Post by RemyShanx on Mar 7, 2005 14:35:36 GMT -5
www.suntimes.com/output/couch/cst-spt-greg071.html
I was looking around and found Columbus hhad the same letter sent to its fans.
I'm still looking for some others...
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Dear Blackhawk Fans,'' the letter on the Blackhawks' Web site starts. "The National Hockey League has announced that in the absence of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the remainder of the 2004-05 season is canceled.
"On behalf of the Chicago Blackhawks, I want to let you know how sorry we are that this has become necessary, and that we appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time.''
It was a five-paragraph letter displaying real consideration for the fans. The objective of the labor fight, it said, was so "the Blackhawks can compete for the Stanley Cup each season.''
It ended, "Sincerely, William W. Wirtz, President, Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team.''
This is exactly what sports teams should do more today, to show the fans that they understand. So I checked the sites of the other teams, and some offered apologies, some didn't. Some were gushy, some talked about next season's tickets. And then I got to the letter from the Boston Bruins:
"Dear Bruins Fans: The National Hockey League has announced that in the absence of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the remainder of the 2004-05 season is canceled.
"On behalf of the Boston Bruins, I want to let you know how sorry we are that this has become necessary and appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time.''
Did that sound familiar?
A form-letter apology? A Dear John letter from the NHL to its fans? It is the first major league in North America to throw out an entire season over this stuff, and its teams can't compose an honest letter from the heart?
"We wrote that letter,'' Hawks spokesman Jim DeMaria said. "You better get your facts straight.''
That wasn't easy. Either the Hawks did write it and the Bruins stole it or -- and this is what I believe -- the NHL wrote it, sent it around to the league's PR offices as a suggestion and the Bruins and Hawks didn't bother changing it. They were the only teams with the letter on their Web sites.
Plagiarism -- no big deal?
It's impossible to say which way it went. The Hawks say they sent the letter to the league for approval. But when I called the woman they said they sent it to, she said she needed to "look into it.'' Later, a league spokesman called back and asked what difference it makes. Meanwhile, the Bruins acknowledged that they ran a form letter sent to them by the league's PR people.
"It's a matter of consistency of message that's important,'' NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. "I don't really know who put the pen to the paper. But I don't think it's uncommon in the league for PR directors to share material, share information. Everyone found different ways of expressing themselves to their customers.
"I do agree that these letters certainly are similar.''
Similar? The only differences are two or three words and the place where the new paragraphs start. One letter says the objective of the labor fight was to make it possible that "the Blackhawks can compete,'' and the other replaces the word "Blackhawks'' with "Bruins.'' One other difference: The Bruins' letter is signed "Sincerely, Harry Sinden, President, Boston Bruins.''
They both even used the word "sincerely.''
"The sentiment expressed in the letter is what goes above the signature,'' Brown said. "I send everybody I know the same Christmas card at holiday time. I don't see the difference.''
Do you try to make your mom think you hand-made the card? Because in this case, two CEOs have signed the same letter and passed it off as their words, not Hallmark's.
Cold, hard cash
To some people, the Stanley Cup actually means something. The head on the Hawks jersey means something in our heart.
It's no coincidence that the first league to cancel an entire season is the same one that doesn't know the difference between a form letter and something from the heart. But this coldness toward the fans comes in all sports. The Bears take our tax money to build a stadium, stick us with PSLs and put a rotten team on the field. Last week, they raised ticket prices. The Cubs run a scalping operation.
They keep chasing off the fans who are there for their hearts. And that leaves only those who come for the party. That's why Wrigley Field has changed so much in the past few years. But when the party isn't fun anymore, the partygoers will just go somewhere else.
A team spokesman said the Bruins ran the form letter on their Web site because they thought it expressed their feelings perfectly. But where did they get the letter?
"It was a template the league sent us, a suggested letter,'' she said. "It got our message across.''
The league says it doesn't know who wrote the letter, but it must have either gotten it from the Hawks or written the thing itself. Who knows who really wrote it. But one thing is certain:
No one ever has claimed that the person who signed these letters actually wrote them. The argument is only over which PR department expressed our loving owners' heartfelt feelings best.
I was looking around and found Columbus hhad the same letter sent to its fans.
I'm still looking for some others...
------------------------------------------
Dear Blackhawk Fans,'' the letter on the Blackhawks' Web site starts. "The National Hockey League has announced that in the absence of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the remainder of the 2004-05 season is canceled.
"On behalf of the Chicago Blackhawks, I want to let you know how sorry we are that this has become necessary, and that we appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time.''
It was a five-paragraph letter displaying real consideration for the fans. The objective of the labor fight, it said, was so "the Blackhawks can compete for the Stanley Cup each season.''
It ended, "Sincerely, William W. Wirtz, President, Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team.''
This is exactly what sports teams should do more today, to show the fans that they understand. So I checked the sites of the other teams, and some offered apologies, some didn't. Some were gushy, some talked about next season's tickets. And then I got to the letter from the Boston Bruins:
"Dear Bruins Fans: The National Hockey League has announced that in the absence of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the remainder of the 2004-05 season is canceled.
"On behalf of the Boston Bruins, I want to let you know how sorry we are that this has become necessary and appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time.''
Did that sound familiar?
A form-letter apology? A Dear John letter from the NHL to its fans? It is the first major league in North America to throw out an entire season over this stuff, and its teams can't compose an honest letter from the heart?
"We wrote that letter,'' Hawks spokesman Jim DeMaria said. "You better get your facts straight.''
That wasn't easy. Either the Hawks did write it and the Bruins stole it or -- and this is what I believe -- the NHL wrote it, sent it around to the league's PR offices as a suggestion and the Bruins and Hawks didn't bother changing it. They were the only teams with the letter on their Web sites.
Plagiarism -- no big deal?
It's impossible to say which way it went. The Hawks say they sent the letter to the league for approval. But when I called the woman they said they sent it to, she said she needed to "look into it.'' Later, a league spokesman called back and asked what difference it makes. Meanwhile, the Bruins acknowledged that they ran a form letter sent to them by the league's PR people.
"It's a matter of consistency of message that's important,'' NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. "I don't really know who put the pen to the paper. But I don't think it's uncommon in the league for PR directors to share material, share information. Everyone found different ways of expressing themselves to their customers.
"I do agree that these letters certainly are similar.''
Similar? The only differences are two or three words and the place where the new paragraphs start. One letter says the objective of the labor fight was to make it possible that "the Blackhawks can compete,'' and the other replaces the word "Blackhawks'' with "Bruins.'' One other difference: The Bruins' letter is signed "Sincerely, Harry Sinden, President, Boston Bruins.''
They both even used the word "sincerely.''
"The sentiment expressed in the letter is what goes above the signature,'' Brown said. "I send everybody I know the same Christmas card at holiday time. I don't see the difference.''
Do you try to make your mom think you hand-made the card? Because in this case, two CEOs have signed the same letter and passed it off as their words, not Hallmark's.
Cold, hard cash
To some people, the Stanley Cup actually means something. The head on the Hawks jersey means something in our heart.
It's no coincidence that the first league to cancel an entire season is the same one that doesn't know the difference between a form letter and something from the heart. But this coldness toward the fans comes in all sports. The Bears take our tax money to build a stadium, stick us with PSLs and put a rotten team on the field. Last week, they raised ticket prices. The Cubs run a scalping operation.
They keep chasing off the fans who are there for their hearts. And that leaves only those who come for the party. That's why Wrigley Field has changed so much in the past few years. But when the party isn't fun anymore, the partygoers will just go somewhere else.
A team spokesman said the Bruins ran the form letter on their Web site because they thought it expressed their feelings perfectly. But where did they get the letter?
"It was a template the league sent us, a suggested letter,'' she said. "It got our message across.''
The league says it doesn't know who wrote the letter, but it must have either gotten it from the Hawks or written the thing itself. Who knows who really wrote it. But one thing is certain:
No one ever has claimed that the person who signed these letters actually wrote them. The argument is only over which PR department expressed our loving owners' heartfelt feelings best.