By: Diane Benjamin
From a local Facebook page – all names are being redacted: (These were SERIOUS hockey supporters)
Came to a sad realization today. I have not been to a Thunder hockey game since Dec 6 and I have not missed it. They have a game tonight and I really don’t care if I go or not. It is not the game play it is the in game entertainment that has turned me off.
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That doesn’t sound good.
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That’s why we go to Peoria now. Much more fun!
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What has changed? We were thinking of going soon.
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I feel it is more geared to kids than the adults trying to get kids involved and I understand that but you have to make it enjoyable for the adults that are there as well. The game play is decent . just the atmosphere is not like it has been.
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They don’t have very good promos, either. We went to a couple games at the beginning of the season and had to pay full price tickets for all four of us – $18 a piece! Not sure how that’s affordable entertainment for a family of 4. Peoria has a promo of some sort EVERY game! The atmosphere in Bloomington definitely changed this year, and not for the better
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ok maybe I can shed a little light here. This will take a bit so please bear with me. First and foremost, Bloomington hockey is GOOD hockey. Anyone who states otherwise truly does not know the game but is there for other reason whether that be fights, fan entertainment or whatever.
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Agree with you XXXX I am very sad I do not enjoy going any more and most every one knows what a supporter I have been in the past. They have killed the magic
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Ummm that is sad.
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oops hit the wrong button, here goes take 2 LOL. Secondly, the management of this Junior hockey league team is running it as if there had not been hockey in Bloomington before. A serious mistake in my opinion. There are a few MAJOR hurdles that need to be overcome here and I don’t think that management really sees them yet. The first being that Bloomington DOES NOT want a junior team in their town. The deal was for a PRO or SEMI-PRO team to populate the coliseum not a junior and even though the potential is there (and you can actually see it if you put away your preconceptions) the fans are fickle. The management wants to get beyond the past by ignoring it and hoping that it will fade into memory. Quite frankly, it won’t.
Secondly, and probably just as important is that the entertainment portion of the organization is swimming in the muck and mire of misconceptions and the attitude of “we know what is best” instead of listening to their fan base. Sadly I don’t think that this will go away this year and I’m hoping for different people to work with next year (if there IS a next year) who are more in tune with what the fan base truly wishes and NEEDS in order to attend.
Third, the pricing. This unfortunately is not controlled by the team or management of the team but instead is set by the management of the coliseum and has certain fees imposed on them by the city government in their effort to try to recoup a loss. This is evident in the fact that ALL fees for using the Coliseum has risen. No one is more to blame for this than the so-called citizens of Bloomington/Normal who still refuse to take advantage of the entertainment value situated downtown. There are many reasons for this, economy, lack of quality venues, the so-called curse of the politics that brought the coliseum to Bloomington. It really matters little. The point is simply this, use it or not, if it stays open or closed down you still have to pay the bill so might as well use it. Sorry got a bit off topic on that last one but it DOES tie into what is wrong with Bloomington hocky. -
we have gone to a couple of Rivermen games and enjoyed it but with XXXX schedule it is hard to make it over there.
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Well said
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I enjoy knowing who the players are & love being able to see core players year after year. I am having a hard time getting excited about the new team because that obviously won’t happen anymore.
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not entirely true XXXX, there are many junior teams that keep players from year to year as long as they still meet the core requirements (age limits mainly). It is still about building a strong team and that includes keeping core players as long as possible but it is also about building opportunities for those same players which should be the goal of any development team including the ECHL, AHL, and SPHL.
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although in those last 3 examples it quite often is players who are stuck in their prospective leagues or on the way down. In the juniors almost all of them are on their way up to any of the pro leagues, many to the NHL.
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The pro leagues (with the exception of the NHL) are all about movement as well. Don’t get me wrong here, there are many talented players within them and who will move up to the NHL if the opportunity arises but like any organization, the NHL is specifically looking for the up and comers, the new talent coming on the market.
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I can completely relate to this. My [former] favorite independent wrestling promotion has sucked all the joy out of going. Mom and I did not renew our season passes for 2015 because it is not what it used to be. They just care much more about the almighty dollar now than they do about their fans. We will go when they give us good reason to next year. Other than that, we will go to other promotions who offer what we are looking for and have their priorities where they should be.
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at this time we are not going to renew our season tickets next year not worth the money. I feel bad since i convinced XXX to get tickets this year
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Yes, I definitely reached the decision that renewing my pass was not worth the money in any way.
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I will be there with a niece and nephew to enjoy! Miss you guys
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we will be there too miss you too
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Real sorry to hear some of these comments. We miss some of the previous “real supporters of Bloomington hockey” who have chosen to not to come to the games this year. I do think our team is showing some good hockey this season. Hope everyone has a good 2015 doing what suits your taste.
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Think the guys are finally starting to come together. We will be supporters for the guys.
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it is not the guys it is more the atmosphere
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I will be there and support the team
Here is the comment that irritates me. “It’s there, so we should support it.” My answer is simple. Put something in there that I want to see, hear, experience, and then I will take a look at my budget and see if I can afford to spend the money on it. Leave it to being my choice rather than trying to convince me that I am somehow obligated. Not to mention that in continuing to support bad decisions made by government, it only encourages them to make more bad decisions. Good luck to the Thunder but no thanks I’m not interested.
Ditto that, especially about guilt trippy, b-s of “obligation” and the need to not-encourage (for un-pc folk, that’s “discourage”) folly upon folly at taxpayers expense. Now, the Managers of CIAM must enjoy the benefits of having one location “play off” the other. Perhaps they will find it in their good graces to steer customers Bloomington’s way sometime soon. What can we give them to convince them that it is in their interest, too??? More concessions?
Hockey is not a cheap operation to run. I think USHL is the best long term for the size of Bloomington and the arena. The main issue might be that it is a outside ownership group with no local ties and no real sense of creating any creative types of promotions. Ownership needs to stay in place for 2 or 3 years to create some stability and grow the product. Having too many bad leagues and ownership groups have stained the product in this community. It can turnaround with time but time will tell. I would rather Bloomington be in the USHL rather than the SOUTHERN Professional Hockey League like Peoria without plans for real growth in the Midwest. I am sure the Peoria franchise is for sale with this being the last year in the lease with the Civic Center.
As a hockey fan I am glad we are in the USHL, it is a talented and better hockey league than previous years. I wish the management would reach out to all the previous ticket holders, and Grant them 2 free tickets. Because the product on the ice now is better than it ever has been. These are the kids that the NHL is actually looking to draft, not the has-beens that we’ve had for the past years. If you could bring back half of what was there the first two years, we be money ahead. I’d say give this hockey group a few years, and we might actually have something.