Mike Franke, left, of Detroit and Russ Thomas, right, of Livonia hang out with Coach's Corner co-owner Mike George. "We're doing OK here, so far," George says.Hockey fans make do
Die-hard Wingnuts find other things to do with their time as lockout continues.
Hockey fans Jill Pendergast and her son Terry, 8, have dinner at Coach's Corner, which tries to attract customers with food specials.
Shrinking fan base
If the NHL settled the labor dispute tomorrow, would you watch or go to the games?
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LIVONIA -- Note to owners and players in the National Hockey League: beware! Even Hockeytown is starting to get along without you, very well.
Oh, sure, the live-and-die-with-the-Red-Wings fans in Metro Detroit must find other things to do with their time, as the NHL hopes against hope to salvage the season. Fans say they are playing a little more keno and cozying up with a nice computer game on these winter nights. They are watching more football and doing more snowboarding.
They also pay so much attention to the world champion Detroit Pistons these days that Wingnuts say they now know stuff like Tayshaun Prince's career-high point total -- 26, last week, against Phoenix.
"I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Wings fan," said Russ Thomas of Livonia, as he sat in the Coach's Corner sports bar on Farmington Road, digging into the nightly dinner special and waiting for the Pistons' broadcast to pop up on some of the 14 screens around him. "But I have not missed it like I totally thought I would.
"I truly don't understand how they can't work this thing out," Thomas said.
"I mean, it's way beyond anything I can comprehend. I don't think anybody's winning, and if they don't do something soon, they are going to lose the fans. We're going to find something else to support. "
Monique Czarnecki said that while the lack of Wings' games has put "a little damper on things," she is pouring her vigorous interest in sports into football and snowboarding.
"I guess in February and March, I'll just do more snowboarding," said Czarnecki, who works at Modern Skate & Surf sports shop in Royal Oak.
She said she watches the Patriots a lot, the defending Super Bowl champions in the National Football League, with their two Michigan stars, Tom Brady and Ty Law.
A group of players and representatives of the NHL met in Chicago on Wednesday and in Toronto on Thursday, and there appears to have been at least a little progress in the past 48 hours in the four-month standoff.
But folks in Hockeytown are not exactly hanging on every word.
"You know, I heard about that," said Tony Ginakas of Dearborn Heights.
"But, to tell you the truth, when that news came on TV last night, I really didn't pay that much attention.
"I mean, who cares? They're either playing or they're not, and we'll know when we need to know," Ginakas said. "And if they don't come back? Hey, they don't come back."
Ginakas said he spends more time watching the other sports on television, including college basketball games and even Premier League games in British soccer.
"Soccer's a little like hockey," Ginakas said, laughing. "Hey, go Manchester United, baby!"
For a number of Red Wings fan, there is a growing sense that hockey is far bigger than the NHL and the current contractual contretemps. And, in different ways and in different places, the Good Ol' Hockey Game continues.
Matt Knippenberg of Allen Park said there are lots of ways to get his "hockey kicks," and he is enjoying having the time for some road trips to Grand Rapids to see the American Hockey League's Griffins, and to some of the college rinks in the area.
"The Griffins are a lot of fun because they really seem to target the fans," he said.
Knippenberg said he does not find a sharp drop-off in the playing level between the NHL and the AHL, or even some of the better college teams.
"It's still competitive; it's still fast-paced," Knippenberg said.
Despite a growing sense of apathy toward the status of the NHL season, the lack of games is causing some changes in behavior, big and small.
Mike George has been a Wings fan since he was a little kid. Now he owns Coach's Corner and his livelihood is tied, in some respects, to the Red Wings and how deeply they march into the playoffs.
"We're doing OK here, so far," George said. He and his business partner, Gus Varon, decided to install keno a few months ago, and the Friday night fish fry and the other food that some of his regular customers swear by keeps bringing them in.
"What's changed is that eight, 10 or 12 regulars who are here only on the hockey nights might not be here," George said. "They find other stuff to do. But a lot of other people still come around, and the keno has really helped."
"Mike Franke of Detroit bought Wings season tickets for many years until about 10 years ago, when he changed jobs.
Now, even with no games, Franke said his daily routine has not changed that much.
"I will come to the same bar, but I'm going to leave early," Franke said. "I'm not going to hang out all night because there's no hockey on. ... There is something to say for getting home a little earlier, though."
You can reach Gregg Krupa at (734) 462-2296 or gkrupa@detnews.com.
Livonia's Coach's Corner sports bar decided to install keno a few months ago. It helps to keep customers coming.
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