Off the Ice: A Phoenix sports fan’s worst nightmare

Nov 16, 2011, 11:10 PM | Updated: Nov 17, 2011, 12:37 am

Arizona Sports

It’s finally happened.

The Diamondbacks are done for the season. The Suns look like they won’t have a season. The Cardinals, well, they suck. And the Coyotes? They’re doing quite well.

It’s finally happened, Phoenix fans. If you want to watch a winning team with a decent shot at the postseason, you’re left with the Phoenix Coyotes. Your worst nightmare has been realized.

Bars will begin to show hockey more, because they’re desperate for something to put on their numerous televisions (trust me, I know). Hockey will slowly infiltrate ESPN’s Top 10 list, because college basketball can only fill so much. Names like Shane Doan, Mike Smith and Dave Tippett will be heard around the water cooler rather than Steve Nash, Larry Fitzgerald and Justin Upton.

Don’t pinch yourself; this nightmare is going to last no matter what you do. The Coyotes are here, they’re playing and they’re good. They’ll be talked about. They’ll have coverage coming, simply because, when the Cardinals season is over, the Coyotes will be in the thick of their season and the playoff hunt.

Ironically, the average Phoenix fan’s nightmare is the Coyotes’ biggest dream.

A team in desperate need of attention and a much larger fan base no longer has to contend with the NBA and will soon be the only professional sports team playing in the Valley. The Coyotes are banking on lost fans to get curious, go out and see a game. If only 25 percent of wayward Suns fans show up, that still means more than 4,000 additional fans for every home game.

With plenty of television slots available, I’m hoping to see more Coyotes games being picked up. I know there’s all sorts of financial deals and agreements, but after all, it’s better than watching reruns of games that happened 20 years ago.

Welcome to your worst nightmare, average Phoenix sports fan. Like Freddy Krueger, the Coyotes will continue to haunt your dreams and will subject you to the terrors of icing, the short-handed goal and the overtime loss that still earns a point.

You can choose to fight Freddy, but anyone who has seen one of his movies knows that’s impossible. Besides, there’s always the random sequel that will keep him alive. You’re stuck, so you might as well play nicely and follow the Coyotes.

MUHAHAHA! Sorry, couldn’t resist.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Off the Ice” is a new portion of
ArizonaSports.com where Carter Nacke will be covering and
discussing the Phoenix Coyotes throughout the season.
Contact him at cnacke@arizonasport
s.com, tweet him at @carternacke or follow the blog’s twitter
feed at @OfftheIce620. Thanks for reading.

Follow @carternacke

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