Since the first time we heard rumors of an NHL expansion franchise heading to Las Vegas, they have been met with one of two responses. The response of many, “Cool, what a great place to get a professional team.” Or the response of the angry, loud, obnoxious few, “It’ll never work, Vegas should never get a team.”
It’s natural that anytime something new is proposed it’s met with some level of hate. Which is all fine and well until you ask the question, why? Why are you against a team in Las Vegas? In what way will it affect you?
To the people who write headlines such as “The NHL could go to Vegas, Except…think Las Vegas and you don’t think of hockey.” (No link because filth doesn’t deserve your clicks) Or people tweeting things like this. What are you afraid of?
I understand vitriol coming from fans of the Coyotes, Panthers, and Hurricanes because they do not want to see their beloved team leave town. But a headline in San Diego? Fans in Canada, Minnesota, Chicago?
What’s the point? If Las Vegas is indeed awarded a franchise, very little will change in the league. There will be an expansion draft, there will be a few more teams to compete with, and in the end, the chance to win the Cup goes from one in 30 to one in 31 (or 32).
So there must be some other reason. It must be cool, or hip, or trendy to hate Las Vegas. Or, it’s a yearning to be right. To be able to say, “I told you so” 25 years later when the team fails (which it won’t).
Here in Vegas we aren’t afraid of critics. We’ve dealt with haters since before the original Flamingo was constructed. But at least have a reason.
You don’t like what the city stands for. You are morally opposed to gambling. You hate how we objectify women. Gimme something.
People who hate the idea of the NHL coming to Sin City have nothing. They gain nothing from the arguments. They gain nothing if the leagues chooses to go elsewhere or not expand at all. There’s simply no purpose in life for these people.
Dude
Tell me something. How much ice does Vegas get in the winter naturally? The NHL should be shutting down teams, not adding more in places that have no business having them. Halifax and Quebec City make more sense as NHL expansion spots than Las Vegas does. More teams (in places they don’t belong) means a longer season. Hockey in June makes no sense.
Nicole Boîteux
Despite how old this is, I’m going to comment. NHL in Las Vegas is stupid. Aside from the dumb comment of “it’s trendy to hate the GK”, it does hurt the league. When the team goes under then that entire team will be out of a job, the line up will change AGAIN, and players’ salaries will be affected. Honestly 31 teams is way too many (and why not expand into another town to at least keep it even?), the NHL should cut it down to a more modest 20.