“Show me the money!”

By Kurt Hunzeker (with some copy points provided by the movie Jerry McGuire)

“I am out here for you. You don't know what it’s like to be ME out here for YOU. It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, OK?”

What’s harder…A) understanding/believing anything the newly outspoken Tom Cruise says, or B) still being a NHL fan? Toss up, but now we hockey fans get to dust off our favorite team’s caps and proudly wear them once again now that the owners and players agreed that greed did not get them very far last (lost) season.

So now what? Fans like me, the ones with both the home AND away sweaters AND the alternate/vintage home jersey AND at least four caps/visors AND a number of miscellaneous logo-ed merchandise are chomping at the bit to catch a game live again. Unfortunately for the 30 NHL teams out there, our collective group is smaller than the number of people who saw Gigli.

“The key to this business is personal relationships.”

Damn straight. The NHL must become the most fan-friendly sport in the marketplace. Lowered ticket prices are a start, but that’s not a big enough carrot for families deciding between going to the game or catching a rerun of CSI on Spike TV.

NHL marketing executives must trash their previous mindsets of promotions and adopt a hybrid of the zany antics of Minor League Baseball promotions and the completely unknown world of hockey fan-hockey game direct interaction.

Here are some examples, free of charge, to any executive out there (any more on top of this will cost you):

1) Pre-game autograph sessions for kids 15 and under
Post-game won’t cut it because some games end around 11pm. Not only do families beat the traffic, but kids get to tell their hometown players how much they root for them.

And this idea goes both ways…players can sign pictures, trading cards and other collectible items, and young fans can sign the players’ sweaters and sticks. This gives young fans OWNERSHIP of a player and keeps them glued to the game action. Who knows, they may actually watch a game on TV later in the season or tell their buddies at school: “Yeah, Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick last night. It’s because of me.” You telling me that a kid wouldn’t love this?

2) Players REALLY out in the community
I think the only time I have seen players out in the community are in the bar districts after games. They are either patrons or “celebrity bartenders.” Whatever. NHL players need to be in places where families are:
· At malls providing tutorials either inside or in the parking lot (obvious sponsorship opportunities)
· Bagging groceries at local supermarkets, telling people when the next home games are and passing out sales collateral, and/or accepting tips for charity
· Each player should sponsor his own Mighty Mites team of young hockey players; so that 18-24 teams are created, teaching youngsters about the sport while aligning them with local players; these teams could play each other during the intermissions of each and every home game (always a crowd favorite)

3) Touch glass
Who sits “on the glass” at most hockey games? Drunk corporate yahoos. Send them back one row and let the kids bang on the glass and cheer on their favorite players. Not only will this eliminate vulgar heckling between obnoxious fans and pissed off players, but it will foster a closer bond of the sport with these young fans. Every third seat must be occupied by a kid 15 and under. Mom and Dad can tag along as well.

“Anyone else would have left you by now, but I'm sticking with you. And if I have to ride your ass like Zorro, you're gonna show me the money.”

A sports league NEVER gets an opportunity to rebuild itself, re-establish itself and re-vitalize itself the way the NHL can in the coming days, weeks and months leading up to the new season’s start on October 5. I even like the new, sleek brand the league unveiled today.

If the NHL continues this forward thinking, I won’t be the only one in the stands voicing (very, very loudly) my approval.