We welcome Randy Workman as our Saturday columnist. Randy has written for many different sites and has such a love for the game of hockey. We are thrilled to have Randy's currently-untitled column as a weekly feature here. Randy's blogs will appear every Saturday. If you have an idea for a title of Randy's column, please throw me an email at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com
---
Randy Workman
January 9, 2010
Last week, I broke the story that Dion had asked for a trade. I really do trust my source, so that part is beside the point. What is interesting about this story is that I am a normal kind of passionate hockey fan, who pretty much has known every Calgary Flame player there is. The story was nothing against Dion. Yet I have been slammed and kicked all over the place over it and vilified as representing everything that is wrong with the internet. Poor little old 40 something me, all of a sudden I represent everything wrong with the world.
Where is the irony? I am a passionate hockey fan, who by the way, loves hockey. We fans are what brings hockey alive. Without us, where would hockey be? I represent the husbands yelling at the television sets when their team is messing up. I represent the population who cannot afford to go see a hockey game. I represent the heart of the true hockey fan, who is not afraid to tell his side of the story, who will say what most people won’t.
You see, what is really important about this game is the heart of its fans. Where would this League be without us fans? I know this League is built on its players; who most of the time have to answer to their coaches, but they ultimately should be answering to the fans. I have chatted with all sorts of players, ranging from Vinny, Zetterberg, and Draper, to Iggy, Kane, Campbell, Nabokov, and the twins in Vancouver -- they're supposed to be good or something.
After the fallout from this blog, I was ready to quit, and my wife asked me why would I do that? Ironically, the same community that led me to become a blogger was the exact reason I wanted to quit. The irony is that the League is trying to build their fan base; and yet they are trying squash the spirit of the fans at the same time. Yes, I really ruffled some feathers. And yes, I got some people laughing at me. And the irony is that I am not really sure I would go through it again, and that is really sad. Yeah right, who am I kidding? It was a rush. But in all honesty, I still can say in all good conscience that I did nothing wrong. I can promise you this – I will never allow myself to cross the line on moral principles. Is that even possible for a blogger? Well, I guess I am going to find out! Stay tuned next week!
