Has the "Believe Train" made it's way to OhioChatter.com?

I remember before the Blue Jackets playoff run that this was big over on the other site.

I noticed quite a few Blue Jackets posts when this site was first made, but not as much any more. I mean, I'm not a big NHL fan, but I do 'support' the Blue Jackets just because they're the home state team.

It seems since they struggled pretty badly this year after a great start people have kind of jumped off the bandwagon. Not saying they're not fans of the team, but they just don't have much to talk about I guess.

I go to 2-3 games a year and watch when I can.

I am a casual fan, but not a hardcore like some.

I have to wonder how long this team will be in Columbus if things continue the way they are.

What a disappointing year. They had such high expectations going into the year, and they have pretty much underachieved in all areas. I still think the Jackets have some of the core pieces to be a solid team, but they definitely need to start developing their young talent. The new coach has changed the situation a little bit, and they are winning a little more, but it is still pretty lousy.

I bought a 10 game season package and only made it to two games do to my work schedule. The problem I had was it seemed like they quit trying in order to get rid of Hitchcock. And then you see the Coyotes playing for the #1 seed and they went bankrupt and their coach left right before training camp. Then with the team playing so bad the Owners want money to buy the Arena. I am still a fan and will still go to my 2-3 games a year but won't buy season tickets anymore.

I still watch them play and love them. But I haven't wasted my time here talking about a team that has really been out of the playoff race since December.

I agree with the statement about them quitting so Hitch would be shown the door.

They will never have another coach like him, so that was not so good what they did.

Just curious: how is the Blue Jackets' support in Columbus? Do they sell out games? I moved back to the east coast in 2000, before the Blue Jackets even started playing in CBus, so I never got a taste of the NHL vibe there.

Attendance is not bad. I would say this year they probably average 15,000. (That is just a ballpark figure, Nationwide holds close to 20,000)

They have very few sellouts outside of the 1st and last games.

I'm in DC and still support them. They play like a Cleveland team, always frustrating to watch and dashing your hopes. For example, last nights game was great and awful at the same time. They held the Caps (the highest scoring team in the league) scoreless for 2 periods, yet could not get a goal to tie it.

It has been an awful year, but with flashes of a good team. Hopefully, they can get a solid defenseman and another center during the off season.

Big Red Monster wrote: Attendance is not bad. I would say this year they probably average 15,000. (That is just a ballpark figure, Nationwide holds close to 20,000)

They have very few sellouts outside of the 1st and last games.

It's closer to 15,500 and the capacity is 18,136.

Overall support would be a lot better if those assholes in scarlet and gray had swallowed their pride and not bullshitted their way into building a dump of an arena named after a business that fits somewhere between Payless and Rite-Aid in terms of quality.

Big Red Monster wrote: Attendance is not bad. I would say this year they probably average 15,000. (That is just a ballpark figure, Nationwide holds close to 20,000)

They have very few sellouts outside of the 1st and last games.

I beileve the only times they sold out this year was; opening night, Pens game, and The Blackhawks game on Feb. 14th.


There was too much pressure riding on this team from the beginning of the season, that's why this team pretty mcuh went into the shitter. They also suck at tanking. They could've got Hall, Seguin, or Fowler but instead they decided to start winning again.

NNN wrote:

Big Red Monster wrote: Attendance is not bad. I would say this year they probably average 15,000. (That is just a ballpark figure, Nationwide holds close to 20,000)

They have very few sellouts outside of the 1st and last games.

It's closer to 15,500 and the capacity is 18,136.

Overall support would be a lot better if those assholes in scarlet and gray had swallowed their pride and not bullshitted their way into building a dump of an arena named after a business that fits somewhere between Payless and Rite-Aid in terms of quality.

NNN, not sure I understand ... what does the Schott have to do with attendance at Nationwide Arena? Do you mean support is lacking because residents don't feel the need for two arenas?

^^^^Lets just say that the CBJ orginazation and TOSU don't get along.

Interesting, I have obviously been out of the loop.

Having a new on-campus arena didn't seem to matter all that much when the CBJ sold out 50-some games in a row. Overall, I'd say the support has been pretty good considering the on-ice product.

The team will be fine as long as it turns out that Mason just suffered a quite common sophomore slump, and returns to form.

BigAppleBuckeye wrote: Interesting, I have obviously been out of the loop.

Ask NNN about it, he knows too much when it comes to hockey

BigAppleBuckeye wrote:

NNN wrote: It's closer to 15,500 and the capacity is 18,136.

Overall support would be a lot better if those assholes in scarlet and gray had swallowed their pride and not bullshitted their way into building a dump of an arena named after a business that fits somewhere between Payless and Rite-Aid in terms of quality.

NNN, not sure I understand ... what does the Schott have to do with attendance at Nationwide Arena? Do you mean support is lacking because residents don't feel the need for two arenas?

Call it what it is: Value City Arena.

Money was floated to have that arena built on two conditions. Those were that it could have no luxury suites and that it could not bid on or host non-OHSAA and non-NCAA events. There are 53 luxury suites and they regularly host between 25-45 non-OHSAA and non-NCAA events.

The cumulative effect is that it has created a system where a concert or event promoter gets both sides involved in a bidding war. Value City has public backing and basically no one who cares if it makes or hemorrhages money, Nationwide is privately owned. Concerts and events booked at Nationwide cost anywhere from 3-10 times as much as they do anywhere else, and the accounting under the terms of the Nationwide/CBJ lease shifts that burden onto the CBJ.

The total damages (to Nationwide, the Arena, and the CBJ) as a result of OSU standing on the floor of the Ohio General Assembly and lying through their teeth about construction of Value City may well be in the mid- to high-eight figures. The CBJ's financial problems are a direct result of this crap.

If Value City Arena wanted to have concerts during the three years between its time of completion and Nationwide's completion time, that's fine. The last 10 years are inexcusable, and no one in this pathetic state has the balls to actually take OSU or their bootlicking lackeys to task for it.

The other thing to consider is that there are two arenas in this city that were constructed within a very short time period of each other. But when the out-of-towners who want to explore the economic boom as a result of a new arena fly in, where do they go? They go to what was formerly a desolate wasteland that now houses the NHL's best arena and the entire surrounding business district. Value City is a dump that would be currently slated for demolition if it had been built in the 60s or even the 70s. Instead it's less than 15 years old and has far outlived its usefulness or its legality.

queencitybuckeye wrote: Having a new on-campus arena didn't seem to matter all that much when the CBJ sold out 50-some games in a row. Overall, I'd say the support has been pretty good considering the on-ice product.

The team will be fine as long as it turns out that Mason just suffered a quite common sophomore slump, and returns to form.

Various studies done on new teams and new facilities seem to suggest that there's a seven- or eight-year window where attendance spikes regardless of the team's success for the simple reason that it's something new to check out.

The fact that the CBJ sold out every home game in 2001-02 (the worst team the franchise has ever had) falls in line with that rather than the idea that success is itself the biggest draw.

NNN wrote:
Various studies done on new teams and new facilities seem to suggest that there's a seven- or eight-year window where attendance spikes regardless of the team's success for the simple reason that it's something new to check out.

The fact that the CBJ sold out every home game in 2001-02 (the worst team the franchise has ever had) falls in line with that rather than the idea that success is itself the biggest draw.

I don't disagree with this, but it has nothing to do with your prior assertion that the attendance is in some strange way linked to an arena several miles up the road. Which of course is patent nonsense.

If the Blue Jackets were good, this wouldn't be an issue and they'd be selling out regularly. Columbus is a city that supports its hockey (my aunt and uncle went to every Chill game for years) and does have a great arena in Nationwide. The have just never had even a respectable team on the ice except for last year when they still failed to win a single playoff game. The Schott has nothing to do with attendance for Blue Jackets games. While I have been as anti-Schott as possible in my lifetime (simply should have renovated St. John and the Ice Rink, instead we are subjected to the worst atmosphere in college basketball), there is no correlation between CBJ attendance and OSU except for the students buying up tickets and filling the seats through the Rush CBJ program.

^^^^^I remember hearing about that, Nationwide Arena played OSU's "Drive Down the Field" and the fans started booing, so idk.

The_Crosby_Show wrote: ^^^^^I remember hearing about that, Nationwide Arena played OSU's "Drive Down the Field" and the fans started booing, so idk.

I remember they played "Don't Give a Damn" when they played the Red Wings so idk either. If Blue Jackets fans are anti-OSU that's pretty damn pathetic. Let's not forget that RJ Umberger, one of the Jackets' most popular players, is a Buckeye.

Eh true.

My sister is in her mid 30's and her and a ton of her friends were MAJOR Chill supporters. Based on what they tell me, a TON of Chill fans have boycotted the CBJ ever since they came into town because they chased off the Chill. I don't really agree with it, but it's why I have been told by ~20 people.