Protest? Are You Kidding Me? Really?

One of the valuable services that a blog like St Louis Game Time provides to a team and a fanbase is a sort of barometer of what the fans are thinking. It's easy to make decisions inside a bubble, where your information is provided to you only by people who have a vested interest in keeping you happy. You can easily fall victim to personal agendas, or just simple groupthink. Having contradictory or conflicting opinions can be valuable in making decisions. A wise leader will seek input from multiple sources.

We know for a fact that Game Time: The Website and also Game Time: The Magazine Paper are read within the hallowed halls of the Scottrade Center. This has been true for years, and is further evidenced when the current ownership, primarily Tom Stillman, reached out to Game Time in response to an article that Laura wrote last year. This eventually lead to a face-to-face meeting. While Game Time has always prided itself as someone on the outside of the establishment, it is always rewarding to know that your words are being read, and presumably given consideration, within the decision-making areas of the St Louis Blues front office.

Unfortunately, sometimes there are parts of the fanbase that seem to have their heads up their asses. An example of this happened over this past offseason, and has re-appeared as the season opener draws nigh. Earlier this year, a number of Blues bloggers received the following email:

Training camp for the Blues has started and already we are hearing that familiar song of "this year may be the year". Well as fans we've decided to implement a visual challenge to the Blues players and the org. to make it so, we have turned the Blue Note upside down, literally. We are encouraging fans for this year only to turn that cute sticker in their car window upside down as a plea to our heroes in blue to "right the ship" as it were and take us to the promise land! So spread the word and let that inverted Blue Note show that his year, we mean business!

yours, Inverted Blue Note Campaign

This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. And, believe me, I know dumb. My job is answering phone calls all day, in a half-technical / half-customer service capacity. I talk to the general public quite often. Seriously, I practically have an advanced degree in Dumb.

This is the most short-sighted, oblivious-to-reality, out of date and out of left-field concept I could imagine. I suppose their heart's in the right place, but as the old saying goes "million dollar heart - five cent head".

First, which should be painfully obvious, is that flying a sign upside down communicates nothing remotely similar to the intended message. Do that in the stands at Scottrade, people will just assume that you're drunk (or an idiot). Put that in your car window? Oh, sure, I'd bet you a thousand Schrute-bucks that the back of a car window in JeffCo is going to resonate with the players and owners at 14th and Brett Hull Way. Get Real.

But more importantly - what are you asking to be fixed?

In the last full 82-game season, the Blues finished with 109 points in the standings: second-best in franchise history.

FIX IT!!

The Blues made the playoffs last year - the first time that they've qualified for the postseason in consecutive years since before the lockout.

No, the other one.

RIGHT THE SHIP !!

More than just the enthusiasm of the homer crowd, the sense that the Blues are actual contenders are validated by the larger hockey world. Obviously, there's no such thing as a lock - but when the national hockey media have a consensus that the Blues are capable of vying for The Cup, you have to think that it might just be true.

WE MEAN BUSINESS !!

Whatever, dude (dismissive wanking motion).

Where was this "protest" when Dollar Bill Laurie was shedding assests (that is, any worthwhile talent) to make the team more attractive to buyers? Where was this effort when the top scorers included Petr Cajanek and Radek Dvorak? Then, perhaps, would have been a moment that called out for something to be done, a voice from the masses in the upper deck that needed to be heard.

That was, like, 6 years ago, dude. You missed your chance.

If the team falters, sure, call them out on it. It'll surely happen - more than once - over the course of the season. We at Game Time have never been shy about criticizing the team. But right now, on the cusp of the season, when everyone has a clean slate ahead of them?

Sit down and watch the game. You might notice that it's a pretty damn good time to be a Blues fan right now.

Yours,

Tim / CrossCheckRaise