Frustrating Situation

Hello fellow Jackalope fans.  It's been a long time since I last blogged, and I apologize for that, but in all honesty the main reason why I have not blogged in a while is because I'm a bit frustrated with where the Jacks are apparently heading now that they have ended their seemingly final season in the CHL.  Now, I know many of you may be surprised to hear that I'm frustrated considering I've said  time and time again that I'll support the Odessa Jackalopes as long as we have a team, but a lot has happened since my last post, and to be entirely honest with you, I think the Jackalopes owners may have jumped ship prematurely when they decided to become a junior hockey team in the NAHL.  It was announced yesterday that the Laredo Bucks will stay in the Central Hockey League next season thanks to a new luxury tax being implemented into the CHL where higher-revenue teams will pay a tax that will help out the teams that are struggling financially.  Now, there have already been opponents of this new tax arguing that it's not right to make the "rich" teams give to the "poor" teams, and while I would normally agree with that, according to Bucks owner Glenn Hart (courtesy of an article by Brian Sandalow), it was the higher-revenue teams that came up with the idea to implement this new tax.  Here is a quote from "The Monitor":  "Hart's confident this new system, that's a part of 'eight or nine' measures, would help keep teams like the Bucks viable.  He said it was the higher-revenue teams' idea to implement this."  So, if the so-called "rich" teams want to aid the "poor" teams through this new luxury tax, then I say there is nothing wrong with the new tax.  The teams should be able to do with their money whatever they want, and if that includes helping out their struggling opponents, then I say more power to them.  It seems like a very generous gesture by the higher-revenue teams, and it seems to show that the successful teams want to try and find a way for the CHL to work, or in the very least give the CHL time to restructure their league to make lower-revenue teams capable of surviving in the Central Hockey League for years to come.  At least that's how I see things here.

Now, lets get to the issue of why I am frustrated right now when it comes to the Odessa Jackalopes.  When I first heard the the Jacks were going to be leaving the CHL for the NAHL, I must admit that I was shocked and disappointed with the news.  Eventually I decided to at least give the move a chance (which I still intend to do, by the way), but now I'm at a point where I'm frustrated with the move.  Why?  The answer is actually pretty simple.  With all of these owner meetings that have been taking place over the last month or so in the CHL, it seems like in the very least a temporary solution has been put into place that will allow lower-revenue teams to stick with the pro game in the CHL.  If this new tax will work for teams like Laredo, Bossier, Mississippi, and Texas, then it definitely could have worked for the Jacks as well.  Now, I fully understand that there is no guarantee that this will work anyway, but I wish the Jackalopes owners would have waited a bit longer and at least given this apparent solution a chance before deciding to make the move to junior hockey.  The move has already alienated quite a few former Jackalope fans, including several of my family members and friends that were season ticket holders last season, and once this news becomes more common knowledge to more and more Jackalope fans, I'm afraid that more and more may end up turned off by the move to the NAHL.

  In all honesty, and I thought I would never say this, but that could include myself, and I consider myself a huge die-hard fan of the team.  Now, hear me out before calling me a hypocrite or questioning my "fanhood."  While I may ultimately disagree with the move to the NAHL and may state that the move to junior hockey was a premature decision, I will say with certainty that I will always be an Odessa Jackalope fan no matter what league they're in.  I may not be a season ticket holder next season (with that still being up in the air due solely to this move), but I'll still attend as many games as possible, I'll still be listening to the Jacks on the radio, and more than likely I'll still post on whatever forum Jackalope fans have next season.  I may shut down the blog, another decision that I'm not certain about yet, but I'll always be a fan in some form of the Odessa Jackalopes.

Now that I've cleared that up, I'll get to why I'm concerned about the future of the franchise, and I'll also give my opinion as to why I think it's not too late for the Jacks to back out of the move to the NAHL to stay with the pro game.  I'm concerned about the future of the franchise for the simple fact that I've heard some fans say that they will give the NAHL a chance, I've heard only a handful of people say that they like the move, but I've heard a TON of people say that they won't support the team if it moves to junior hockey.  I consider myself as big of a fan of the Jackalopes as any other fan out there, but when I'm not even sure if I'm going to renew my season tickets for next season because of this move, I can only assume that there are many others that feel the same way.  In fact, I don't have to assume anything, because as I've said before, I've heard many season ticket holders flat out say to me that they will not renew for next season if such a move is made.  If the small yet passionate core fan base that we currently have dies out, then I see the franchise ultimately doing the same, even if things are cheaper, for lack of a better word, in the NAHL.  I think anybody with common sense can see that.  Many like to point out that Corpus and Amarillo had virtually the same attendance numbers in the NAHL that they had in the CHL, but they also point out that those teams were selling the crap out of the move to the public through a ton of marketing, and to be honest with you, so far the Jacks don't seem to be doing the same.  In fact, according to the Rapid City Journal, no formal announcement has even been made yet pertaining to the move, which brings me to yet another point.

  In the Rapid City Journal it states, "One franchise apparently is set to leave.  Indications are the Odessa Jackalopes will join former CHL teams Corpus Christi and Amarillo in the North American Hockey League.  No formal announcement has been made, but the Jackalopes have added NAHL logos to their website and Odessa is listed on the NAHL website as one of four new teams in the Tier 1 Junior league for next season."  So, my question is this:  Is it too late for the Jacks to back out and stick with the pro game?  According to this article, things don't seem to be set in stone yet, and while some may say that I shouldn't rely on information from another team, I would counter with the fact that this isn't the first article from an opposing team that has said that it's not official that the Jacks are moving to the NAHL next season.  With the conversion of the Jacks' website, the holding of camps, and a meeting being called for potential host families, I think it's all but certain that we will be in the NAHL next season, but stranger things have happened.  All I can say is that I hope the Jacks stick with pro hockey.  Even if they do go the junior route this upcoming season, I really do hope that the team eventually finds it's way back to the pro ranks.  If not, I don't see a bright future for hockey in the Permian Basin.


Until next time Jackalope fans all I have to say is GO JACKS GO!!! and lets stay pro!