Since we seem to like definitions, neglect is “to pay no attention or too little attention to… to omit, through indifference or carelessness.” While the rest of the league has tried to get many of its stars out into the global arena (thus tapping into completely new areas and new revenue streams), the Habs continue to use the team to play provincial politics — at the cost of indifference and carelessness to the rest of us.
The funny thing is, Patrick Boivin has been a great marketer for the Habs — within the province. Yet any businessman worth his weight in gold is always seeking opportunities in new markets, not just taking for granted the old markets. So in that regard, is Patrick Boivin truly a success, or just more of the status quo? It’s apparently that what’s good for the league isn’t always what’s good for the Canadiens, but certainly what’s good for the Canadiens is good for the league (a league that has a crappy TV deal on a second-rate cable channel). How can attracting more die-hard Habs fans out of the province be a bad thing? Globalization isn’t going away anytime soon — I’d be curious how many Ovechkin shirts have been sold worldwide since he signed. Certainly the Caps haven’t been indifferent to their potential market of Ovechkin fans, etc.
I get it. I get the language/politics/history of it. I get that management will continue not to pay attention to us. But I don’t think all the Habs fans around the world necessarily do(yes, Molsons/Pierre Boivin/Pierre Gauthier, your storied franchise has followers around the world). And that doesn’t mean we have to like it either.
I have read a number of outstanding very thoughtful posts on this site, and this one touches my heart. My bible is Fire on Ice, I came of age with the 71 Canadians. Then they went with bowling alleys. Still I remained true, and now I can see the promised land for the first time in a decade.
Your absolutely correct about Bettman, I will dance on the sun-belts grave. (Robbing the CBC of Habs playoff games was a sin)
I live near Niagara Falls and have spent no more than two days of my adult life in Montreal. Last month I dropped my daughter at McGill and made the pilgrimage to the sacrilegious Bell Centre. (it should always be the fourm) was awed by the bronzes and abused by the gift shop. Hopefully this spring there will be a parade on the usual route.
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