“Wrong Side of the Tracks”

“You’re never whole
Torn between two poles”

“Torn Between” – Prong

I dare say that to some a lot of what follows has a hint of “well that’s pretty obvious, what were you expecting?” about it, but sometimes you have to try new things, if only for the sheer hell of it.  At the moment and as I’ve possibly mentioned before, with regards to match nights, I have a very “throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” attitude.  Sometimes the most random and spontaneous ideas are the ones that catch on

First of all, it was certainly strange standing opposite where I’ve stood for many years.  Strangest thing of all is how the view seemed to be actually better than my usual spot (how that works is anyone’s guess) and the reception was mostly welcoming and positive (which was blessed relief, although I believe that someone that may have potentially had a big issue wasn’t in attendance last night.  No doubt they received any number of texts and messages telling them how lucky they are they missed it!).  As mentioned in my previous post, the last thing I wanted to do was spoil the enjoyment for anyone at any given game, and not everyone wants “noise makers” sat anywhere near them (some would say that a certain midlands based team has an entire fanbase made up of said individuals) and I both understand and have absolutely no issue with that

A lot of the potential “timing” worries that were some of my biggest fears didn’t surface.  Andy Willis has been playing drums at the back of 113 for a good while and as a result, I guess that we’ve built a synchronisation between us, although it was still very much a case of one eye on the game and one eye on the drummer opposite at numerus times  (but more of that and other issues further down)  The only complications that appeared were when there were two different chants started at the same time from different parts of the rink, but that’s not uncommon on some match nights anyway and some would argue that it’s better for there to be two songs going than none at all

Unfortunately, from my personal perspective, that’s where the positivity ends (or at least on the basis of the Cardiff game), although in fairness I can’t comment on how much difference it made to a normal night in either 105 or that side of the rink in general (so as always, any feedback or ideas are gratefully appreciated, be it by social media or in person – I’m pretty easy to find and usually at the rink from doors opening to waaay after the game has finished. I like to think I’m fairly approachable and I don’t bite.  Well, only on Wednesdays)

Personal thoughts and observations:

A bit like the comparison of the volume when we’re playing at home against when we’re playing away, by separating the drums, it also diluted the volume of them (yeah, I know, pretty obvious even without the benefit of hindsight).  IF it was to become a regular thing (and that would largely be down to everyone that sits in 105/that side of the ring being happy with it) , the way forward would be for there to be two drummers to compliment the ones on the 113 side (and like I can’t reiterate enough, that’s if nobody has an issue with it)

A downside of that would be practice.  As mentioned above, Andy and myself have been playing drums at the back of 113 for a couple of seasons now so know the general speed of songs played through repetition, when to play, etc.  I guess it would take time for any potential “new drummers” to develop that skill, and made all the more difficult by being stood opposite rather than along side

The “call and response” between the blocks was a lot harder to pull off than I thought it would be.  To be fair, despite mentioning it on social media, I guess not everyone knew what we were trying last night (I know not everyone uses Facebook or Twitter, may have seen it, wasn’t interested or forgot all about it), but I still (foolishly with hindsight?) feel that it has some kind of potential.  This may come back to the initial point about diluting the sound from the drums.  As I’ve mentioned previously, drums help start and orchestrate chants and songs, so with them being half as loud in 113, maybe things didn’t catch on as well as they usually do leading to things being harder to hear opposite, and in turn leading to things falling a little flat?

To avoid potentially upsetting quieter fans, maybe it’s time to create an official “singing” block or two, possibly in 104 and 114 (I noticed that there’s a gap in the seating where the DJ booth used to be in 114 which would be ideal for the drums on that side).  Whilst I understand that tradition dictates that 109 is the “noisy block” from the arena days, it’s also the opposite end from the away block, so by the simple laws of physics any noise created has further to travel so it’s harder to compete with/drown out any opposition fans.  By having the songs originating from half way down the rink (and let’s face it, unlike an “official away block”, we can have it anywhere we like), out-singing the opposition becomes much easier.  Again, not to take anything away from the drum and fans in 109, synchronising two drums opposite each other can be difficult, so incorporating a third would be even more problematic.

In conclusion, I think if it was going to be a regular thing, a possible relocation would be required to block 104 and 114, people made aware of the intention so as to avoid upsetting fans that don’t want the noise, and a couple more drummers needed (along with practice sessions) 

Obviously, it’s very hard to judge everything on one game.  Things take time to bed in and people have to get used to new things.  Whatever the future holds, it was certainly an interesting experiment and certainly given me (and hopefully others) food for thought going forward.

 

 

 

“Altering the Future”

“And it pleases me,
It feeds me,
My goal is in sight”

“Journey into the Unknown” – Orphanage

 

Isn’t if funny how some potentially life-changing decisions start with a random conversation in a bar?

I’m minding my own business in “Jacks Bar” (I know there’s the tie-in with the club, but really think we’ve missed an opportunity by not paying tribute to the bar at the old Alty Rink and calling it “Ben Schwarmers”, a joke I didn’t get for the embarrassingly longest time) when someone comes over and goes

“Gord, we need a drum in 105!”

Long time readers will know that is something that I’ve been in favour of for a long time, or at least in giving it a try.  For a start, there’s the potential for “call and response” chants, especially with “Oh when the Storm…”, plus as things currently stand, the positioning is right with it being opposite Block 113.  From experience, I’ve found that timing when there’s drums in different parts of the rink works better when you’re watching for the beat rather than listening out for it

After a brief discussion explaining the pros and cons that I’ve mentioned in previous posts on here, the realisation is made that you know what? It may be worth a try after all.  I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? (and in turn, fate well and truly tempted)

The first step was to test the water by suggesting the idea on Facebook (posted “live” at the time so I didn’t have the opportunity to over-analyse and back out).  I’ve mentioned previously that my main reason for not giving this a go previously is that my concern is that people may sit on that side of the rink to avoid the drums/noise and the last thing I want to do is spoil the enjoyment of other fans.  What concerned me is that (or certainly at the time of writing) every reply was of the positive variety.  To be honest, I’d have been happier if someone had either shown the same concern or even politely mentioned that they were against it (I’d hate to think that anyone was afraid to put forward an opposing opinion fearing a forum backlash).  Of course, there is still that risk.  Sometimes creative criticism is more beneficial than praise.  Not everyone (in fact, I’d go as far that it’s only a small minority of fans that actively) uses the forum, so there is still that fear at the back of my mind.  However, if people are as usually loud as they say they are, that shouldn’t really be a problem.  All a drum does is start and orchestrate chants and songs

The next issue was how to play it (if you’ll pardon the pun).  Block 113 has been my Hockey watching spot for nearly 10 years and I’ve certainly no intention of making a permeant move (a potential “Storm Drummers” banner design was in the style of a Jack Daniels label (currently the profile picture for the “Drumming up a Storm” facebook page) and feature the words “Block 113” after my spiritual second home), but the hope is that if it does work, someone may take the inspiration to buy a drum of their own and it’ll become a regular feature on game nights.  Second hand drums can be picked up fairly cheap from either ebay or Johnny Roadhouse in Manchester, or “Drum One” on Trafford Park (owned by Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain) is probably the best place to visit to pick up a new one (or sticks, tuning keys, replacement skins, etc.).  In the case of both Johnny Roadhouse and Drum One, I’ve always found their staff very helpful

There’s also how to actually go about it.  The initial thought was to cross over to the other side of the rink during the first period break having set things up in the usual spot for the game.  The potential problem with that is the logistical nightmare of trying to get through queues of people with a drum and sticks (there’s a reason I’m usually there when doors open), so by the looks of it, it’ll be a case of dropping my spare at the back of 113 for drumming partner and back-from-injury Andy, putting the banner up, before heading opposite for the entirety of the game

There’s also potentially the opportunity to try a couple of new songs and/or songs that haven’t been sung for a while and adapted to fit this years team, the lyrics of which can be found on the “Drumming Up a Storm” Facebook page.  If anyone is up for singing any of these, let me know

A game against Cardiff is probably as good a test as any other as their fans have a reputation of being some of the loudest we’ve had at the Storm Shelter over the years.  With that in mind, I’m also looking forward to being stood opposite the away fans again, just like the “old days” so we can see what we’re up against.  That is something I really miss from when the away block was on the opposite side of the rink

Just hope that the space in front of the girder opposite the one I usually stand in front of in 113 is available!

 

To be continued…

 

“A Touch of Evil”

“But everything is gonna work out fine,
If it don’t, I think I’ll lose my mind…”

“The Writ” – Black Sabbath

 

It’s the early 00’s and a mid-season Saturday night away game in Nottingham.  The Storm have been on the decline for the past season or so and despite a couple of great match-ups under Terry Christiensen at the NIC, it looks as though we’re not going to see another one tonight.  A combination of annoyance and boredom is felt throughout the large number of fans that have made the journey down from Manchester as even by usual standards, this is another lacklustre performance. 

A small group of fans over to my right start the ever popular “Oh when the Storm…” and as is customary, I chant the response back.  Almost certainly out of frustration, rather than keeping it to the usual three or so verses, said group keep it going and I’m polite enough to keep it going back – back and forth, until it goes beyond where it’s humorous to the point where personally speaking, I’m only keeping up the response to hopefully try and annoy the (traditionally silent) Panthers fans in the next block over (unfortunately failing to consider that I/we may also be annoying the Storm fans present too)

If you were there that fateful night, consider this a (very) late apology, however, unlike the last post I made, there was a potentially happy outcome, albeit 16 years or so later…

Having read the fallout from the previous match on Facebook, last Saturday was going to be a bit of a funny game.  Regardless of anything else, it was good to see that I wasn’t alone in noticing the decline in atmosphere and there were a number of posts on the forum on how to possibly turn things around.  It was also good to see that it got people talking about how to improve match nights.  Even so, I know only too well that there’s a world of difference between people saying that they’re going to do something on social media and actually carrying it out.  I read somewhere that there’s a theory that for example, if a band posts a new t-shirt design, 100 “likes” will roughly equate to one actual “sale”, so I’ll openly admit that it was with a feeling of trepidation that I entered the rink on Saturday night, not knowing what to expect and dreading a repeat of the previous weekend

Things started off reasonably well in that the usual and initial “Oh when the Storm…” got a fairly good response and an early goal certainly helped too.  Whilst not exactly up to usual standards, the atmosphere wasn’t that bad, but nowhere near as good as normal.  However, as is pretty much becoming the norm, a funny thing happened…

I dare say that a lot of people will know Pete Roden as he’s been a fan of Manchester Hockey for a long time and along with his son Simon, a big part and influence on The Choirboys during the Phoenix years.  Half way through the first period, he suggested we try a chant we used to use on game nights in the past, something that is really simple, consisting of the words “Na na” and “Go Storm!” to the tune of the song “Vindaloo” (with thanks to Sarah Marie on the forum for pointing that out and putting me out of my misery.  You know how you know a tune but can’t quite place it?)  Pretty straight forward eh?  Maybe not as much as we first thought as the first attempt failed spectacularly – it’s been a number of years since I last played it, and then it was played as part of a group rather than leading.  A big difference as I found out the hard way).    Fortunately,  the second attempt worked and the old memory kicked in.

Obviously, this being a new song there was very little initial take up amongst other fans.  Fearing that it was going to die on its backside (like a number of chants we’ve tried previously), and in another moment of frustration, thought’s went back to the night at the NIC mentioned above and I thought “sod it – I’m going to keep it going until either everyone joins in or we drive everyone mad with it” (remember how in a previous blog post I mentioned that I’m told I “go dark” in my attitude when I visit Sheffield?  Guess there was a small part of that in there too).

The thing is, as I was that caught up in the moment, I can’t really describe what happened next (and if anyone could tell me from their perspective, I’d dearly love to know).  I’m guessing people slowly started joining in (I’m told that some fans in other parts of the rink thought we’d resurrected “The Great Escape” and were singing that) but there was a real electricity in the air, Storm skate down the ice, set up and score!

First reaction amongst us at the back of block 113 was “I think we deserve an assist on that goal” as that is honestly how it felt.  Hours of typing about how singing/chanting and atmosphere seemed to culminate in that one moment – guess I could have saved myself a lot of time by just posting a youtube clip of that goal and going “See. That’s what I’m talking about…”

Another interesting development was that there were a group of students sat a couple of rows in front (very rare that anyone sit’s directly in front these days) and I presume through a combination of the improvement in atmosphere and amount of alcohol consumed, they really started to get into the game and join in singing songs.  One even came over at the end and explained how they were traditionally rugby fans (think they even mentioned about playing for Macclesfield), this was their first game and they absolutely loved it.  I’ve written previously on how I consider a good atmosphere a great selling point for the game and was nice to have it backed up.  It would be good to think that they’re currently telling friends and family about their experience (or what can be remembered through a beer-soaked haze).  Judging from the noise in the rink as things progressed, I’m sure that both they and I weren’t alone in having fun, so if we can keep things like this going, I’m sure that we’ve every chance of winning over other newbies and hopefully making them regulars.  It’s a win-win all round.

Needless to say, said chant will now be added to the match night song arsenal, and whilst I don’t expect a repeat performance of goal scoring prowess every time we sing it (although that would be good), I’m sure it’ll become a regular on game nights

I’m already over-analysing of exactly when and how to use it!

“Theme For Silence”

“What do we need to make our world come alive?
What does it take to make us sing?”

“Vision Thing” – Sisters of Mercy

 

I’m not someone that usually quits easy.  For instance, despite having shown absolutely no previous discernible sporting talent or athleticism whatsoever, I achieved something of a recreational Hockey “career” by giving it absolutely everything despite lack of ability, so when faced with pretty much silence in response to the initial “Oh When The Storm…” (regular readers will know that this is the gauge with which I can usually tell how the atmosphere of any given game is going to be), the reaction was to just laugh it off and hope it was a glitch.  Said song was abandoned after the first verse rather than carrying it on for the usual three/as many verses as we can manage, before the inevitable break in play.  A couple more song attempts were made including the regular “Maaanchester Storm” a few minutes later and when those all fell on stony ground, the decision was made to ditch the sticks and enjoy the game without the pressure of worrying about what song to sing next, etc (This decision also came in handy when we scored the OT goal in that I didn’t have to worry about my drum causing either myself or someone else injury. #DrummingProblems eh?)

I’ve commented in the past that atmosphere is very much a team effort of which the drums are only a small (although some may argue, important) part.  A drum beat and chant is great for getting things going but only if people buy in and join in.  I’ve also commented that as much as I’m not comfortable with the “head drummer” title, I guess  it’s also a position that is required – you need one person to lead otherwise you end up with people drumming or chanting possibly different songs at the same time, depending how they’re interpreting the game at any point.  The drums combined are an extension of this in leading the surrounding fans in a chant or song.  Without people joining in, everything is reduced to a random drum beat which really doesn’t sound that impressive and does absolutely nothing for the atmosphere

My personal issue is that with the exception of the home game against Sheffield earlier in the season, to me it feels as though the general match night atmosphere has recently been on a decline.  Maybe this is the natural order of things in that attitudes can change over time.  I’ve previously mentioned on how in my first trip to Sheffield in early 2000 the roar when the Steelers scored was LOUD, certainly louder than anything I’ve heard at a game pretty much since (I’m not going to work out just how many years ago this was because I’ll suddenly feel very old!), but is there a chance that society as a whole has changed it’s attitude to live sport and entertainment, resulting in what has been what someone described on Facebook as us having a “slightly conservative” crowd base?  Comparing the trajectory of how things were then to how they were the last time I made the trip over the Pennines, I guess that would make some sort of sense

This is where another theory may come into play (thanks Aden 😉 ).  As those that know me (or those that have read previous entries) are aware, I’ve pretty much no experience of any other live sport, or certainly not on a regular basis.  It was suggested that as having come second in the league last season and won our conference, we potentially no longer have the “underdog” tag that we had for the first couple of years, something that human nature (or maybe just a British thing) means that we’re not routing for the team in the way that we used to.  As a result, we’re only really bothered about the “big” games

There’s also the chance that maybe I’m reading a little too much into things.  I come from something of a live music background as this was where much of my recreational time was spent in my mis-spent youth.  Before I was well and truly bitten by the “Hockey bug”, life was planned around gigs rather than trips to the Shelter (and as I’ve mentioned far too many times to anyone that knows me, my first game was accurately sold to me as “a cross between a Rock concert and a football match”), so “rock concert” attitude that I’ve held on to since (especially as I’m something of a “failed Rock star” myself – no amount of effort could make up for a lack of musical talent, sadly) and tried to incorporate into the drumming and singing on match nights

It has been suggested that what looks like smaller crowds may play a part. but having spoken to some “people in the know”, we’re actually slightly up on attendance size to where we were at this point last season.  Even factoring in the habit of remembering things being better than they actually were, I hardly remember the rink ever being as quiet as it was last night (one exception was a Wednesday night Challenge Cup Quarter Final game against Belfast in the first season, but that’s another story with a unique set of circumstances)

Comment has been made that we’re possibly missing Jon Hammond, but I’d argue that other teams manage perfectly well without an announcer mingling in amongst the crowd, and my attitude really is that he was aimed more at “newbies” rather than us that have been going a while

As always, I’m open to ideas and suggestions.  Alternatively as mentioned above, maybe it’s a sign of the times and people are happy to just watch the game without the drums, songs and chants.  It has been said that people leave the house less and less compared to how things were in the past and obviously songs and chants are something you don’t tend to have when watching sport in the comfort of your own home (much to the relief of my neighbours at least)

As I similarly mentioned on Facebook, I really don’t want this to sound like a “You OK hon”/”sympathy fishing” post.  It’s more a set of observations where if it’s going to be a case of it being just a couple of us singing and drumming rather than the intended aim of getting “the place rocking”, I’ll be more than happy to leave the drums at home on match nights and enjoy the game in a similar way to everyone else.  Daft as it sounds, by the time my bag is loaded up with drums, sticks, banners and other assorted paraphernalia, it gets to be a bit on the awkward and heavy side meaning that I’m restricted to having to drive to games as getting the tram would be impractical.   It would certainly be nice to go to the rink and watch the game with a pint – just need them to start selling some decent ale!

“The Memory Remains”

“I ain’t superstitious,
When a black cat crosses my path.
And, I ain’t superstitious,
As I break the looking glass.
Ain’t afraid of no demons,
Don’t make me laugh!”

“I Ain’t Superstitious” – Megadeth

 

I remember reading an article many years ago about superstitions in Hockey (sadly, despite many attempts, I can’t now find said article which is a shame as it would have made a good blog topic on its own).  Said article explained that as Hockey is such a fast paced  sport, anything that gives you the illusion of being able to control  just the slightest aspect will help with confidence.  Some of us fans also take the same approach for much the same reason or because we want to appease “the Hockey Gods” (hence the fear about uttering or even thinking about “the ‘s’ word”…)

At the time of writing, it’s the evening of the season opener – an away game in Nottingham against the Panthers.  For many, this will be the first time they’ve seen this years squad in action whilst others have attended at least one of the pre-season games.

I’ve a number of reasons for not being there myself.  One of the main ones is that I’m terrified of history repeating itself (something that looked even more likely when Storm scored first, but I’m getting way ahead of myself here).  For the benefit of any newbies (or for those that were there and I’m sure will have attempted to bury the memory as deep as possible), its time to grab a beverage of choice and get comfy as we turn the clock back to the year 2001…

It had been an off- season of big changes.  The team had been sold by the arena owners to local businessman Gary Cowan, the previous seasons coach, Terry Christensen, had been relieved of his duties and long time assistant Daryl Lipsey had stepped up to the plate.  Off-season signings included GB Netminder Stevie Lyle and ex-NHL goalie Mike Torchia who had helped backstop the Sheffield Steelers to the Grand Slam/Sham (delete as applicable) the previous season, so it’s fair to say that things were looking good.  A short pre-season had seen an exhibition shut-out loss at the arena to Russian side AK Bars Kazan and a 5-5 tie with Ayr Scottish Eagles (that if memory serves was supposed to be a two leg affair called the “Go Goodwins” cup. Sadly, the return game never happened)

The seasons starts proper with an away trip to Nottingham and with this being the first game, large numbers of Storm fans descend on the NIC.  The puck drops and we’re under way.  Not long into the first period, Storm break the deadlock by scoring first and the excitement builds.  Having had a disappointing previous season, could we really be returning to the glory days of KK?  For a short amount of time, it sure looks like it.  However, things soon take a turn for the worse.  The Panthers pull a goal back, take the lead and then score again.  And again.  The problem here is that to just about everyone in the building (with the possible exception of Storm Coach Daryl Lipsey) can see that Lyle is badly rattled.   Throwing his water bottle into the top of the net after every drink becomes the norm and I’d have been surprised if he could have stopped a beach ball by the time he’s finally pulled from the net and replaced by Torchia, although the damage has already been done.

(As a side note, memories of that night were stored away in the subconscious of many fans there and brought up whenever Stevie Lyle played against the Phoenix.  Many an evening was spent by the Choirboys with chants attempting (and arguably succeeding) in putting him off his game.  Cruel? Possibly, but as with all our chants and songs, we knew where the line was and as much as we may have sometimes pushed up hard against it, we never crossed it and let’s face it, we wanted out team to win.  One famous example is, having let in his fair share of goals one evening, the immortal line “I say, I say, I say.  What is Stevie Lyle’s favourite colour? Indigo!” (a joke that works much better said out loud 😉 )

Back at the NIC, the night draws on and the final result is a thoroughly depressing 6-1 defeat.  Sure, it’s only the first game of the season and there’s a lot of Hockey left to play, but there is a overwhelming feeling of dejectedness amongst the Storm fans.  To make matters slightly worse, the England football team had played Germany in Munich whilst the game was going on and despite going 1-0 down after 6 minutes, had come back and won 1-5.  Whilst the rest of the country celebrated, us Storm fans drowned our sorrows…

As an interesting note, some would point to this instance as the start of the final descent of the Storm arena era (and to be fair, many would argue that this process had really already begun the previous season).  I’ll openly admit that I’m probably reading too much into things when I compare the game to something that happened a couple of short years later.  Pretty much the exact same set of circumstances led to the Phoenix being eliminated from the Playoffs in a semi final game against the same team in the same building.  An early lead (scored by “Super” George Awada if memory serves) created some short-lived hope before the Panthers rallied, equalised and the floodgates opened.  The final score? You’ve guessed it. 6-1.  Said game brought a sad end to arena Hockey in Manchester (and the team for a couple of years)

So, back to last nights game.  It’s fair to say that things didn’t turn out so bad after all, especially with reports that we were incredibly short-benched.  For some of us, this no doubt brought back memories of another Nottingham away game during the first Phoenix season.  Plagued by injuries, I’m pretty sure I remember Rick Brebant playing the full 60 minutes (!) of the game, with the team scoring early and holding on for dear life (sadly, the Panthers equalised mid-way through the third period and a tied game was an accepted result at the time so that was the final score)

I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts how I’m a big believer in fate, and whilst I’ve dropped a good many over the years, I still hold onto a couple of traditions and superstitions (I’m not listing them here as I’ve no doubt someone will try and put me off them!).  Do the team and travelling fans owe me a debt of gratitude for not going last night and tempting the final score?

I’ll let you decide…

 

 

 

“A Lesson Lived is a Lesson Learned”

“I’ve tried being cautious,
I’ve tried being shrewd
Arousing suspicions,
Without any clues
Of my own invention,
I have no excuse”

“Come to Realize” –  Prong

 

Funny how my last post was influenced by something someone posted on social media and this one was inspired by something that I posted on social media…  Of course, I doubt much of what follows will make much sense to those that weren’t at the game on Tuesday night (who says pre-season games are uneventful?), but please bear with me

As most people are aware, the upcoming season will once again see a lot of changes from what has gone before.  As much as the retirement of Jon Hammond was announced during the off season, most of us only discovered on the evening of the first pre-season game that regular match night DJ’s Marvin and Gabrielle wouldn’t be returning to their position within the match night team (I’ve no idea why and to be honest it’s none of my business, but the news created the usual rumour, paranoia and speculation on social media)

To me personally, this news was on par with Jon Hammond hanging up the yellow jacket and microphone for the final time.  As I mentioned in a Facebook post, I’ve many fond memories of how Marvin presented the music on match nights, both in the early days of Storm at Altrincham and Phoenix before. Similar to Jon Hammond, I felt he made a hard job look very easy and obviously enjoyed every second of what he did.  There were little touches like choosing songs with some initially obscure reference and humour,  playing “Hallelujah” when a player finally left the ice after taking longer than necessary at the end of warm-up, etc. Upon becoming ill, his daughter Gabrielle had taken over, normal service continued and she did a fantastic job (I doubt many would have even noticed the difference apart from a slight move towards more modern music)

So in the space of the off season, we have two huge changes to match nights along with talk of a “new direction” with regards to the music.  One of the amusing things is the different ways this make-over was interpreted on Tuesday evening.  Going through social media, I’ve seen it described as everything from “top 40 crap”,  “80’s retro night”, “student disco” – and that’s just from the people that could hear it due to first night technical issues

As mentioned previously, most of my night is spent (possibly over) analysing the atmosphere as I’m looking for the moment to either help get it going or build on it.  As a result and as the game progressed, I noticed that many of the songs played resembled the playlist of new sponsor, Manchester radio station “Real XS”.  This brought to mind a tale I had heard many years ago, back when said station was called “106.1 Rock Radio”.  At one of their Manchester Ritz Christmas parties,  the story goes that Mike Sweeney (ask your parents), a DJ that I always felt would have been much better suited to a “60’s Gold” station rather than one playing Classic Rock, managed to kill the party atmosphere stone dead in the space of seconds when he took his turn in the DJ booth and started to play The Beatles.  With this in mind, I took the opportunity to add 2 and 2 together, come up with the answer “potato” and was under the impression that in much the same way that presenters from a local dance station had become involved in the match night presentation during the arena days, someone from Real XS was now in charge of playing the music (isn’t hindsight wonderful?)

Taking that into consideration, I speculated that the afore mentioned “new direction” would mean an emphasis on playing predominantly Manchester bands, possibly as part of forming some kind of new “identity” (which to a certain logic I guess would make some kind of sense).  My evidence?  Thinking back to hearing Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” after a fight and Morrisey in place of the usual “Always Take the Weather With You” on the way out.  Maybe it was just me, but there was also the way that it felt slightly more “forced” than usual . People of a certain age (and said group I’m willing to wager will consist almost exclusively of males) will know and remember of the “sacred art of creating a mix tape”, and (being a self-confessed sad music geek) I’d imagine that constructing a match night music playlist works in a similar way, only with songs selected on the fly.  For the benefit of those that don’t know what a “mix tape” is (kids today, eh?), the following is a passage from the excellent “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby:

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter – there’s a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You’ve got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention and then you’ve got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch, and you can’t have white music and black music together, unless the white music sounds like black music, and you can’t have two tracks by the same artist side by side, unless you’ve done the whole thing in pairs and… oh, there are loads of rules.”

Hopefully that makes some sort of sense to the uninitiated (what do you mean “Yeah, whatever grandad”?  Now get off my lawn! (Thanks Richard 😉 )

The above resulted in a slightly opinionated, ill informed tweet criticising what had gone the night before.  Of course, in my pre-caffeinated state, a moment wasn’t put aside to think that possibly the whole thing may be a “work in progress” (and lets face it, if you’re introducing new things and ideas, pre-season is the perfect time to put them to the test, in much the same way that first thing in the morning isn’t exactly the perfect time for slightly opinionated, ill informed tweets.  Wonderful, wonderful hindsight again)

I’ll bet that one of the problems facing someone playing the music at a Hockey game is that, judging from comments on social media, some will only be happy hearing  their own personal soundtrack on match nights. This really comes to light on that common subject that crops up on team forums – “What should the match night music intro be?”.  Like any self-respecting music fan, I absolutely cannot stand Nickelback (just kidding!  Well, the first bit anyway), but I’ll be first to admit that the thankfully vocal-less version (just kidding again.  Well, maybe half kidding) of “Burn it to the Ground” that Phoenix used for a couple of seasons worked as well as say, that Foo Fighters song that the Steelers use (a song that I can never remember the name of. As much as people tell me what it’s called  every time I mention how I’ve forgotten the title, and how I have the uttermost respect for Dave Grohl, I really don’t like his music.  Sorry).  Both have the perfect tempo for clapping along too and are just the right side of making some noise without descending into the musical niche enjoyed by scruffy longhairs such as myself.  I guess what people have to realise is just because they like something doesn’t mean that everyone else does, or more importantly that it will work.  Amongst many other sub-genres, I’m a fan of early 90’s Swedish Death Metal but I don’t expect to hear Entombed at the rink for example on any given night.  Well, not unless they need to evacuate the building in a hurry

There’s also the question of balance.  Obscure songs by some small band are great if they work within the context of the game, but to be crowd friendly, most people want to hear songs they recognise.  One of the many things I struggle to understand is why when radio stations host a “request show”, a majority of the music played are songs that already feature on the daily play list.  I presume that people just want to hear what they’re familiar with, no matter how many times they’ve heard it before (I went to see Slash at the Manchester Apollo a number of years back and actually groaned when he started to play “Sweet Child o’ Mine”.  Sadly, a true story)

Another factor is playing music to what is happening on the ice.  As mentioned above, I guess I wasn’t alone in scratching my head when following a fight that had got the crowd going, the song choice was by Joy Division.  At this point, I thought that maybe it was one of Marvin’s “joke songs” in how “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was related to two players that had just attempted to knock seven shades of good-for-the-roses out of each other (benefit of the doubt on that one 😉 )

Wild speculation time. If the idea is to go for a match night that leans heavily on Manchester music, this is (in my slightly-biased-music-and-atmosphere-geek opinion)  something that may need a bit of care. From my own (admittedly slightly limited knowledge and experience), some of the more famous Manchester music from an average punter perspective isn’t exactly, shall we say, uplifting? To use the “Swedish Death Metal” comparison again, I’m a fan of The Sisters of Mercy but I doubt even their most upbeat tracks would fit particularly well in a Hockey atmosphere (If the idea about “Playlists from bands of your city” is true and the trend continues, I suppose that if I want to hear “This Corrosion” within the confines of a Hockey arena, I guess I’ll have to wait until the new Leeds rink opens sometime in the next millennium)

It’s a known fact that people genuinely fear change, so when you add together that Jon had gone and there was a significant shift in the playlist to a combination of Real XS and more modern music, whilst at the same time dropping a lot of the songs that people had become familiar with over the past couple of seasons, you can see where there was a point to be made (in a tactful manner), but I’m sure that over time, it will all come together.  Maybe there’s the view of do you remove a sticking plaster gradually or tear it off quickly in one movement? Sure, it was a bit of a shock to the system on the night, but I’m of the understanding that not only is it very much a work in progress, but there was also an equipment malfunction that resulted in it being a case of playing whatever music would actually play, rather than through choice (hence the absence of crowd-favourite “7 Nation Army” for most of the game, and whilst we’re talking examples of songs that work over songs that you like, there’s one I could gladly never hear again, but it works in getting the crowd going, so who am I to argue?)

When you consider all the above, it doesn’t sound so bad does it?  I know it’s an all too common thing to hit the “Panic Button” at the first available opportunity, but in this case, maybe it would be worth leaving it until, say maybe the first game of the regular season before worrying and crying “won’t someone please think of the children?”, although I’m almost certainly sure that the match night crew would always appreciate creative feedback, suggestions and ideas

Of course, much of this was written by someone that takes their music fandom to anally retentive levels (to quote Denis Leary “You see that scar on my wrist? You see that? You know where that’s from? I heard the Beegees were getting back together again” (a joke that admittedly worked slightly better in the early 90’s when it was originally written, although if they were to reform now, it may actually be worth seeing) so has seen it as an excuse to blog about my two biggest passions (as well the opportunity to apologise for possibly coming across as a bit of an opinionated arse on social media)). I can tell the posts that have been the easiest to write as they’re usually the ones completed at around 5am, putting a bout of insomnia to good use)

With all the above in mind, if we are going to feature a Manchester music influenced playlist, can someone please draw the line at Mick bloody Hucknall

 

 

 

“Back At The Funny Farm”

“In the darkest hole,
You’d be well advised
Not to plan my funeral
‘Fore the body dies”

“Grind” – Alice In Chains

 
It’s the eve of the pre-season, I’m out walking the dog around Sale Water Park and my phone pings into life with a message from Ollie, a fellow drummer:

“Hi Gord, have you seen the forum?”

Regular readers will know that I do my best to avoid Facebook as much as possible for a number of reasons, so whilst many were enjoying the “Meet the Players Night” just a few short miles away, there was a rumour going around that I had “retired” from drumming on match nights (I’d noticed that I had a couple of missed Twitter private messages earlier and the idea was to deal with them when I was done for the night)

To be honest, I’ve still really no idea how it all came about.  I’ll be even more honest and admit that as much as the thought does cross my mind from time to time, it occurs in much the same way as I may think about cutting my ponytail (it’ll possibly be for charity when I do) or maybe quitting my job, selling up and disappearing somewhere (sure I’m not alone in fantasizing about that).  After the interest it raised, you can rest assured that if the day finally comes, I’ll let people know and would willingly pass my drum onto anyone that wants it, as has become a tradition.  As much as it’s important to me to do everything I can to get the shelter “Rocking” for reasons explained in previous posts, it’s generally done for my own personal amusement and I didn’t realise it had that kind of effect (but also nice to know it makes a difference).  Aden mentioned in his post “A Child of 2 Sports”  that having had “…to live through the pain of Storm going bust in 2002 and would do almost anything in my power to prevent that happening again”, this is the difference that I feel I can make (as much as I’d give 50/50 or shirt raffle ticket selling a go at a push, this is something I have some kind of previous experience with, albeit as part of a larger group, and it’s within my comfort zone)

It wasn’t long before the original message was joined by more from other people asking much the same thing, along with screenshots of the thread on Facebook.  What had started as a late summers evening stroll became a “social media plate-spinning session”, juggling numerous messenger threads, Twitter private messages and WhatsApp replies.  Bella, my 2 year old husky, remained completely oblivious and was quite happy to just explore whilst I frantically typed…

This brings things nicely onto something else.  In the past, I’ve suggested numerous ideas for getting through the long off-season – some are admittedly slightly more extreme than others.  With the summer pretty much now out of the way, I can suggest the best one yet.  Having acquired Bella from the local Dogs Trust almost a year ago, nothing eats at your free time quite as much as owning a husky.  Two hour daily walks have become the norm, and not only does it help you lose weight, it clears the time between Playoff weekend and pre-season with more speed and efficiency than anything I’ve experienced in nearly 20 years of watching the sport.  As much as I’m used to getting “funny looks”, explaining to people that have just told me that they can’t believe how long the summer has lasted, that it feels like only last weekend that I was attending the Playoff Quarter Final against Fife, has earnt me a few more

With that in mind, after last night I’m guessing that one or two would suggest that maybe a little of my time had been better spent on some pre-season preparation.  As my self-imposed Hockey Hibernation had worked a little too well this year, it was last Sunday before I’d even thought about digging my drums out and getting things together.  It was a this point that I’d realised that my plans on replacing a carabiner on my backup drum and picking up some spare drumsticks (things that I said I’d get around to during the summer) had been forgotten about… (although to be fair, I had picked up a replacement stick bag back in June, having somehow mislaid my old one at the rink late last season – the same week that someone actually took the time to clean the back of block 113!)  Once again, regular readers will know of my annual plans to spend the summer learning how to twirl a pair of drumsticks, and as has become a familiar routine, this has largely been forgotten about.  The only drumsticks I’ve seen for the past 5 months have had chicken on them…

So the game starts, slowly but surely I get back into things, my voice packs up at around the 4 minute mark (bit earlier than normal – I usually make it to 10 minutes) and a problem arises.  Storm go on the Penalty Kill and for the life of me I can’t remember what song we use for the PK!  The puck drops and I have to turn to my colleagues to ask them, resulting in much head scratching until about 30 seconds in, someone suggests “C’mon you Storm!”  To be honest, I can’t even remember if we actually attempted it as none of us had complete confidence in our choice, so the next break in play results in a frantic WhatsApp message to Scotland to ask Beckie, a Storm Drummer of old if she can remember (and just like my missus, she never forgets a thing!)

In my usual tradition, after the first game back I’m currently nursing blistered fingers, a sore throat and no voice with a couple of days to recover before doing it all over again (only twice this time – thank feck for the Bank Holiday!).  Whilst it’s strange to be watching Hockey this early in August, there is a plus side – by the time the season starts proper, chances are things will be back to normal (potentially with having had the inspiration to do some song writing)

I guess it’s not just the players that will be using an extended pre-season to get match fit!

 

 

 

“But Life Goes On”

“Unknowing, unseeing
Revelations unfold before your eyes
Relenting, repenting.
No time to think or compromise”

“Time to Kill” – Overkill

 

I mentioned in a previous blog post how I thought it was possibly time for the Storm organisation to stop leaning on nostalgia and start to stand on their own two feet with the intention of further developing a new legacy, identity and future.  Little did I know that just a few short weeks later that it’s fair to say that their hand may have been forced somewhat with the announcement of Jon Hammond’s retirement.  As I’ve said many times previously, it’s funny how things turn out…

Part of the issue for everyone involved in the match night presentation is getting the balance as close as possible to pleasing everyone in attendance as possible, from the choice of music through to the style of the match night host (I doubt that the old adage of “not being able to please all the people all the time” has ever been more appropriate). When you’re used to watching Storm, it sometimes takes a little getting used to rinks where the “host” is just an anonymous voice over the PA as opposed to someone that is out amongst and interacting with the crowd

Obviously to those fans that remember the “glory years” at the arena, Jon Hammond was someone that needed absolutely no introduction when he made his first appearance at Altrincham.  I say “glory years” as I’m sure many of those people will remember that he wasn’t there for the last couple of seasons and his presence on match night was certainly missed on those occasions, even by the most cynical of us

As I briefly talked about in last months entry, there is long standing joke around Hockey fans about there being several stages of “Hockey Fandom”, from “the complete newbie” right the way through to “the old and cynical supporter”.   I have my own theory that for Storm fans (especially long-term ones), there’s an extra sub-category to be added to that called the “Jon Hammond effect”.  Even if you’re introduced to the game through friends that have been watching for some time, the first couple of games can still feel a little intimidating whilst you get to grips with things, and I dare say that this is where JH (I’m getting too lazy to type his name every time I mention it from this point, plus “JH” scans better) comes into his own

After a while, as knowledge of the game is built up, rules are learnt and you start to feel more comfortable watching the game, I think that some of us (those that’ll admit it anyway and guilty as charged right here) started to find his approach a little “simplistic” as we forget what it’s like to be the new face at the rink, we know the routine and maybe don’t feel the need for it

From my own experience this is happened a couple of seasons in, but then a funny thing happened.  Jon missed an evening and this being the late 90’s, the replacement announcer for the night was brought in from the Manchester Giants basketball team.  When I read messages on social media regarding how a possible replacement for Jon at Alty shouldn’t try to copy his style, I’m presuming those responsible for posting had this particular night (or similar) in mind.  No offence to the gentleman in question (I’m sure he did a great job announcing at the Basketball and gave it his best shot), but it was painful.  I mean, fair play for giving the “Maanncchheesstteerr Storm!” a try, but something struck me that evening that I’ve never forgotten – JH makes a very difficult job look VERY easy indeed and I developed a serious amount of newfound respect for the way he handled match nights.  (As a side note, has almost certainly made said chant his own.  It’s very easy to laugh at those audience members that he’s roped in to try it over the years, but it’s really not as easy as it sounds.  Go on, give it a go (and no doubt have the neighbours wondering what on earth is going on next door!))

The thought on how he makes a difficult job look easy takes on extra relevance for those that remember the last couple of seasons at the arena when the compère job was taken by a local radio DJ.   I believe this was part of a sponsorship deal with a Manchester dance music station, (the name of which has been long forgotten) and a particular low point was said DJ telling a large section of Steelers fans that the reason he was a little on the large side was because every time he slept with their wives, they gave him a biscuit (I’m paraphrasing here as the exact words used have once again been long forgotten, but they weren’t quite as tactful, sadly)

From there, it was onto the third (and final) stage of my “stage of Hockey/Storm fan – JH theory” – acceptance and appreciation.  Whenever people have mentioned that maybe it’s time he updated his match night routine as it’s starting to feel a little tired, I reminded them that he’s not really there for the benefit of us long time fans (that have usually already made some kind of commitment to the sport) so much as for the newbies and families in attendance

When the re-birth (or however you wish to refer to it) of Storm was announced, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering what JH was up to these days and then thinking “yeah, like that is ever going to happen!  For a start, I doubt  it would work the same way in Alty the same way it did at the arena”.  But then (once again, as seems to happen quite often), a funny thing happened…

As part of the initial set-up, and in the run up to the start of the first season at Altrincham, a (much missed to these ears at least) Manchester Storm
podcast was set up and suggestions were asked for possible interviewees from the past incarnation of the team.  Naturally, Jon’s name came up and interview was made.  This interview was (I believe) in turn heard by Neil Russell who then approached Jon with the intention of taking on the role he had successfully made his own previously, one thing lead to another, and he made his return

As mentioned, I initially had my doubts about how it would work in the confines of Altrincham, but ever the pro, I’d say that it worked just as well as it did in the old days, albeit on a smaller scale.  Whilst there were detractors, I get the impression that they were in a minority and the general consensus (especially from newbies and away fans) was one of positivity (one thing I’ll almost certainly miss is that I’d notice he’d spend more time in the away block than anywhere else between warm-up and face off meaning that I could safely look at my phone during that time!)

So whilst on one hand it’s a real shame to think that match nights won’t be quite the same anymore (although there are rumours of possibly some type of “presentation night” in the upcoming season), as mentioned at the start (and in a previous post), it’s also an opportunity to develop match night and build on what we’ve achieved so far

Needless to say, Aden has some big shoes (or should I say “yellow jacket”?) to fill, but I’m absolutely sure that everything is in safe hands (and Steelers fans won’t have to worry about inappropriate jokes from the 1970’s!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Leaving Here”

“Beware my friends as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you must be
Prepare my friends to follow me”

“Mary Jane” – Megadeth

 

As anyone that has been watching for any length of time will tell you, being a Hockey fan (or a fan of any other team sport I suppose) isn’t easy if you take it seriously.  It can be fun at times, frustrating at others and the whole thing comes with a learning curve with a number of different stages, something I’ll explore in a slightly different way in next months blog (said post was something that was in it’s final draft stages and ready to post before the bombshell that Matt Beca wouldn’t be returning next season and inspiration took hold.  I feel some of my better posts are written spontaneously and usually inspired by a particular event – see the “Good Times, Bad Times” post for the most recent example, the bulk of which was put together at 5am in the morning following the Playoff Quarter Final defeat to Fife )

I’m guessing that there are times that being a long term Hockey fan are similar to being a parent in that that you can pass on your experiences and advice to those friends that are still fairly new to the sport.  It’s good to know that some of those low points that you’ve been through can be used at some point, and as I’ve become friends with people that are in their first few seasons of watching, I’m in a position to help with times like this

Someone once came up with the theory that when it comes to sports team fandom, it’s best to follow either a team or a particular player as the law of averages would dictate that you can’t follow both and be happy.  I can’t imagine what the percentage of players that play for the same team for their entire career is, but it must be infinitesimal.  I’ll openly admit that I was hoping that Paul Swindlehurst would become something of a “franchise player” for the Storm (probably best to conveniently forget his time with the Nottingham Panthers at this point, obviously). This was set to be a story with a bit of everything – grew up watching Storm at the arena, wears the number “23” in tribute to a Storm legend, played in an exhibition game with the Chicago Blackhawks, returns home, ices for his home team, etc. and then… signs with Belfast.  Don’t get me wrong, he’d be daft not to (because lets face it, I’m sure many of us would have done the same in a similar situation) but there was also the part of us that also wanted the “traditional Hollywood ending”

Going back to the stages of fandom, in the same way that the Fife game could be considered a “lesson”, the departure of Matt Beca can be seen as a similar experience for some of his passionate fans at Storm (a number of which I know personally and to whom I dedicate this post).  To use a phrase I used many times in the Fife game blog, it happens.  I still remember when Curtis “Cujo” Joseph left the Maple Leafs for the Detroit Red Wings in the early 00’s and how it felt at the time – despite being an adult and old enough to know better (you would think), I sulked for the best part of a week (something that I really wish was an exaggeration).  But you know what?  The sun came up the following day, life went on and the “pain” passed in time

The thing to note here is that despite that, I still kept the assorted paraphernalia I’d collected over the years – the jerseys (my first NHL shirt was naturally a Joseph #31 one plus I have a personalised 2002 Team Canada sweater) were still worn and the large print I have of his goalie helmet was displayed and currently takes pride of place in my hallway (or my “Hockey Hall of Fame” as it’s affectionally know) and everything else was kept (someone actually bought me a Cujo/Redwings bobble-head that whilst not exactly my most prized possession, still takes its place in my memorabilia collection).

At this point, it may also be worth mentioning that Cujo made a brief return to the Leafs a number of seasons later as a back-up (albeit as part of “the bleaker years” – funny how things turn out)

I guess that one thing  that some people may need to learn is just because a player has left the team for pastures new, there is absolutely no shame whatsoever in wearing said shirt to games in the future (some may say with the possible exception of a Davey Phillips shirt, for rather obvious reasons).  In the words of Herb Brooks, “the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back”.  Let said jersey be a reminder of a particular season, as believe it or not, I doubt many people generally care whose name you wear on your jersey.  Even if you don’t wear it for a year or two, keep hold of it for future seasons (I was lucky to be of a “certain age” during the arena years so a lot of my old shirts still fit).  Of course, if the jersey is “cursed” (you may have to bear with me here), that’s completely different (I’ve a couple of shirts that I’ve owned over the years – one I wore for training where every time I wore it I had a ‘mare and a Storm shirt that seemed to result on us getting beat every time it was brought out of the wardrobe – both are currently stored safely away, a bit like the arc of the covenant at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Arc”…)

So yes, when your favourite player leaves, it can be a painful time, but if you’re in this for the long haul, it’s just a bump in the road and as they say, time is a great healer – it’ll be something you look back on and possibly laugh about in later years.  Think of it as another step in the “stages of Hockey fan” (something I really must get around to writing my own version of at some point) and you’ll be fine.  As much as you don’t tend to forget a favourite player (especially your first), you will pretty much almost certainly find another one the following season and the whole process starts all over again, the difference being that you’ll be better prepared for when they leave next time 😉

 

 

“Things Present, Things Past”

“So understand,
Don’t waste your time
Always searching for those wasted years
Face up,
Make your stand
And realize you’re living in the golden years”

“Wasted Years” – Iron Maiden

 

When I originally started this blog, I set myself some basic rules and guidelines.  For instance, I decided that I’d try and stay away from the “Controversial Opinion” type of writing.  It’s not that I have an issue with that style, it’s just that I’m not someone that likes to argue on social media.  Like most people, I obviously have strong opinions on certain subjects and much prefer to discuss them in person where things can’t be taken out of context, amongst other reasons.  I also decided that I’d try and write a post a month (which seemed like a good idea at the time as it was during the season and I had a list of topics and ideas – a list that I’ve pretty much exhausted, or in a couple of cases, requires a little research so will have to be put on the back burner for this month at least)

With the self-imposed “monthly deadline” fast approaching and having not written anything yet, maybe it’s time to bend those rules a little.  With the thought that some of my better postings have come from the heart, perhaps it would be a good time to get something off my chest that could be seen to go against popular opinion

As the third anniversary of the announcement of our “revival” approaches (feel free to substitute your own word here by the way if necessary to fit your own agenda.  I dare say (or even hope) that there are one or two readers that still have an issue with the “Storm” name being used, something I’ve absolutely no problem with and can fully understand why some choose to feel that way),  the timing of this blog post possibly takes on extra relevance (I’d love to say it was a deliberate decision but it’s something that I realised just before I fired up the laptop to start typing and as I’ve said before, I love how fate has a great sense of humour).  I’ve read comments over the years from people that got excited when the announcement was first made, something possibly akin to a favourite band re-forming, and without going into too much detail, I have to admit that my feelings were the polar opposite at that time.  However, even back then, even I had to admit that from a business standpoint especially, it made total sense

As much as anyone tried, the Storm name was and is the one most associated with Ice Hockey in Manchester when it comes to the general public.  Despite the success of Phoenix, no doubt I wasn’t alone in having the age old “I used to watch Storm at the arena” conversation many times over the years when I mentioned to non-fans that I watched Ice Hockey, so as the name was “available”, you can see how Silverblades saw the potential in calling the team “Manchester Storm” as opposed to something new with a possibly Mancunian theme

An issue from there (and whole basis of this post) is the question of if you are going to use an old name, how far can you tap into the legacy and history of said name?  Obviously, there are those that say that you shouldn’t be able to at all, but for those that hold the opposite view, it’s also a question of knowing where to draw the line

To start with, I had no real issue with the old banners being displayed and even the “re-retiring” of Brad Rubachuk’s shirt made sense to a degree as to me it completed the set (as well as a money-making opportunity, something that I again have no issues with)

I’m still undecided on the retirement of Mike Morin’s shirt.  Don’t get me wrong, I was a huge fan back in the day (he was one of the reasons and inspirations behind me wearing the number 15 when I played for the Blackburn Falcons) but the whole thing just felt a little “forced”.  Maybe “honouring” his shirt for his commitment to Manchester Hockey in general (as let’s not forget, he wore a Phoenix shirt at one point too) with maybe a banner or “Wall of Fame” like they have in Braehead would have made more sense than a all-out number retirement

Going back to the “how far can you tap into the legacy” question, you could also ask how long can you pay homage to the past?  For the first couple of seasons, it certainly made sense to form a link (of sorts) to the arena days to attract those that had watched Storm back then.  However, as time goes on, surely it’s time to phase that out?  Don’t get me wrong, it made perfect sense for the first and possibly second season whilst things were getting established or whilst an “identity” was formed as a way try and lure us old fans, especially those that had been lost from the sport for whatever reason.  One of the attractions at the time was the opportunity to dig out my Storm jerseys and other assorted paraphernalia (most of which still fit even after all that time – guess “being of a certain age” has it’s advantages every now and again!), as I’m sure it was for others so it made total sense to tap into that.  Bringing the same shirts out or storage to wear to watch an team with a new name wouldn’t really have been the same

Another knock on effect of leaning heavily on history is the possibility that the large number of people that have had their introduction to Hockey at Altrincham may start to feel alienated or left out.  It’s been a great experience to see the fan base build up over the past few years and as I’ve mentioned before, I’m curious what percentage of the current regulars enjoyed their first Storm experience at Alty rather than the arena, and in some cases I’m sure it’s larger share than some people may think

One thing that is easily forgotten amongst all the nostalgia is that it the “Golden Age”  was something that only lasted briefly.  Sure, there were success and good times but the last few seasons were hardly memorable, or certainly not for the right reasons

What I’m trying to say is that maybe it’s time for the club to stand on it’s own two feet and start looking to the future rather than the past.  We’ve a good thing building up nicely without the need to rely heavily on something that happened a number of years ago

As the old saying goes, “You can’t see where you’re going if you’re always looking back…