Perceptions….

One thing that never ceases to amaze me about British Ice Hockey is just how many fans seem to think that they know why club X has taken the decisions it has, despite not being A: a fan of said club, and B: having no actual knowledge of the clubs inner workings. Hell, British Ice Hockey is so full of ‘armchair experts’ that it is a wonder any club has any problems based on the supposed store of knowledge and business acumen out there.

Once more, I am being lecture by people from outside of the Phoenix as to the hows and whys of our departure from the EIHL. And you know what, the fact that some of these people still think we only left the EIHL to be ‘big fish in a small pond’ frustrates me more than words.

It occurs to me that if many of these ‘fans’ actually accepted the real reasons as to why clubs such as ourselves, Basingstoke, Newcastle, and the London Racers could not maintain EIHL membership then they might actually have to question the whole ‘EIHL is viable’ narrative that the ‘big’ clubs like to persist with. I don’t think I’m kidding anyone when I say that the EIHL exists purley to serve Nottingham, Sheffield, Belfast, and now Braehead. Without the other 6 clubs being involved, these ‘big’ clubs would have nowhere to ply their trade.

The reason they are moving back towards all import rosters? Because the EIHL Narrative places imports as being more skilled and better entertainment that British players. And this attitude has seeped into a whole generation of fans who seem to regard genuine British hockey as somehow ‘worthless’ and ‘substandard’. Fans, we are told will not come and watch British players. They NEED to watch imports or they won’t be entertained. Really? I thought that real fans, people who love not just a club badge but the sport itself will come and watch no matter what the alleged level on display in front of them. When we became an EPL side, there were those who predicted that our fanbase would crumble, and we wouldn’t last. Well, we’re still here, and with larger crowds too. Yes, being a ‘big fish’ has helped, but the fact is the peopel who turn up week in, week out, the ‘core’ fans just want to see the game they love played for their enjoyment. You could say that we all ‘broke the conditioning’ of the previous decades worth of hockey in Manchester. And I for one believe that the fans of say, Nottingham for example could do the same.

The EIHL Narrative also posits the notion that clubs who can’t maintain the EIHL are somehow ‘unprofessional’. And by that I don’t mean an amateur team, but run in an amateur manner. According to a Panthers fan (them again), we were so amateurish in our final EIHL season from a management standpoint we somehow ran up the 2nd highest wage bill yet still managed to win nothing. Really? We spent almost as much as the Panthers but only built a roster capable of mid table? People will believe any old horse shit if it is told to them with enough sincerity.

British ice hockey, and its fans especially, need a major wake up call. It should have come over a decade ago when the ISL collapsed, but the heads were buried too far in the sand back then. And they still are. In fact, it appears that the ideas which lead us down the ISL path once before are even more entrenched now than ever. I wonder what it will take for these people to be able to break away from their blinkered views and see the bigger picture?