Chairman How's Glorious Army
Significantly Lowering the Bar Since 2008.

I’ve been saving this for a bit of a slow period, but it doesn’t seem like we’re going to get that so I’m gonna just post this now.

I don’t live in Syracuse. Although moving closer is ultimately my goal, right now I’m stuck north of the Salt City, the proverbial outsider looking in. I’ve gotten involved in politics “down there” only when it involves the Crunch and like most outsiders I don’t really pay much attention unless it involves my team in some way. However, something I heard a few weeks ago really rubbed me the wrong way and it got me thinking about how frustrating it must be to live in Syracuse.

Now granted, there are plenty of problems where I live. Too many. I won’t bore you all, but let’s just say there may be inbreeding in these here parts. But Syracuse seems to have a very special problem of pettiness and childishness among business owners, government members and the press that surprises even me. The current problem with the building on 81 might be a perfect example of this: no one wants responsibility for it, up to and including the building owner himself.

But what brought this on actually hits a bit more closer to home for Crunch fans in particular.

During Brent Axe’s show on ESPN radio (well, it was at the time)/TW Sports/Whatever the Monday after the Outdoor Classic, a person affiliated with either a business involved in WinterFest or WinterFest itself or the chili cook off–it wasn’t really clear–called in to complain that the Crunch’s outdoor game took away valuable patrons from the chili cook off they held that same afternoon. I believe his exact words were, “I wish they would have just checked the calendar before scheduling this game.” (Emphasis mine)

Wh….wh…what???

As I understand it, a bunch of people apparently said to this man that they weren’t going to the cook off because of the game. Yea, that sucks for the organizers who worked really hard on the event and I feel their pain. I understand how frustrating it is when big events are scheduled at the same time. However, it’s this kind of “well, we were there first!” (said in the whiniest voice imaginable) mentality that is seriously holding the City of Syracuse back from doing anything great. Hell, it’s amazing the outdoor game got off the ground at all, but then again most of that was due to people who aren’t directly from Syracuse, so…yea.

Here’s the thing: the Crunch didn’t just randomly decide to pick that weekend nor did they do it to spite the people of WinterFest. A lot of thought had to go into choosing that date. The Crunch had to get the permission of a professional sports league–the AHL– to change the time of the game already scheduled for that day, for instance. The league schedule had already been set by the time the Crunch was able to iron out the details of this game, so the outdoor event had to happen on a day that already had a game. Travel time for the away team had to be considered, since the league wasn’t on a break like the NHL was. Travel time for away fans also had to be considered, as in order to make this event even slightly financially viable it was preferable to have away fans able to come to Syracuse. Most importantly, hockey is a very hard sport to play in the dark. Even with the track lighting that was used, it still would have been almost impossible for the game to be played if daylight ran out. The safety of both the fans and the players had to be considered, so the game had to be held in the early afternoon to give it enough to be played through in case of delays or overtime.

I am sure there were other issues that played a part when deciding to place the Mirabito Outdoor Classic on February 20th, 2010, and I will admit that the WinterFest Chili Cook Off probably didn’t enter into the Crunch’s thinking. But I have a question for those WinterFest organizers who were upset at the loss of people for their event: did they even consider, for one minute, approaching the Crunch and seeing if they could somehow partner with them and take advantage of the situation?

The hockey game was over at what, 4:30ish? Many people probably left the game hungry for some dinner. Now, I’ll admit I’ve never been to a chili cook off. Maybe there’s something about chili makers I don’t know. Maybe they’re all afraid of the dark or melt in the moonlight.  Assuming those things aren’t true, wouldn’t it have been a lot easier for the chili cook off to be held a bit later in the day than for the Crunch to “check the calendar” and find another day? How about this for a marketing strategy: “Hey fans! Did you work up a hunger cheering for your team today at the Mirabito Outdoor Classic? Are your insides a little chilled from sitting in the stands? Then how about stopping by the WinterFest Chili Cook Off and warm up your insides after the game!”

But this didn’t happen. Instead of putting their minds towards an agreeable–and tasty, might I add–solution, the people in charge decided to stew in their own whiny juices and adopt the persona of a four-year old whose chair was just stolen by their older sibling. The problem here is that Syracuse is a big city, at least compared to my small burg. Chance are, events will end up coinciding with each other on any given weekend. To call into a show and whine about something like this just smarts of the same childish spirit that seemed to prevent the legislators of Onondaga County from wanting to work with the Crunch. It also goes along with Bud Poliquin having a difficult time writing anything about the Crunch that isn’t inaccurate or sarcastic. One could also say this same spirit is what prevents the Crunch from being able to do anything of real value to the War Memorial.

There’s no spirit of cooperation in Syracuse. People want things the way they’ve always been, they want them the way they want them, and no one wants to work together for the greater good. Not everyone is a part of this problem, of course. There are many forward-thinking people within the organization and a few sprinkled around the county and city. But wouldn’t life be better if people just got over themselves and tried something new? Take a risk. Join together. Be awesome. Good things may just happen.