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Monday, October 25, 1999
Puck passion burns
Thrashers rekindle love of hockey in city that gave birth to the Flames
Twenty years after coach Al MacNeil and his Atlanta Flames boarded planes to relocate to Calgary, the Flames quietly returned aboard their charter flight yesterday to a game reborn in this Georgia city.
MacNeil was only there for the final Atlanta year, but his memories are of a city that should have never lost its hockey franchise.
Indeed, although history has painted an inaccurate impression that hockey failed in this city, it did not.
The Atlanta Flames were victims of insufficient financing, a commodity sold by an owner who could not afford the NHL.
From those first days in 1972 when new fans walked down to the ice surface to touch it and see if it was cold.
To the talk shows when new fans called in asking if the fights were real or staged.
To today, when a couple of nights ago an Atlanta Thrashers hockey game drew a full house of 18,500 fans on a night when the Braves opened their World Series with the Yankees a few miles away.
Hockey has arrived again in Atlanta.
MacNeil, now an assistant coach with Calgary and the longest serving member of the franchise, remembers thinking upon his departure 20 years ago that hockey belonged here.
"I don't know if it was a novelty, but these people really became rabid fans because of the speed, the hits and yeah, the fights," said MacNeil.
"I came out of Atlanta with the idea that there should be no question that hockey should come back to Atlanta. I was really surprised that we left there. I thought hockey had gained a good foothold there.
"As it turned out, they've since proven that hockey can survive in southern cities and I think this franchise will be a successful one this time."
The irony of the this rematch of the Flames with Atlanta tomorrow night is thick.
As hockey returns to a city that has tripled in size and developed into a cosmopolitan centre from its southern roots two decades ago, it is the Flames franchise now in trouble.
Again, it is about money.
But the challenges of the Canadian dollar, high taxes and most importantly limited revenues versus soaring player salaries, have hockey in Calgary on the endangered species list.
"That's the biggest difference I've noticed coming here," said former Flames player Ed Ward who was picked up by Atlanta in the expansion draft. "I've gone from a small-market Canadian team to a big-money, big-market team that does everything first class.
"The games here are like big shows -- entertainment packages and an event that everyone wants to be at. And you have to remember they've had minor league hockey here that drew great -- they used to outdraw the (NBA's) Hawks -- so it's not like a new sport coming here anymore.
"In Calgary, it's just a game."
A game now that is close to pricing itself out of Calgary's market, despite the best efforts of ownership.
"It's unbelievable how people have reacted to hockey here," says Ward. "People are excited about hockey. But this city has apparently changed a lot since the Flames were here. If I've met 100 people here, 85 are from somewhere else, Detroit, Chicago, even Canada, heck my neighbour is a Canuck."
Several former Atlanta Flames still call the city home. Eric Vail, Willi Plett, Tim Ecclestone, Dan Bouchard, all continue to live in the Atlanta area.
"This city loves a winner and the team will have to win eventually to keep the support," says Vail.
"But this is a city that still loves hockey."
Atlanta has this second chance at hockey because of one reason -- Ted Turner. Or more specifically -- Ted Turner's money.
Conversely, the ownership in Calgary is staring at a limited revenue stream.
Much has changed in 20 years.
Atlanta lost its franchise to Calgary.
But in another 20 years, one can imagine hockey going strong in the south.
And instead it will be Calgary remembering the glory days of its former NHL franchise.
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