Friday BusinessBall: Smashville

By: Michael Lovero (Twitter: @mlovero30)

Smashville: The story of a southern hockey town

Last Monday, over 17 thousand fans at Bridgestone Arena celebrated the first Stanley Cup Finals appearance for their beloved hometown Nashville Predators. It was an experience reminiscent of the growth and development of the franchise since it was founded in 1997 as an expansion team.

For the people who believe that the southern half of the United States cannot sustain a hockey team, this article is for you. There is interest, people who know the game, people who want to learn the game, and an exciting culture that Nashville and other southern teams bring to the National Hockey League. So no, the NHL does not need to move any southern teams to Quebec City, and Nashville is a reason why hockey belongs in the south.

There was a great New York Times article on the Nashville Predators by Ben Shpigel titled "From Hockey 101 to a Ph.D. in Nashville". The title is a reference to the time when the Nashville Predators were in their early years of existence and held Hockey 101 classes to fans before every home game to teach them about the sport of hockey. And these classes were put on by the broadcasting team of Pete Weber and Terry Crisp. Hockey was new to the people of Nashville, but the people were serious. 

Shpigel even talked about how the organization was trying to sell Nashville Predator tickets at a mall kiosk. Can you imagine the New York Rangers doing something like that? Nat Harden, who was a college graduate at the time, ran the kiosk. Now he is the vice president of ticket sales and youth hockey for the Nashville Predators.

It took time for Nashville to be acquainted with the traditions. Fans learned through classes and grew their traditions through experience. Today, Nashville is Hockeyville, and fans are buzzing around the streets of the Music City.

The reason why this is a big deal for the city of Nashville, and even the entire state of Tennessee, is because Tennessee has never won a major professional championship before. The state itself hosts the Nashville Predators, Memphis Grizzlies, and Tennessee Titans. They have minor league baseball and college sports that draws some attention. The biggest sporting monument they have in Tennessee is NASCAR's Bristol Motor Speedway. But between the three major professional organizations, they have not won a championship.

The Tennessee Titans, who are also in Nashville, were the last team in the state to make a championship game back in 1999, when they lost to the St. Louis Rams. Eighteen years later, the Predators bring the city of Nashville another shot at a championship. A city with just under 700,000 people in population has given hockey its undivided attention. Attraction has increased, bars are packed with gold jerseys that stand out among the rest of the league's uniforms, and spirits are high for Predators fans. This is not just happening because of the playoffs either; the Predators have seen an increase in attendance since 2013, and have sold out all 41 of their regular season games and home playoff games.

It was fascinating to read from Shpigel about the near relocation that the Predators almost went through as a result of low attendance in the mid-2000s. Like every expansion team, there is a low point in attendance where the magic of having a new team wears off. But once those rumors were announced, young fans begged parents to buy seats to keep their Predators in Nashville. A decade later, we are seeing those kids as adults now who attend these games. They never left, they stayed patient. Now, their years of waiting paid off, and Nashville will finally host a Stanley Cup Finals series.

Resale ticket prices are as low as $825 and as high as $15,000 before they even went out to the public (tickets to the public went on sale this morning). Nashville will host games three, four, and six if necessary against the Pittsburgh Penguins. I have no doubt in my mind that every seat will be filled by puck drop for all of those games.

Overtime

Odell Beckham Jr. re-signed with Nike for five years/$29 million with up to $48 million in incentives, which will make him the highest paid football player under Nike. All his media attention probably helped make this happen.

The New York Yankees dedicated a section of Yankee Stadium to rookie slugger Aaron Judge called the "Judge's Chamber." He has been in the majors for just under two months and is already sketched into Yankee Stadium? It took Derek Jeter over 20 years for that to happen.

The ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational finishes tonight on TBS with the winner collecting $250,000. So do not tell your kids that you cannot make money from playing video games.

Turner Broadcasting System, who does NBA on TNT and ELEAGUE on TBS, is rumored to have considered bidding for rights of NFL primetime games. Turner last broadcasted NFL in 1997.

The NFL is letting players have fun now when Roger Goodell loosened restrictions on touchdown celebrations. Thrusting is still not allowed, however.

Following the Manchester bombing at Manchester Arena in England earlier this week, Manchester United won the UEFA Europa League, and announced a joint donation with rivals Manchester City for one million pounds to the victims of the attack. Players such as Wayne Rooney and Pablo Zabaleta individually donated money themselves.

Michael Lovero is a Marketing and Sports Management major in the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University and is an assistant sports director at WSOU.

Posted in: Sports