Cane you tell we're playing for the Stanley Cup?

[twolinepass]

From today's Charlotte Observer

 

Nothing in pro hockey is more exciting than the Stanley Cup finals.

 

The Carolinas' National Hockey League team, the Carolina Hurricanes, begins fighting for the Cup Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers.

 

This is the team's second title shot in four years; if they win, it would be the Carolinas' first major championship in a pro sport.

 

But the Canes' recent success isn't exactly rubbing off in the Carolinas largest city, Charlotte.

 

"They'd be my hockey team if I liked hockey," said Charlotte native Rob Moss, a Wachovia underwriter.

 

The proof is in the numbers: More than 10 percent of Raleigh-area households saw the Canes' last semi-final game, while 3.2 percent watched in the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem Triad. In Charlotte, just 1.3 percent of homes tuned in.

 

In uptown offices, Northern transplants talk about hockey, workers said, though usually about the frustration that their home teams failed to reach the finals. The Canes were born in 1997 when the Hartford Whalers moved South.

 

Charlotte might have more interest if the Canes played here and not three hours east in Raleigh, fans said.

 

Reality is, however, that many area sports fans just are not fans of this sport.

 

"Hockey is still foreign sport for many people in the Carolinas and Charlotte," said Carl Scheer, who runs the Charlotte Checkers minor-league hockey team.

 

It's not as if the city doesn't know hockey. The Checkers, two steps below the NHL, has had a small but devoted following for years, attracting more interest this season after moving to the Bobcats Arena. Average attendance rose 16 percent to 5,837 a game.

 

But the NHL doesn't have much visibility in Charlotte. The Canes don't have a radio affiliate in Charlotte, a cost-cutting decision, the team said. And the hockey team's marketing efforts in town have been piecemeal, Scheer said. "There's been no real assault on this market at all."

 

The Hurricanes organization has concentrated on marketing to fans in the Triangle this year after an owners' lockout cancelled the 2004-05 season, said Matt West, the Canes' vice president of business operations. "We wanted to embrace the backyard," he said.

 

Attendance at Raleigh's RBC Center rose a near league-high 28 percent to 15,596 a game this season. But the Canes still rank 21st of 30 NHL teams in packing seats.

 

Like pro football's Carolina Panthers, which reached the Super Bowl two years ago, the Canes have enjoyed some triumphs in its first decade.

 

The Hurricanes were a surprise Cup finalist in 2002 when they lost to Detroit, but they failed to reach the playoffs for the next two seasons in a league where more than half the teams qualify for the postseason.

 

This year, with the help of rule changes designed to boost scoring chances, the speedy Hurricanes were among the NHL's best. Carolina scored more goals than all but two teams.

 

"They fell right off the table after the Cup," said Bill McMillan, marketing director for the Charlotte Regional Sports Commission, of the team's slide after 2002. "It takes time to build momentum and you need to keep winning to keep more fans."

 

This season's accomplishments could put Charlotte back on the Canes' radar. Next season, the team could visit Bobcats Arena for a preseason game and will look for a local radio affiliate, team officials said.

 

Carolina could bring a piece of hardware for a visit -- the Stanley Cup.

[lewport71]

"Carolina could bring a piece of hardware for a visit -- the Stanley Cup"

 

Lord Stanley's Cup might visit Carolina,,,but it will take up a year's residence in Edmonton....

 

GO OILERS !!