Why the Seattle Kraken Shape up to be an Instant Smash Hit (Pacific: transplants, theater)

[homesinseattle]

Skip the “krakhead” jokes, if you are going to poke fun, be more creative. Professional hockey this fall in Seattle, it’s really happening. Article here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si....tant-smash-hit

“ Tod Leiweke doesn’t exactly keep a low profile. He was largely responsible for turning the Seattle Seahawks into the hyper-popular NFL franchise they are today, with fans known for cheering loud enough to create literal seismic activity. He also spurred the feverish excitement around the Seattle Sounders in the MLS and was CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning for five years. And, oh yeah, he was COO of the NFL as recently as 2018.
And yet, during his time as CEO of the Seahawks and the Sounders, he was an 11:00 p.m. hockey player, the type who joined his pals at the rink on a Sunday night to release stress. During those graveyard-shift beer-league games, Leiweke witnessed Seattle’s overlooked love for hockey. Just as the maniacally passionate Seahawks fans contradicted the tired stereotype of Starbucks-swilling hipsters populating the Pacific Northwest, Leiweke saw, anecdotally, indications of an untapped market that would embrace the NHL.

The NHL board of governors agreed in December 2017 to consider an expansion application from Seattle with a $650-million fee, and the nascent franchise named Leiweke president and CEO a few months later. He didn’t perceive the market as a blank, unexplored desert from which the team would have to cultivate a fan base from scratch, which is what the Vegas Golden Knights were tasked with doing in June 2016 when they scored an NHL franchise in a market known to be populated by transplants from other states and countries. According to Leiweke, traditional research didn’t necessarily paint Seattle as a fertile hockey destination, but he firmly believed the fans were already out there and would swallow up tickets in a frenzy. He was right. When the season-ticket drive kicked off on March 1, 2018, a total of 33,000 depositors signed up in the first 48 hours. Nine months later, on Dec. 4, 2018, the NHL board of governors approved Seattle as the 32nd franchise. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the franchise had sold out its season-ticket pool by early 2021.

The team brass, including co-founders and co-majority owners David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, felt extremely confident in their burgeoning fan base, and the process of naming the team only solidified the feeling. The concept came from the people of Seattle, after all. When Leiweke, who is also part-owner, would engage with Seattle citizens in the months after the NHL approved the franchise, he’d ask them for suggestions on a name. The most common, by far, was the Kraken. As he puts it, the concept of a giant, tentacled sea monster already “lived in the theater of their minds.” It was an idea befitting the wildlife that accompanies a port city.

“Big, big animals live here,” Leiweke said. “Some of the biggest octopi in the world live right here in Elliott Bay. I think the mystery of the sea is what brought many people here, and it is totally synonymous with this city on the sea.“

[pnwguy2]

There seems to be a delay in offering a '21 schedule for the NHL. Yes, Seattle will enter the league, but the league seems to be behind the curve in planning. The typical season begins in October, just three months away. Not sure why there is a delay.

[rjshae]

I'll be curious just to see what the new arena looks like once it's finished.

[MechAndy]

This is going to be really cool.
I might even go.

I dig hockey.
I am a cheapo so I only go when the wife gets free Shark tickets from her work situation.

My favorite hockey though is amateur and semi pro.
We used to like to go to the old Memorial Stadium in Victoria but those days are long gone.

Are there any amateur or semi pro teams around north western wa?

Thanks.
Andy.

[Seacove]

Very excited to watch The Kraken play. Speaking of which, will it be plural? Seattle Krakens? Or singular, The Seattle Kraken?

We've seen (and bought ourselves) a lot of Kraken logo wear but looking forward to the Kraken monster getting used.

[MechAndy]

I have no loyalty to the sharks.
I am going to sport a Kraken jersey just to tick off a couple of my friends.

[pnwguy2]

There is this. But ironically Seattle is not even mentioned as a team. WTF?

https://www.gamedaycalendar.com/schedules/nhl/2021

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

There is this. But ironically Seattle is not even mentioned as a team. WTF?

https://www.gamedaycalendar.com/schedules/nhl/2021

Covid fatigue

[rjshae]

Is it just me, or does the Kraken mascot vaguely resemble Lovecraft's description of Cthulhu?

A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by rjshae

Is it just me, or does the Kraken mascot vaguely resemble Lovecraft's description of Cthulhu?

Sounds like a typical NHL game to me!