Every once in a while I browse the SJHL Message Forum and I did so, today, finding a thread that caught my attention.
The original poster who commented on the Terriers playing a solid game one against Estevan despite a poor turn out of 666 is correct. It is embarrassing to have that low of an attendance figure in a city of our size.
http://sjhlforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=4309
To look a little closer at the numbers, here are the five Saskatchewan communities who hosted playoff games this weekend, their population as of 2011, their average attendance in the playoffs so far, and how that translates into the percentage of the community's population that is going to the games.
Melville 4,517 population.....1,241 attendance....27.4% population turnout
Nipawin 4,265 population.....792 attendance....18.6% population turnout
Melfort 5,576 population....965 attendance....17.3% population turnout
Estevan 11,054 population.....1,292 attendance.....11.6% population turnout
Yorkton 15,669 population....666 attendance....4.2% population turnout
Now, there are a lot of arguments to be made as to why people are not going to the games; but the only one that works for me is this one: "Because I don't want to."
The reality is that I go to a great number of games in Melville, simply because their team is a strong supporter of the store I work at, and I have many personal relationships there. I don't disguise that fact. Having said that, if I am going to a hockey game the only way I would NOT go to a Terrier game would be if a Millionaire game is being played on the same night (such as the case on Friday). What I found interesting was that there were a fair number of Yorkton people in Melville Friday night. I could count enough for two hands and those are only the ones I know. I'm sure there were a few others there who I am unaware of.
So, you have my reason for going to Melville. What is yours?
The ticket prices are, essentially, the same. Anyone that is going to haggle over a dollar or two needs to remember that you are out more $$$ in fuel if you are going to drive to Melville instead.
The Terriers are a first place team and favored to go to the Canalta Cup final. So, they are definitely competitive enough.
At the end of the day, I don't think fans going to watch the Millionaires are a factor. What is a factor is that we live in a city where nobody wants to do anything. I hear griping all the time from folks who say 'there is nothing to do'. Yet, music concerts have been cancelled a number of times due to poor sales and now we have a first place SJHL team struggling to draw despite being in first place all year.
Bottom line is that Yorkton is not a hockey city. Swift Current draws an average of 2200 for their WHL Broncos. There is no reason the Terriers can't AVERAGE 1500 with a playoff crowd of 2000.
Now, I'll also ask this: What do you want to do for fun in Yorkton?
I was shocked by the turnout on Friday, especially since I've been to games in Yorkton where it was packed.
ReplyDeleteJust a cheap town, and I can say that now. Everything's too much money. Had my daughter in the food court at the mall today and the guy in front of me at Soup & Such ordered a coffee. Girl at the till says "$1.25." He says "Why? At McDonalds in the Walmart it's only a dollar!"
ReplyDeletecoming from an ex-radio media guru, those are BIG words! FREE BEES were your go to ticket!
DeletePersonally, I think $15 is a lot to sit and watch a some Junior Hockey for a couple hours. I could buy a tender steak at Mr Mikes for less than that.
DeleteMr Mikes Steak > Couple Hours of SJHL in a less than half full arena
DeleteI don't think you can compare WHL to SJHL though like you do with Swift Current, attendance would definitely rise in that case. I think if Yorkton did have a WHL team we would see larger crowds all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm 21 years old from Yorkton now living in Saskatoon for the past 2 years who went to a few Terrier games with friends as a kid, but as a teen through high school I had no urge at all to go to Terrier games. If anything, even though I was good friends with some people from the Terriers back in high school, I had a "meh" perception of the Terriers. I am going to say the negative perception was based on the fact that they as a hockey team are associated with the Harvest. The Harvest team to me was basically a bunch of bottom of the barrel (hockey skills wise and egotistical wise) kids that acted like they were the best throughout high school but didn't actually contribute at all to the community other than be a pile of douche bags while they lived in Yorkton, coming from their small towns. I realize kids can be cocky as teens, but for some reason getting on the team of Harvest meant you were a god in their minds. Maybe it wasn't the whole team, but some players heads almost exploded with cockiness.
ReplyDeleteIf you can't tell, I am not a crazed hockey fan, but I have been to a few NHL games in the states and realize going to a hockey game can be a great time. The game isn't half as fun when the stadium isn't even half packed though. Going to a Rider game would be pretty lame if you weren't standing next to people when your team gained some points. As an average student at the YRHS though you get the perception that the average hockey player is one of the cocky Harvest players, which gives no drive to go to a game and watch fellow students with massive egos pass around a puck. Since the majority of hockey students from school are on the Harvest team, it gives the Terriers a negative perception from the average student since they see the average hockey player as that loud obnoxious Harvest kid. I don't know what the attendance rates are for teenagers compared to other demographics, but I'm assuming a good majority of those 666 people were not teenagers-the ones that complain about nothing to do in Yorkton.
Now that I'm in Saskatoon though I really plan on checking out some Blades games because the hype here is so awesome about the team in general- when they're winning, and when they're losing. If Yorkton wants to get that kind of respect from the community as a whole, I think they really need to make some major changes with Harvest, on the coaching end setting attitudes straight, or completely rebranding themselves. Being Dany Heatley when you play for the Harvest is one of the worst things to happen to anything related to hockey. Those kids are destroying the brand's perception.
Dany Heatley can do that because he's mother fucken Dany Heatley. Harvest kids, you are not Dany Heatley.
Don't get me wrong though there are some really good kids on the Harvest team as well, but a few bad and loud eggs can change the entire perception from the average student's perception. I really think they give hockey in our community a bad rep when they act how they do in school. Big ego's don't draw crowds. That's just one suggestion because I know not too many people went to Terrier games when I was going to school either.
I don't know much about hockey, but why doesn't Yorkton get a WHL team and ditch the Terriers if they aren't pulling a profit or the crowds. If Swift Current can do it, why can't Yorkton. There must be enough skill out there. Yorkton NEEDS a team with the passion of the Broncos to Swift Current, the Riders to all of Saskatchewan, or the Blades to Saskatoon. Know it or not, being in a city where everyone respects that one team and knows about how good or bad they're doing brings people together. It raises the moral of the city so much. I couldn't tell you how the Terriers did when I was in school, no matter how many times The Fox repeated the scores on the radio.