We Can Make a Statement
There are few ways fans can ever really affect a sports league on a large scale. Many have tried to organize merchandise or ticket boycotts, but rarely has it ever done anything other than get some small media attention. In this time of an NHL lockout merchandise is probably not expected to bring in much and tickets obviously aren’t being sold not to buy.
There is one thing both sides do need right now: attention. While those failed boycotts garned small media attention they’d be more likely to reach more people now if done successfully over the internet. Blogs and other news websites would pick it up fast. Right now the NHL and a whole bunch of players are doing what they can to keep the media talking hockey, even in the States. Even if it’s just one line on SportsCenter like “would have been a good night for some NHL hockey” as was the line last night (paraphrased from Steve Levy if my memory serves me correct).
A huge amount of people get their fill of news from the web daily. Many of us own hockey-related websites or blogs. What if we all just shut them down? Not long enough to hurt the sites, but long enough to make a statement. Perhaps that could be our voice, our way to reach the league. Take down a site and put up one single message, something like “We’re not going to cover your lockout bickering. (This site will return soon).” I’m sure I can think of something more creative, but you get the jist of it. As much as we all like to print player quotes and league statements, we may need to take a break and let our own voices be heard. Individually it’s hard - collectively it’s not. Maybe it’s time we should be involved in this PR war?
Next entry: So What Now?
Previous entry: Positives From the World Series
Comments