Florida + hockey = mild entertainment.
Part of the appeal of hockey elsewhere is you can relate to what’s going on. In New Jersey, two feet of snow dumped down in one day. Kids can just go outside and set up two makeshift goals and pretend like they’re the biggest stars in the NHL.
In Florida you can’t do that. Without question, the Sunshine State produces the most football talent and rivals anywhere else for baseball players. Since it’s perfect weather for both sports, Florida thrives.
So the Tampa Bay Lightning always faced an uphill battle. Playing its first season in 1992, Tampa Bay routinely finished towards the bottom of the standings and reached the playoffs only once in the franchises first 10 years of existence.
To make matters even worse, the franchise was so poorly run Forbes ran an article exposing the Lightning were in debt 236% of the franchise value in 1997, the highest percentage among any North American sports teams.
The first 10 years of Lightning hockey didn't go so well on the ice or in the stands.
Even though the team eventually turned itself around, even capturing the Stanly Cup title in 2004, hockey in Florida is a tough sell. What further crippled Tampa’s chances was the inability to properly defend its title.
The NHL locked out its players for the 2005 season, robbing a great Tampa team in it’s prime and causing many fans to lose interest in the game.
Even with three superstars on its roster (Martin St Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vinny Lecavalier) and the club battling for a playoff spot, attendance remains an issue with the club.
Saturday, prior to my boy getting Good Will Hunted, we went to see the Lightning battle Calgary, the same team it defeated to win the cup five years ago.
Even though it was a night when the famous Gasparilla Night Parade was going on, the announced attendance of 15,859 was severely bloated.
Just a week ago, the Lightning were purchased by Jeff Vinik to become the fifth different franchise owner in 18 years.
Here are some of the facts facing Vinik:
- The Lightning rank 24th in attendance out of 30 teams
- Tampa Bay is the 18th most valuable franchise in the NHL according to Forbes
- The franchise did not make a profit last season, even with revenue sharing
- Attendance has failed to pick up despite a 10% reduction in ticket prices
- The franchise dipped 4% in value from a year ago
Tampa Bay needs to find a way to generate some interest in the team. Coach Rick Tocchet has done an admirable job since filling in early last season, the team has superstar players and a modern arena.
One thing that can help draw fans: Raiden.
Most people don't think a guy from Mortal Kombat help hockey.
Here me out.
Raiden is the character from Mortal Kombat and he could be the new mascot for the Lightning, the adult mascot alongside Thunderbug, a mascot for kids.
In the game, Raiden is a Thundergod and can teleport and has control over lightning. He fires lightning bolts at his enemies and many of his fatalities involve lightning.
Check it out.
Who wouldn’t be amped to see some of Raiden’s fatalities after a key goal? Or even a win.
You can incorporate Raiden in the pre-game intros just blasting dudes with lightning bolts.
Plus, having him as a mascot would enable Tampa Bay to change it’s helmets from regular hockey ones to his hat.
There is no way you could root against Tampa if this was their helmet.
Plus you could have him run around the crowd doing all of the regular mascot stuff everyone else does. But only with the legitimate threat of killing people.
During the pre-game introductions, you can have Raiden at one end of the arena holding something that can electrify the inside of the arena, making it look like one of those lightning balls all of those nerdy science kids used to play with.
Without question, the NHL ranks last among the major North American sports (NFL, NBA and MLB) and Tampa Bay has never really been viewed as a hockey town.
When the team won its lone cup five years ago, people genuinely cared about the team. But the lockout season robbed all of the momentum that took 15 years to finally pay attention to the Lightning.
Hockey is an awesome game to watch, but the fact is casual fans aren’t tuning in. Tampa needs something to generate some interest.
Mortal Kombat is the best-selling series of fighting games ever and the Raiden-Lightning angel intertwines perfectly.
Listen, people really aren’t coming to the games already and Manwhole.com has proven sports intertwines with Mortal Kombat perfectly already.
It’s too hot in Florida, there’s too much else going on (like girls at the beach) and hockey needs something to draw us in. Maybe the Mortal Kombat movies weren’t a success, but having a hockey team skate around with straw hats and seeing a guy get killed unmercifully following each goal is at least something that will generate some attention.
