JACKSONVILLE, Fl – The pen is mightier than the sword. OK, I don’t know if that classic line is appropriate way to start this column but let’s give it a shot. As another hockey season gets under way, we can expect the usual talk about goals, assists, penalty calls and the infamous “my team is going to be better than your team”. Among the conversations, this topic will come up before long…… I wish the local media would cover our team more. Let’s face it, we have all heard it and we will hear it again. It’s a rite of the starting of a new hockey season. When the Hampton Roads Admirals started up in 1989, not too much was expected. Most of the previous teams that had played in the great Tidewater region had disappeared with some, but not a great amount, of fanfare. The Gulls, the Sharks, the Aces and then again the Gulls all had a fair amount of success then the bubble burst. The Admirals were, pretty much, in the same much. Then, the first Friday game after Christmas, everything changed. I didn’t attend the game because my job at the time required me to work Friday nights but I still remember listening to the Admirals radio announcer that telling people not to come down to the Scope because the game was sold out. There was a certain amount of disbelief in his voice, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. It was like that all the way through. Friday and Saturday night games were sold-out the rest of the way. When the Admirals season finally ended, I still remember a local TV anchor commenting to the sports director, on air, that he was shocked about how well the team did that past season. He expected to cover the team at opening night and then didn’t expected them to be covered again until the playoffs. The situation in the Norfolk area is pretty. There are several universities in the area (Old Dominion, Norfolk State, Hampton University) but none will get the coverage in the local media than say the University of Texas or Florida. The Admirals have always had the advantage of being one of the big dogs in the region, so they can be assured of getting a lot of coverage. That can’t be said everywhere. When I moved south in the 90’s, it was one year before the ECHL Huntsville Blast moved to Tallahassee. Before long as a Tiger Sharks fan, I heard the complaint of fans that they thought the local paper should cover the team better. I always thought the team had pretty good coverage. The local paper had a writer who covered every home game and did a pretty good job,. There was just one problem and that was that Tallahassee is the home of Florida State University. An old argument I always used in Tallahassee was if the newspaper had one reporter and they had a choice to send him/her to only one event that average 3000 people, a Tiger Sharks hockey game or an FSU volleyball game, where would the reporter go. The answer is simple…..the volleyball game. Why? Because FSU isn’t likely to pack up and move their campus to Lakeland or Pensacola. They are in Tallahassee for the long haul. They are the 800 lb gorilla. Events like that are common in a lot of cities. One of the things I get a chance to do every day is looking at a newspaper from each ECHL and SPHL city. Generally speaking, if they is a major league team or major college in the area, they are going to get the primary amount of media coverage, at the expense of the minor league hockey team. ECHL coverage of teams (at least online) like Charlotte, Trenton and Phoenix (where there are major league clubs either in the city or nearby) is scant while coverage of teams like Estero (Fla. Everblades) Boise, Idaho and Columbus, GA get pretty good coverage. Heck, on opening night for the Steelheads, there were six online articles about the team. One year the local Naples newspaper had twelve online articles about the Everblades. There are exceptions but they are few and far between. The Knoxville Ice Bears get pretty good coverage even though they are located in the same city as a major university. But they are one of the few exceptions about the rule. One more thing about the local media. It is their duty to cover the news, not to give free publicity. They will cover the local team if they are newsworthy and a team drawing 5000 a game is far more news worthy than a team drawing less than 2000 a night. Sorry, but it is true. The likely fact is that, if the team is drawing well and playing well, they will get coverage, from print and the visual media. Play bad, the local media will find their way to cover other local sports. It’s just the way that it is. Contact the author at kenneth.holdren@prohockeynews.com
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