On Tue, 24 Mar 1998, Ben Flickinger wrote:
 
Ben,
        I know from your postings here and on USCHO that you are a
devoted UNO fan.  Your school has made some impressive strides recently,
especially in football (you tromped my beloved Sioux 2 years ago).  But I
think you need some perspective on the Mavs and the WCHA.
 
        Why should the league let in UNO right away?  The thing I keep
hearing is attendance.  But that was all sold out well in advance, and
arguably as a novelty.  Let's see what kind of attendance there is 2 or 3
years down the road when the team is struggling (and they will
struggle).  The Lancers long sellout streak recently ended and from what
I've heard, UNO's sellouts weren't all bodies in the seats variety.
Perhaps Omaha has now reached a hockey saturation point.
 
        As to why Mankato is further along in the process, they've been
trying to get in the league for about five years, if not more.  They've
actually been playing for fifty.  They also have a brand new arena and
are indeed close to several existing teams.  They also seem more willing
to play the game (polically, not on the ice) and aren't as pushy as UNO.
 
        I'm a little leery of expansion bringing in smaller schools (this
coming from someone who goes to a smaller school).  At least North Dakota
has been in the big time of hockey for a long time and has the mindset of
Divisions I.  It's a big step that Mankato, UNO, and possibly Bemidji and
making.  I think they need time to prove they are committed, otherwise we
will have Kent St. and UIC all over again.  For this reason, I like that
the WCHA is moving cautiously.  I would hope the fans in Omaha would
understand and respect that reasoning.
 
Vindy
Let's Drop the Puck
 
 
 
> It seems like my fellow Mavs fan beat me to the scoop, but to confirm it,
> the Mavs have been given an offer to make a formal presentation to the CCHA,
> at the Conference's spring meetings. Where, if accepted, they could begin
> conference play in 2 seasons, as opposed to the WCHA where they'd begin in 3.
>
> I really don't know what to think. I know some people here in Omaha think it
> would be better attendance and no show wise given the big name teams in the
> CCHA and the name recognition from football (Mich, MSU, Notre Dame, OSU),
> and there may be some truth to that for the social hockey fans. But I think
> top to bottom the WCHA teams would draw better overall from Omaha's Lancer
> and true hockey fan base, since I could see more of them going to a Mankato
> St or Minnesota-Duluth over a Ferris State or Northern Michigan (no offense,
> but the name recognition just ain't there).
>
> The WCHA is in a tough spot. Like someone said earlier, if it were just UNO,
> they could probably waive the requirements and let us in. But it isn't just
> UNO. What I considered funny when I first read it, but now maybe think it's
> true, was when the reason was petty jealousy, since we draw more fans than
> all but Minnesota, recruit the same USHL players, etc. I doubt that's the
> real reason, but we don't really know. And that's probably the heart of the
> issue, we don't know.
>
> Here in Omaha, we just want to hear something from the WCHA. I think their
> silence is killing them more than it would if they came out and said
> something, ANYTHING, even if it was bad news. They're being kind of
> indifferent to us, acting like we're not even around almost, and that's the
> 100% wrong thing to do to Omaha. Most of us Omahans hate being virtually
> obscure to the rest of the US (point, one person I talked to on the east
> coast while on vacation in July(it gets in the 100's sometimes here) asked
> us if we had snow on the ground and what it was like living in the
> country(Omaha now has a greater population than Miami)), and we really like
> the people who notice us. Then here comes the CCHA, like a knight in shining
> armor, offering us almost everything we want
>
> I guess I hope that UNO goes to the WCHA just becase I think I would rather
> see WCHA teams, but I would put money on it that UNO goes to the CCHA, just
> because they are actually showing interest while the WCHA isn't. Either way,
> though, I'll be happy as long as UNO keeps getting some good eastern teams
> to play and/or keeps its "traditional"(for lack of a better term) home and
> home series with Wisconsin.
>
> Ben F.
> U!N!O! U!N!O!
>
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