The next SinBin.vegas Guest Post comes to us all the way from New Orleans. Like many around the country, our next writer was waiting for an opportunity to love the best sport on Earth, and the Golden Knights are here to give him that opportunity.
So here it is, the New Years Resolution from Chris Trew.
Hockey fans and Las Vegas residents don’t know me and should have no reason to care about my 2017 New Year’s resolution. But I resolve to be as big of a Golden Knights fan as geography and my time allows.
Quick, context-providing, background: I’m a season ticket holder for the New Orleans Pelicans where I sit behind the visitors bench and write about it for Uproxx. Our AAA minor league baseball team recently rebranded from the Zephyrs to the Baby Cakes and I wrote this piece documenting my approval and that led to me now with a position on the franchise’s advisory council. I love sports and I’m fascinated with expansions and rebrands. I’m obsessed with fan loyalty and without a real reason to get behind an NHL team, I never have. Until now.
I was in Las Vegas for my annual Thanksgiving weekend trip in November of 2015 with a couple of units left in my sportsbook budget on the final night of my stay. Since I had discovered the possibility of the NHL landing in Las Vegas I couldn’t consume newspaper articles, blog posts, and podcasts quickly enough. The ticket drive was in full force and my heart told me to avoid investing the rest of my budget and to put it into a ticket. So, I did. For my last night in your city, I ate a leftover granola bar for dinner and watched Netflix instead of having steak and gambling. But I was now a proud partial season ticket holder for an NHL franchise that didn’t exist.
Since then I’ve downloaded the NHL app, added the NHL Network to my Roku account, stocked up on books to learn about the league, purchased Golden Knights merchandise the day it became available, watched more hockey than I ever have in my life, tried to help get the geo-restrictions lifted for the Behind The Vegas Ice documentary, and talked the franchise up with every single one of my sports friends who will listen. Basically, I’m the non-local target audience for this franchise. An out of town free agent that the Vegas Golden Knights marketing department should covet. And I’m here with my pen ready to sign the long term contract. My annual Thanksgiving weekend trip is now contingent on Golden Knights home games. I’m also proud to share that my annual Thanksgiving weekend trip will likely become two weekends or bi-annual to accommodate my growing love for the city as well as my upcoming relationship with your hockey team. I’m in.
I’m certain there are others like me. Sports fans willing to take on the NHL but without a reason to do so. I’m excited to learn about the sport through the lens of an expansion city. I’m grateful that so many resources exist already to hold the hand of the willing fan. I’m ready to be won over by this game and to soak in the journey.
-Chris Trew
Hang out with me on Medium, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat: christrew
christrew@gmail.com
If you are interested in contributing a guest post to SinBin.vegas, please email us at ken@sinbin.vegas.
Rob
Awesome post Chris! It’s great to hear how commited you are to this team. From what I’m hearing and seeing, it seems as though foleys plan to make the VGK global is working. Get as many of the New Orleans locals on board as possible…we could use all the fans we can get!
Chris Trew
You got it, thanks for reading, stay in touch!
PhiSig 150
Love the enthusiasm. Let me know if you ever need to sell a ticket to a game that you can’t make. In fact I think Sin Bin needs to start it’s own ticket exchange.
Ken Boehlke
It’s in the works. Believe me. Plan is to launch it in May or June. (Assuming things go to plan)
Chris Trew
I will definitely do that. Good way to keep posted on me is social media – I’m christrew on all of em, feel free to follow wherever!
James
I can relate to this – I’ve always wanted to be a fan of a North American sports expansion franchise in the streaming era. Thanks to the internet the coverage is better than ever. Growing up hockey was my least favourite North American sport, but I’ve been all in like Chris since the Maloofs sold the Sacramento Kings to Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen. I thought I would become a Seattle hockey fan, but I quickly turned my attention to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is the dream scenario. There’s something magical about being a fan since day one of the first professional sports team in Las Vegas. I’ve become emotionally invested in the team despite living on the other side of the pond.
Chris Trew
Yeah, my thoughts exactly! I think we have a chance to be part of something very unique in this era. Thanks for reading!
RJ
Awesome post, I’m really glad you are adopting our team as your own.
I wonder what your take is on the naming of the team? The New Orleans Baby Cakes is such a uniquely NO name that for better or worse no mistake can be made who the team is marketed to. The Baby Cakes are a team for New Orleans natives. Same thing with the Pelicans, few things are as closely tied to the state and the region as. Pelican, it was a name to show the locals that the name is for them. How would you have felt if instead of New Orleans Pelicans they went with NOLA Magnolia Cowboys or Orleans Yellowhammers?
Glad to have the fan here! I’ll support anyone who supports the Las Vegas Hockey Club!
Chris Trew
Yeah I hear you, good points! I definitely lean towards “region specific” when it comes to branding (why I LOVE the Pelicans brand and have spent many many hours defending it and writing about it ). Golden Knights doesn’t hit that level of specificity but it’s a cool name and “knights” is ranked pretty high in terms of “cool names that no pro team utilizes.” That said, I’m not a native so I can’t speak on what would make locals most happy. From an outsider standpoint I loved Flamingos but I understand the reasons that would never happen.
Would love for you to read this post I made on the Baby Cakes name, btw: https://medium.com/@christrew/let-them-eat-baby-cakes-c6a8b33ba74a#.c8utpjv2q – I’m on my way to the first Advisory Council meeting for the team (they added me after I wrote that post which is cool!)
Michael
Great post Chris – and great loyalty too! One can already see a growing fan club of die hards forming, before a puck has been dropped!
Chris Trew
Totally agree. Appreciate the read, hope to be back soon!