SOS: Schedule - Fan Support

We as fans need to step up if we want the AHL to get better. Let me explain.

This needs to happen more often. And this was in Bridgeport!
Creative Commons: Andrew Gardecki

People need to buy into the AHL so they can get a better product. Think of it as pumping energy into a machine. The more you pump in, the more you get. The more sugar in your system, the bigger the sugar rush.

The Utica Comets in this instance are the ideal franchise. They have a legitimate fan base. The result is they have seemingly worked out a fairly well balanced schedule. They have a better travel budget, they can have better variety of opponents and can diversify their product while still building up rivalries without saturating an opponent. How are they able to do this? Fan support.

The fans bought in, showing it through 17 sell out home games. Utica is on rise and its because of what the fans can do to help galvanize the team, pump money back into the system and demand attention be paid to the way the team is managed and run. And because of that, the organization seems to be listening, and in a year where I am prepared to declare Utica a heavy favorite to win the East, it makes it more important.

And Utica's situation is a perfect example of things I've already been saying. They have rivalries. They have history, to a point. They are in a market that isn't saturated by an NHL team. The home town can call them their own. And it all works perfectly. Utica is so important to that community that it will help drive the success of the community and ultimately help make Vancouver a contender, if the Comets aren't made the more valuable piece of the franchise through whatever championships they win.

But, those factors also worked because of the X-Factor they couldn't control which is the fan support. Fans bought it. If you are an AHL fan, and want your team to succeed, you need to be a maniac about these things. You need to bring friends to games, you need to talk the team up, build up hatred for other teams. Get others to drink the Kool-Aid.

The AHL will be a better product if the fans show that they want one. Just take the leap of faith and let's hope that the AHL reads all the right cues.