Jeremy Roenick's New Genius Marketing Strategy to get Fans to Return to Hockey

Here's a truism you can take to the bank: Jeremy Roenick is a punk... a spoiled little baby... and a total jackass.

Playing at a celebrity Pro-Am golf event in Pennsylvania, hosted by Super Mario Lemieux, Roenick made some strange and jerky comments over the weekend. Here's just a sampling:

Regarding the new CBA that the NHLPA is about to sign, he said "The deal in February beats the (tar) out of the deal we're going to sign in July, Unfortunately we had to go through a whole year to realize all the (stuff) that was going on and not realize we just had to get a game on the ice. And we've hurt our league, we've hurt the reputation of our league and we've hurt the integrity of our league by sticking up for something that might not have been the right thing to do. If we would have signed that deal in February, in terms of what we're getting now, we would have looked like heroes. Right now we look like a bunch of idiots."

Of fans who criticized the players' union during the lockout, Roenick said the following completely shocking and indefensible comments: "Don't come. We don't want you in the rink. We don't want you in the stadium. We don't want you to watch hockey. Period. If people are going to sit and chastise professional athletes for making a lot of money... being spoiled and being cocky, they need to look at one thing and that's to look at the deal that we are probably going to end up signing in the next three weeks. They better understand that pro athletes are not cocky. Pro athletes care about the game... everybody out there who calls us spoiled because we play a game they can all kiss my (rear)."

Excuse me?!?! Did one of the game's most vocal and recognizable players just tell the fans to stay away?! During this lockout, I have found that there are three types of fans: fans who blame the players, fans who blame the owners, and fans who blame both, and they're all fairly comparable groups in their size. That means that roughly two-thirds of the fans place blame on the players. And he's telling those fans to stay home?! Jeremy Roenick doesn't want you to come to hockey unless you completely agreed with the players' union during the lockout, apparently.

What makes this worse is that just moments earlier he ripped the players' union for their negotiating stance!! Read the first quote I listed, where he rips the deal they're going to sign, and then rips the NHLPA, saying "we've hurt our league, we've hurt the reputation of our league, and we've hurt the integrity of our league." Then, in the final quote, he seems to say--and I'm paraphrasing--"Even though it was us that hurt the league so badly, to all those fans out there that dare have the opinion that I just shared...that it was us players that did the harm....f*** those fans!!"

I mean, this is the ultimate in pro athletes talking like babies throwing temper tantrums. "Waaaaah, we screwed up and now our salaries will be slightly lower (and yet still higher than the average hockey-fan's salary by about a million a year)!!! F*** the fans for this!!! It's all our fault....and the fans'!!!" Man, I've never wanted to punch a professional athlete more than this guy. Geez. What a retard. His comments offend me on so many levels.

Even if you take away how blatantly he contradicts himself...he's still basically saying that fans who dare to have an opinion on the lock-out that differs with his opinion shouldn't come to the game. They should, in fact, "kiss his ass." Nice. Way to be an ambassador for the game. I'm sure that right now Roenick's tied up in a hotel room, Goodenow and Trevor Linden standing before him, chastising him for being such an outspoken moron. His comments make me want to walk away from hockey much more than the entire lockout has!

Has Roenick, who seems to suggest that players' salaries aren't all that high, forgotten who pays those salaries?! He might think that it's the owners that do, but it's not. They're just a filter. The money comes from me, from Chris, from Jason at Predator's Den, from my buddy Kevin, and from all the hockey fans in the world who buy tickets and Roenick jersey's. I'm thinking of buying a Roenick jersey and defacing it somehow...and then wearing it to every game this season. Maybe you guys can help me think of a clever way to deface it. Maybe I replace his last name on the back with the phrase, "Kiss my ass" or "F*** the fans!". Maybe I just put dollar signs all over the thing. I don�t' know.

But I used to think JR was funny, clever, honest, and a darn good hockey player. Now all I see is a diaper-wearing hate-monger...who'd rather have the fans who thought the union was being greedy stay home entirely. (Please note that there would be no faster death for the NHL than to actually have this happen, where fans who blamed the players for the lockout actually stayed home). He's clearly upset about the deal they're about to sign. But that's no reason to bash the fans, buddy.

There's no logic whatsoever to his comments. He's just lashing out. And to lash out at the fans who grease the wheels of his precious little game is just a jackass move. I'm waiting to see if there's any league or union response to Roenick's comments...because it might have some bearing on how I view the sport. This type of comment is like Bush saying to America, just before last year's election, "American public...screw you! Don't vote if you don't like me, you ninnies!"

I mean, it's just dumb. It's offensive. It's rude. In short, it's everything the players can't afford to be right now. They need to build goodwill with the fans--who, by the way, have a right to their opinions, as though I even have to say that. I hope some vocal players step up and directly challenge Roenick's opinion, and try to reassure the fans that the players' union appreciates all their money. This sport could still realistically die off if enough fans don't return. And telling the fans to screw themselves is not a good start to building a bridge to the public.

So, Mr. Roenick, here's my official response: "Don't worry. When you're on the ice, I won't be there...except maybe to see Tootoo bash your greedy, money-making, whiney-ass head into the boards. Wait...no...I will be there. I'll be there to watch you play. To show you that you don't own the PSL for the seats in my arena. To show you that the sport belongs to me much more than it does to you. Look for me...I'll be the one holding up a sign of you flipping the bird to the fans. I hope you get hit in the eye with a catfish, you self-absorbed, spoiled-rotten, rich-as-hell little baby!"