This part opinion, part just thinking and part autobiography, so bear with me. I promise it will all make sense in the end.
Some of you may have noticed that I don't get too attached to any players while supporting our Blue Jackets. Well, you can blame the cheapskate owner of the Kansas City - Oakland A's in the late 60's and 70's, Charles O. Finley.
Though I was born here in Columbus, my family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area before my second birthday. Literally, 1960. When I began to get interested in sports, the Bay Area was just beginning to see expanding growth and if you didn't live there, the divide may be hard to understand.
In football, the 49ers were the established team. But the American Football League brought the Oakland Raiders in. The divide was instant. The bosses were 49ers fans and the blue collar types were Raiders fans. On the college level, Cal (UC Berkeley) was the blue collar team and Stanford was for the bosses.
The same divide happened when Finley brought the Kansas City A's to Oakland. The San Francisco Giants were the team of the white wine and brie set. The A's were the team for those who got dirty working.
Even the "other" sports, as they were thought of back then, of basketball and hockey caused a divide. The San Francisco Warriors were the darlings of the office workers. While the San Francisco Seals, both the PHL and NHL versions, were the favorites of the construction worker set.
Which team(s) you supported dictated who your friends could be, since it wasn't unusual for both blue collar and white collar workers to live in the same neighborhood. If you met a kid at school and thought he was nice, learning that his family were Giants fans and your family were A's fans could start a shouting match. Especially when the A's started winning their division, the American League and three consecutive championships. (Only the New York Yankees have won more consecutive World Series.)
Does the name Andy Messersmith mean anything to you? Briefly, all professional athletic contracts had a reserve clause. Essentially, that meant that when a player signed a contract, that team "owned" him until he was traded or retired. He had no choice which team he played for. Messersmith sued and won, creating free agency. And it destroyed the Oakland A's dynasty.
Charles O. Finley was such a cheap bastard that even when the A's played in a World Series, good seats were still available on game day! I kid you not. My father got seats for a family of five in the third row behind first base for a game in the 1974 World Series at the Oakland Colliseum ticket window an hour before the game. Not because the A's didn't have the fans to pack the stadium, but because Finley was hated by everyone. Including the players on the team. Within two years of the Messersmith ruling, every important A's player had left via free agency.
Enough history.
Yes, the Jackets will have problems attracting superstar UFAs. While signing Johnny Hockey and, to a lesser extent, Sean Monahan opened some eyes and will help Columbus' reputation as a good city to live in, winning is more important. Just ask Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko. But I say f*ck 'em if they want to bail. Charles O. Finley taught me an important lesson when I was a teenager. Support the team, not the player.
So, get the hell out, Werenski and Marchenko. We'll find people to take your place while you chase a Cup. Just remember, it took the St Louis Blues 50 years to win a Stanley Cup. Toronto is closing in on 60 years since they have won a Cup and there are several teams who joined the league after 1967 who have never won a Cup. And while you're chasing a Cup you might never get, I'll still be supporting the team you spurned.
GO JACKETS
