Can the Twin Cities support two hockey teams? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: purchasing, construction)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by wherespankakehouse?

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I have actually broken down NHL rosters by state & province. I think this would be an fantastic idea for a real tournament.

Really? Cool! No shame in that. It shows that you're actually motivated as well as interested.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Slig

If you're talking in terms of US pro-leagues, yeah I guess that's probably accurate. In terms of youth participation in the US, soccer probably outnumbers lacrosse by at least 1000%.

Bring back the NASL! I miss watching Tino Letteri, Ace Ntblahblah (I'm not going to even try to spell his last name, heh), Alan Willey, and Ron Futcher at the old Met. Fun when the Cosmos came to town with Pele and Franz Beckenbauer. Those guys were superstars!

[southernsmoke]

Originally Posted by Traipser

Counting OTLs as Ls, the Wild are over .500 in the 5+ seasons since the lockout. They're over .500 this season. They're only 'perennial losers' if 'perennial' means 'two consecutive seasons'.

The Wild have a far better all-time record than the three other teams that came into the league in the same round of expansion (Atlanta, Columbus and Nashville) and they're the only one of those teams that has ever won a playoff series.

Sorry -- the claim that the Wild are perennial losers simply is not true.

Oh really?

Since the lockout, the Wild have accumulated 516 points, while the Preds have accumulated 556... "far better" indeed.

[QuantumIguana]

The thing about soccer is that it is a sport were the US is not the best at it. The NBA is the toughest basketball league, MLB is the toughest baseball league, the NFL is the toughest football league, the NHL is the toughest hockey league. Then there is soccer, where we just aren't close to the best. I suppose if soccer grows in popularity American soccer leagues could attract the best talent, and if young athletes grow up dreaming about being professional soccer players instead of growing up dreaming about being professional players in some other sport, this might cause a significant increase in homegrown talent.

[August Strindberg]

Was it not possible to use the North Stars name and jerseys when you got the franchise again? I liked the North Stars when i was a kid when you had great players like Dino Ciccarelli. And your great run in 1991. I remember thinking what a blow it must have been to loose one's favourite team like that. Unthinkable to me and my friends in Sweden that "our" team would just vanish.

Now, I've bee to some Wild (silly name) games and its definitely a great venue. People really understands hockey, just as we do in Sweden. Cant be the same in the south I think.

But two teams? Nah, rename, bring out the old jerseys, and build a new hockey temple for 22K and let the fun begin!

[wherespankakehouse?]

I think the NHL would be a lot more popular with the masses if it had a schedule similar to the NFL. Maybe a 32 game regular season with 2 games on the weekend. I think the feel would be something similar to the Preliminary round of the Olympics.

I watch as many Twins, Wild, and Wolves games as I can, but I can't tell you the last time I've sat down and watched a full regular season game in any of these sports where a MN team wasn't playing. In stark contrast, I watch plenty of non-Vikings games. There are two reasons; one is fantasy football (can't really replicate its success in hockey). The other is the sheer importance of one game relative to a 16-game schedule.

It won't happen, and I would miss the 50 game dates that help get me through the winter, but I think this might be the most sensible reincarnation if the league ever went under.

[QuantumIguana]

It would have been possible for the North Stars name to remain here, but the name got taken to Dallas, where it sits in corrupted limbo as the Stars. If you're going to change the name, change it totally, or let it go.

[wherespankakehouse?]

I also think that this might open the door for the NHL to become the world's first truly global professional sports league. I think a division of Stockholm, Helsinki, Berlin, Koln, Bern, Prague, Moscow, St. Petersburg could be done with the right scheduling considerations.

[wherespankakehouse?]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It would have been possible for the North Stars name to remain here, but the name got taken to Dallas, where it sits in corrupted limbo as the Stars. If you're going to change the name, change it totally, or let it go.

Agreed. The North Stars name was better.

If the Vikings jump town, the NFL better mandate a name change.

I could see getting excited for a 2020 expansion Vikings team. But if it's something stupid like the Minnesota Sting, forget it. I will take the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, thank you.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by wherespankakehouse?

Agreed. The North Stars name was better.

If the Vikings jump town, the NFL better mandate a name change.

The Lakers should have changed their name too when they left. Does Los Angeles have even 1 lake?