One year ago tonight was the final game the Atlanta Thrashers played. I still have my ticket from the game, section 106. I wish we had known it was the last. We could have sent them out in style. The months that followed were agonizing...the team is leaving, no they aren't, we found a buyer it's the Balkan/Lil Jon/Brathwaite/Tom Glavine/Stephen Rollins, there are no buyers. Sad anniversary for Thrashers fans but Jets fans will be coming up on a happier anniversary soon.
I bought a box of hockey cards the other day, one of the cards was Stapes with "Tim Stapleton scores the last goal in Thrashers history" and it just made me sad. I'm sorry.
I still say most NHL team relocations are due to bad ownership/management and not the fans. Here's to hoping that maybe in the future Atlanta can secure a team with good ownership.
I know you think I'm nuts, but it was the same feeling in Winnipeg in the mid 90's. Everyone thought it would be impossible for us to get a team back.
I bought a box of hockey cards the other day, one of the cards was Stapes with "Tim Stapleton scores the last goal in Thrashers history" and it just made me sad. I'm sorry.
/e-hug
You know, nothing against Stapleton, but I never would have guessed he would be the last Thashers player to score a goal, lol.
Thanks for the comments! I'd love to have the NHL back. I'd be happy with AHL. ECHL is better than nothing.
I know this is probably VERY little consolation but if it makes you feel better, most of us... I'd guess well over half (myself included) know what you went through, and how it feels.
It's been so many years now but I still remember Jets 1.0 leaving and my last ever game vs the Red Wings. Now we actually knew they were leaving, and I think it made it worse. It felt like a funeral.
So I do know how you feel, and how it is to be a fan and want a team back. (As a side note this is my principle argument for why I will never wear another team's jersey in our barn).
If there were more of you, they never would have left. The only other positive spin I can offer is the fact the Thrashers went to a market that is and hopefully will continue to treat them right.
You know, nothing against Stapleton, but I never would have guessed he would be the last Thashers player to score a goal, lol.
Thanks for the comments! I'd love to have the NHL back. I'd be happy with AHL. ECHL is better than nothing.
For some reason, when I realized the team really was moving, I was pretty pissed about that for a while. I mean, really? The end of the franchise is the Stapler scoring on Brent Johnson?
I'm really sorry for the loss of your team. I can't imagine how it feels to lose it. Only good thing about being a fan from across the pond I guess. I really hope Atlanta gets a new team soon. Hopefully with owners who, you know, give a **** about something else than fighting like high school girls...
Wow! Thanks so much for posting those videos! I've been able to find a few here and there, but not all of them.
Damn, some of them I can't see because I'm in the wrong country lol. This American can't watch a clip of my (then)American team. Stupid America!
I found them all by just searching.
Reminded me of a lot of my favorite Thrashers over the years. Top five had to be Peter Bondra, Toby Enstrom, Marian Hossa, Niclas Havelid and Maxim Afinogenov.
My favorites have to be the 05-06 and 06-07 videos. Also interesting enough whoever made the videos used the same U2 song for both the 05-06 video and the 07-08 video.
My favorite season was definitely 2005-2006. We had a hell of a team that year. If it weren't for us losing FOUR goalies to injury (That includes Pasi Nurminen, who was supposed to pull 1B duties with Lehtonen prior to his career ending injury before the season began), along with losing Bondra long term (who was never the same after his injury), Kovalchuk holding out for the first four games, Mellanby going down for 10+ games, Holik missing 20, etc, we would definitely have been a playoff team.
Ilya Kovalchuk
Marian Hossa
Marc Savard
Peter Bondra
Slava Kozlov
Scott Mellanby
Bobby Holik
Niclas Havelid
Kari Lehtonen
That season, I watched every possible game, and listened to Kamal call the rest on the radio streamed through my computer. That was the first season that I really obsessively started following hockey. Before that, I used to play hockey a lot, I used to watch games every Saturday, etc, but I never obsessed over hockey like I do today.
My favorite season was definitely 2005-2006. We had a hell of a team that year. If it weren't for us losing FOUR goalies to injury (That includes Pasi Nurminen, who was supposed to pull 1B duties with Lehtonen prior to his career ending injury before the season began), along with losing Bondra long term (who was never the same after his injury), Kovalchuk holding out for the first four games, Mellanby going down for 10+ games, Holik missing 20, etc, we would definitely have been a playoff team.
Ilya Kovalchuk
Marian Hossa
Marc Savard
Peter Bondra
Slava Kozlov
Scott Mellanby
Bobby Holik
Niclas Havelid
Kari Lehtonen
That season, I watched every possible game, and listened to Kamal call the rest on the radio streamed through my computer. That was the first season that I really obsessively started following hockey. Before that, I used to play hockey a lot, I used to watch games every Saturday, etc, but I never obsessed over hockey like I do today.
Even with those injuries they were still in the hunt until like the last couple of road games they had. I remember seeing the Bruins in the final home game that season and it was definitely a playoff like atmosphere with the Thrash getting the W that game to keep their hopes alive.
My favorite season was definitely 2005-2006. We had a hell of a team that year. If it weren't for us losing FOUR goalies to injury (That includes Pasi Nurminen, who was supposed to pull 1B duties with Lehtonen prior to his career ending injury before the season began), along with losing Bondra long term (who was never the same after his injury), Kovalchuk holding out for the first four games, Mellanby going down for 10+ games, Holik missing 20, etc, we would definitely have been a playoff team.
Ilya Kovalchuk
Marian Hossa
Marc Savard
Peter Bondra
Slava Kozlov
Scott Mellanby
Bobby Holik
Niclas Havelid
Kari Lehtonen
That season, I watched every possible game, and listened to Kamal call the rest on the radio streamed through my computer. That was the first season that I really obsessively started following hockey. Before that, I used to play hockey a lot, I used to watch games every Saturday, etc, but I never obsessed over hockey like I do today.
And 2 of the 5 goalies we used were basically ECHL goalies and we still only missed the playoffs by 2 points. (I guess 3 cause of tiebreakers)
Still have a poster of that team on my wall
What could've been.............
Last edited by atl thrasher344: 04-10-2012 at 11:09 PM.
One year ago tonight was the final game the Atlanta Thrashers played. I still have my ticket from the game, section 106. I wish we had known it was the last. We could have sent them out in style. The months that followed were agonizing...the team is leaving, no they aren't, we found a buyer it's the Balkan/Lil Jon/Brathwaite/Tom Glavine/Stephen Rollins, there are no buyers. Sad anniversary for Thrashers fans but Jets fans will be coming up on a happier anniversary soon.
I remember going to the Atlanta Journal Constitution website to try to get an Atlanta POV.
I'm still embarassed by some of the AssHats trolling the Atlanta fans. I love the city and people of Winnipeg, but I don't love them. I'd like to believe they weren't really Wpg fans, but I guess we have to own them.
I'm sorry you lost your team, but we promise to take good care of it.
I remember going to the Atlanta Journal Constitution website to try to get an Atlanta POV.
I'm still embarassed by some of the AssHats trolling the Atlanta fans. I love the city and people of Winnipeg, but I don't love them. I'd like to believe they weren't really Wpg fans, but I guess we have to own them.
I'm sorry you lost your team, but we promise to take good care of it.
Yeah, there were some real ass hats. I noticed though that many of them were young. The older fan remembered what it was like to lose a team and though were excited to be getting a team back, felt our pain.
