Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Russia sticking their OARs in: Winter Olympics 2018

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Brief history here supports that.

    This would have been something to see

    The first international ice hockey match between England and Scotland was at the Crossmyloof ice rink in 1908. Despite the Scots using the sneaky tactic of playing on a rink which had poles down the middle and a bandstand just above head height in the centre of the rink for this match, the English apparently ran out easy winners.

    Comment


      Wowzers, that would have been a sight to behold indeed. What magnificent lunacy.


      Originally posted by Jorge Porbillas View Post
      I'll echo the thanks - a fantastic read and a real eye opener for someone who's Ice Hockey experience came from "Wales Today" sports bulletins extolling the virtues of the Devils in the late 80s/early 90s. Names like Stevie Lyle and Shannon Hope were common to even us north Walians who lived 4 hours away fom the capital and had never seen a game!
      My only ice hockey match experience remains Cardiff Devils v Basingstoke Beavers (?) in the early 90s although I did edit the highlights of the last two seasons' matches for a sports show on S4C!
      Basingstoke would indeed have been the Beavers back then – they became the Bison in 1995, in a tiresomely predictable example of a club with an interesting nickname feeling the need to up its 'macho' rating. (See also, as you say, Flint Freeze becoming Deeside *yawn* Dragons. If I were Emperor of Wales, I think one of the first edicts I'd lay down would be the banning of all sports teams using the none-more-lazy 'Dragons' epithet for any reason.)

      Shannon Hope, though. Cor, a Proustian flashback there. I'd forgotten all about him when I mentioned McEwen, Moria and the Coopers before. Apparently Steve Moria only finally retired in 2012, if you can believe it, aged 51.

      Comment


        I'd clean forgotten about Shannon Hope too. After retiring he had a go at running a clothing range which was responsible for producing this little worn Cardiff City shirt :



        As I recall, he used the kind of heavier, rougher made-made fabric that ice hockey jerseys are made of rather than usual football shirt material - making it even more unwearable.

        Comment


          Originally posted by Ray de Galles View Post
          I'd clean forgotten about Shannon Hope too. After retiring he had a go at running a clothing range which was responsible for producing this little worn Cardiff City shirt :



          As I recall, he used the kind of heavier, rougher made-made fabric that ice hockey jerseys are made of rather than usual football shirt material - making it even more unwearable.
          If it's a good one, then it shouldn't be unwearable. Hockey sweaters are popular fan gear because they can be worn big and heavy, which is good for people with less than ideal physiques. They're no longer made of wool, of course, and are always getting lighter and cooler, but they still have stitched on numbers and logos so they "feel substantial," which they should for $200+.

          Comment


            Being a big and heavy man with a less than ideal physique, I often flirt with the idea of getting one but even looking at the fabric normally brings me out in a rash, let alone touching it. The graver problem with UK (and, I presume, European) team jerseys is that they are covered in a plethora of sponsor's logos.

            Comment


              Re: Tony Hand, the story I heard from someone who knows him is that Hand had some family issues that kept him in the UK. Certainly his lack of willingness to go abroad despite receiving numerous offers from European leagues was bizarre. He couldn't possibly have been satisfied playing against people nowhere near his class, some of his stats in the early 90s are just absurd. 222 points in 44 games one season.

              Comment


                Originally posted by Snake Plissken View Post

                Theoretically, a London team could work in the capital, if the rink was sufficiently small. 2-3,000. It's failed pretty much anywhere. To be honest, I've filed "A successful hockey team in London" with "basketball is the next big spectator sport in the UK". Been hearing it for a quarter of a century, not seen any evidence to justify it but plenty of failed attempts.
                Ice hockey and rugby league are the two sports where the lack of engagement by the expat population of London are most frustrating. There's more than enough Londoners from hockey-playing countries to support a team at 3,000 a game, not including the hockey-mad Brits (I did a charity thing at Romford Raiders and was shocked at how many people turned up - almost all native-born Brits). But the expats would rather watch an NHL/KHL game alone on their laptop than turn up at a community hockey rink. Really shows the difference between the people who like the sport and people who just like their team.

                Engagement rises when you filter out the short-term transient expats from the folks who have settled here, but it's still not great.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by Ray de Galles View Post
                  The graver problem with UK (and, I presume, European) team jerseys is that they are covered in a plethora of sponsor's logos.
                  Yes this is exactly why I have never seen a hockey jersey I would ever wear

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Various Artist View Post
                    Basingstoke would indeed have been the Beavers back then – they became the Bison in 1995, in a tiresomely predictable example of a club with an interesting nickname feeling the need to up its 'macho' rating. (See also, as you say, Flint Freeze becoming Deeside *yawn* Dragons. If I were Emperor of Wales, I think one of the first edicts I'd lay down would be the banning of all sports teams using the none-more-lazy 'Dragons' epithet for any reason.)
                    Bit more to the Basingstoke story. The coach at the time (from the Beavers inception, I think) took over the club or got promoted to GM or something like that. He then immediately renamed them to the Bison, after his alma mater of the University of Manitoba. OK, fair enough thought most people, until he also changed the club colours to match and started recruiting a whole bunch of players from there. That was a bit odd.

                    Flintshire / Deeside I'm pretty sure one of those incarnations was funded in part by the local council. (cf Altrincham Aces becoming Trafford Metros for a couple of seasons.)

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by Flynnie View Post
                      Ice hockey and rugby league are the two sports where the lack of engagement by the expat population of London are most frustrating. There's more than enough Londoners from hockey-playing countries to support a team at 3,000 a game, not including the hockey-mad Brits (I did a charity thing at Romford Raiders and was shocked at how many people turned up - almost all native-born Brits). But the expats would rather watch an NHL/KHL game alone on their laptop than turn up at a community hockey rink. Really shows the difference between the people who like the sport and people who just like their team.

                      Engagement rises when you filter out the short-term transient expats from the folks who have settled here, but it's still not great.
                      I wonder how much of it is the lack of that 3,000 or so crowd (ex-pats or otherwise) or a lack of a venue of around that size (or one where that kind of crowd is financially viable) to properly accommodate them as Snake surmises. I know I am always surprised that I don’t see more ex-pat Poles at UK speedway tracks so maybe engaging migrants in a side foreign to them is a problem.

                      I’m always impressed when Petr Cech not just turns up to Guildford Flames matches (when they were in the second tier too, I’m actually not sure I’ve seen him at any recent top flight fixtures) but mingles with supporters and gets involved with post-match presentations and the like. All this in what is a pretty standard suburban leisure centre.
                      Last edited by Ray de Galles; 26-02-2018, 18:36.

                      Comment


                        Do Arena teams also have the rink open to the public/amateur hockey and skating events in most of the cities? Seems a bit pointless having an arena rink in cities if there’s no public rink for folk that might want to do more than sit on their arse watching other people on the ice. As far as I can see, the Braehead Arena only has public skating over the winter months, and probably too full of weans falling over to be of use to folk skating with purpose (it also doubles as an atrocious fire my agent music/light entertainment venue, constant rumors of the whole thing being torn down and made bigger and less shit- the building is less than twenty years old).

                        So for most of the year, Greater Glasgow is without a public rink (Paisley Pirates are also based at Braehead since Paisley Ice Rink closed down). That’s about 1.2 million people just as a continuous urban area. Think there might be a rink in Hamilton, if any weegies fancy an almost half hour train ride to sunny Lanarkshire. Pisspoor, hardly conducive to growing the game or grassroots either. It’s the same in Dublin, but then ice hockey has never been a thing here, let alone curling. Fuck sake most Dubs of a certain age can’t swim let alone skate.
                        Last edited by Lang Spoon; 26-02-2018, 20:29.

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                          Brief history here supports that.

                          This would have been something to see

                          The first international ice hockey match between England and Scotland was at the Crossmyloof ice rink in 1908. Despite the Scots using the sneaky tactic of playing on a rink which had poles down the middle and a bandstand just above head height in the centre of the rink for this match, the English apparently ran out easy winners.

                          That hurts my head trying to visualise it.
                          Last edited by Lang Spoon; 26-02-2018, 20:17.

                          Comment


                            Picking a sweater for Ray is simple. Geordie Howe models one here



                            ad hoc is a bit more difficult, but might consider something like this

                            Comment


                              Oh yeah, I think I’ve mentioned that old All Star jersey on here before. It’s the issue of the material that’s stopped me taking the plunge online before. There is a dubious Chinese knock off hoodie version of a similar design too.
                              Last edited by Ray de Galles; 26-02-2018, 21:09.

                              Comment


                                No, with hockey sweaters, either spend a lot or don’t bother. Probably don’t bother. I sold a bunch on eBay for a lot less than I paid and felt stupid.

                                Comment


                                  Ray, a North American jersey of that vintage is going to be of the same material as a rugby shirt of similar age

                                  Comment


                                    Originally posted by Lang Spoon View Post
                                    That hurts my head trying to visualise it.
                                    There's some pictures (mostly of the outside) here, although they're not much help. It's a supermarket now of course, as is the way with abandoned venues.

                                    Comment


                                      Originally posted by Snake Plissken View Post
                                      Bit more to the Basingstoke story. The coach at the time (from the Beavers inception, I think) took over the club or got promoted to GM or something like that. He then immediately renamed them to the Bison, after his alma mater of the University of Manitoba. OK, fair enough thought most people, until he also changed the club colours to match and started recruiting a whole bunch of players from there. That was a bit odd.
                                      I used to work with someone in Amersham who married a Canadian ice hockey player who, I'm pretty sure, was playing for Basingstoke.

                                      Comment


                                        I remember watching a game at the MEN Arena, when the Storm were formed. I'm pretty sure they started at some equivalent of tier 2 in term of league structure. That season, their rivals was Blackburn. They drew 18k for one of the big games against Blackburn.

                                        The hockey was not particularly memorable (my team in Switzerland played in the 3rd tier back then and it did not strike me as being very different skills wise) but had it not been for the fact 50% of the 5K crowd seemed to be screaming kids and only the fights seemed to excite the crowd, I would have gone back.

                                        As a Geneva fan, we got told about UK ice hockey when he moved from London (both teams were owned by Anschutz then) by the man himself.

                                        Comment


                                          Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                                          Ray, a North American jersey of that vintage is going to be of the same material as a rugby shirt of similar age
                                          I presumed that of the original jerseys, just not sure a modern day replica (especially a Chinese knock off one) would be!

                                          I think I am going to have to go physically shopping for one next time I am in New York.
                                          Last edited by Ray de Galles; 27-02-2018, 14:55.

                                          Comment


                                            Yes, a Chinese knockoff is sure to be rash-inducing.

                                            The originals were made by Gerry Cosby & Co., which has a shop by Madison Square Garden, but I’m not sure they retain the licence for replicas. Cosby’s was the only place in New York that sold pro quality hockey sweaters in the 70s and 80s.

                                            Comment


                                              Cheers, going to do some hunting around in advance of my next trip.

                                              Comment


                                                Originally posted by Moonlight shadow View Post
                                                I remember watching a game at the MEN Arena, when the Storm were formed. I'm pretty sure they started at some equivalent of tier 2 in term of league structure. That season, their rivals was Blackburn. They drew 18k for one of the big games against Blackburn.

                                                The hockey was not particularly memorable (my team in Switzerland played in the 3rd tier back then and it did not strike me as being very different skills wise) but had it not been for the fact 50% of the 5K crowd seemed to be screaming kids and only the fights seemed to excite the crowd, I would have gone back.
                                                I'm guessing at this game which was very early. Yes, they started in British Division One (which was tier 2) and it was in the first couple of months so the fans hadn't "got" the game yet. The second game against Blackburn was the title clincher and attracted 16,280 - a British record at the time. The quality would be similar, yes. The next season was the first of the Superleague and jumped up from then onwards.

                                                Comment

                                                Working...
                                                X