We want to make the Washington Capitals a world class organization and we want to welcome all fans – old, present and new - to the joys of Caps hockey.
I am asking as a personal favor to our long-standing fans for you to put out the welcome mat to our new fans and friends. It is important for us to extend our reach and build out our audience for the great game of hockey and now is the time to do it.
You all have the keys to the bandwagon. Drive folks around on it. Help us to build a huge community around the NHL and the Washington Capitals. Welcome everyone – old and new - to the team. I promise to always cherish our long-standing relationships and we will never forget what got us to this point in our development.
Thanks so much. A bandwagon is a good thing. Roll it out – all are welcome here. Go Caps!
Pingback: Increased media coverage of the Caps: still worth the harangue? « the red skate
Having the sell out loud crowds Rocking the Red this season has made going to Caps game really fun. As for new fans to the game, I have not seen the Hockey 101 printed materials at Guest Services tables this year or an announcement for Caps University.
With respect to the Caps message boards, there are a few posters who come across that if you haven’t been onboard since year one, then you are not quite welcome, but the ignore feature on the message boards is your friend. I really respect that Caps let their fans voice their opinions on the message boards, even opinions that I don’t agree with.
I just wish that new fans understood, respected, and followed the “Puck is in Play” rule. “When the puck is in play, make sure your are out of the way” is cute, but appears to be too vague for some to comprehend that this actually applies to them and that they should wait for a break in play to stand up and go to the concession stand or rest room. It might be time to revise the announcement to make it clear as to what is covered and to include repeating it during a break in play as a lot of folks miss the announcement before the start of the game as they are not yet in their seats. Not following the “Puck in Play” rule adversely affects your fellow Caps fans.
I have to say, there are some advantages to a smaller crowd:
Easier to get on the Metro after the game
Easier to get into restaurants before the game
Less time at the restrooms
And all of these things are awful…since a full-house is the only way to experience hockey at *any* level! Having the VC full is the best thing….
I’m sititng here in my red Fedorov jersey (I promised I buy one, and I did in September) and can’t wait to get out to the arena along with 18,000+ of my closest friends!
I never understood why so many people think of NHL hockey as a second-rate sport. Even on TV, I find it immensely more interesting to watch than most anything else, as the action rarely stops. Football and baseball, there is a flurry of action for a few seconds, then down time between the next pitch or the next snap of the ball. Yawn.
I’ve been showing my Caps colors routinely at school (I teach high school in Montgomery County), including my Semin jersey (which got a few smiles from my forensic science students the day I wore it when we were covering a particular topic in serology
), and when there is slow time in class or during lunch or after school, I will play Capitals videos from the website with the LCD projector. I use NHL examples for case studies in my anatomy class (such as Richard Zednik’s accident last year), and I will be using Ruutu’s little debacle on my forensics exam (bitemark analysis, of course!).
Now I have students coming to me telling me how they went to their first hockey game over winter break, or telling me how “Ovie was robbed during the third period!” or “I heard Laich was going to be on DC101, can we listen while we do the lab?”
For me, it’s a great way for my students to interact with me and see that I’m a “real person,” while also promoting the most exciting team in the area.
Part of your problem is that you have a group of regular poster’s on the team’s message boards who are anything but welcoming. They are rude, condescending and unfriendly. If you don’t do something about that, new fans will continue to feel unwelcome, at least in that regard.
I’m a new Caps fan going to my 3rd game this season! Ted I’m so proud of you for building a winner in this mid-atlantic region. I just hope the O’s, Nats, Wiz, and Skins can learn from your model of building a team.
There is good and bad about our neo-fans. For those of us who can only buy single-game tickets, its rough because they’re harder to get. But the really good news is that out-of-town fans can’t get in, either.