Signs that the Thrashers played in Atlanta have started to disappear. Physical reminders that the city was once home to the NHL franchise are fading -- or have been eliminated by a coat of paint.
However, emotional reminders and the pain of losing a team won’t go away as easily.
“I’m not fully over it,” Thrashers fan Jameson Pugh said. “It’s a process. It’s like breaking up with a longtime girlfriend. You think you are OK, and then something reminds you of her and your heart sinks a little bit.”
In interviews with fans, former team staff members and officials, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at how the city is coping with the loss of the Thrashers six months after it was announced the team was sold by the Atlanta Spirit and would move to Winnipeg.
Many of the same players compete under a new name, the Jets, in a Canadian city that once lost its NHL team. To root, or not to root, for familiar faces is a dilemma for Thrasher fans. The removal of visible landmarks is an irritant.
Outside Philips Arena, a mural commemorating the city’s hosting of the 2008 NHL All-Star Game recently was painted over, erasing visible evidence of the event. Thrashers banners that once hung from the rafters -- among them one that recognized the team’s 2006-07 Southeastern Division title -- are in arena storage.
At the team’s practice facility, the Duluth IceForum, a sign on Satellite Boulevard still designates it as the practice home of the Thrashers. The team’s color scheme remains, as does the logo at center ice. Yet more banners have been removed.
“Somebody, somewhere, is trying to extinguish the memory of the Thrashers,” fan Greg Mann said. “I don’t know who it is, but it’s very painful.”
Bob Williams, president of the Hawks and Philips Arena, would not address the mural’s removal other than to say to the AJC in an email: “I don’t deem the subject you inquired about to be newsworthy and therefore don’t feel the need to comment on it.”
While the emotions are still raw, fans have had no choice but to move on. Some have adopted other teams. Some have turned to the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators for their hockey. Some follow the former Thrashers on TV or in person on road trips. Some have given up on the NHL and turned their attention, and money once spent on Thrashers tickets, to other sports.
The Nashville Predators, the closest NHL team to Atlanta, have many converted Thrashers fans. The team immediately reached out to the fan base. A flex ticket package, now known as "Thrash to Smash," was created shortly after it was apparent the Thrashers would be sold and moved, according to Chris Parker, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the Predators and Bridgestone Arena.
This is the most successful flex-ticket package offered by Nashville, which markets itself as "Smashville." The Predators also have had an increase in tickets sold to out-of-market teams, especially eastern markets. The Predators and Carolina Hurricanes have been helped by Atlanta’s FoxSports station, which is broadcasting 45 games of each team this season.
“I was angry, but I feel like I’ve moved on now,” said Thrashers fan John Bragg, who will attend the Predators-Jets game in March to root for Nashville. “The turning point was going to a game in Nashville. That was when the curtain finally fell. ...
"I will be honest, there was an element of getting to root for a better team now. I could change allegiances to a better team without feeling guilty.”
Still, last week’s Hurricanes-Jets game from Winnipeg registered an unmeasurable ratings number: The game drew an Atlanta audience smaller than required for a 0.1 rating, or 2,400 households.
DirectTV has seen an increase in local subscriptions to the NHL’s Center Ice package, which shows out-of-market games, but spokesman Robert Mercer would not provide specific numbers.
The Gladiators, hockey’s equivalent of Double-A baseball, remain near the top of the ECHL in attendance; they are fifth in the 20-team ECHL with average attendance of 5,220. Last season they finished fifth, averaging 5,128.
“I’m going to Gladiators games,” Jonathan Litz said. “It’s not the NHL, but it’s hockey. I can’t bring myself to support another team yet. We'll see as time goes on.”
Dan Kamal, the radio voice of the Thrashers for their entirety, is still connected to the franchise. He does pre- and post-game work for radio station CJOB radio in Winnipeg. He is well received wherever he goes.
“It’s kind of cool,” Kamal said of the smiles, nods and hellos he receives when spotted by fans who still wear Thrashers jerseys.
Largely unchanged is the fans' displeasure with Atlanta Spirit ownership and the NHL, specifically commissioner Gary Bettman. Time has not erased animosity for how the team was managed in Atlanta, or the franchise was lost. The feeling persists that the league did little for Thrashers fans.
“The name Gary Bettman still causes my blood to boil as does the mention of the Atlanta Spirit Group,” Thrashers fan Brian Gedeon said.
Fans remain angry over the notion they never fully supported the team. Many felt disrespected by comments made by players and fans in Winnipeg. The Thrashers had strong attendance in the early years of the franchise and during its one trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs, the only one in 11 seasons.
Bettman is criticized for trips made to Arizona to help the Coyotes franchise, a team owned by the NHL that could have landed in Winnipeg if not for last-minute government financial help. The league also stepped in to help in situations in Nashville, Tampa Bay and Dallas.
“I was so angry and dejected over how the whole situation played out with the pathetic ownership and Gary Bettman’s lack of action and condescending remarks regarding our lack of fan support,” Thrashers fan Jason Gunnell said. “Would you or any of us pay thousands of dollars over and over for a subpar restaurant, car repair, service or anything like that? No hard-working person here is going to continually be lied to and pay for that."
Fans have vowed never to return to Philips Arena, even for Hawks games or concerts, while the Atlanta Spirit still own those entitities. The Spirit have tried to sell the Hawks and arena rights but remain owners after a sale agreement in recent months fell through.
“Until current ownership has nothing to do with Philips Arena, I will never be back,” Thrashers fan Andy Freeman said.
Life without hockey in Atlanta goes on.
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