In an earlier post, I mentioned the disconnection between bloggers and the sports they write about. Since most bloggers aren't in (or allowed in) the press box or interview players, they rely on reporters to get their information.
Well, that disconnection works both ways. As the latest round of the never-ending NHL playoffs got under way, Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom chided Detroit sports fans for not selling out the Joe Louis Arena for its playoff games. Gee, isn't this Hockeytown? He says.
Well, as other bloggers note, Hockeytown is having a tough time.
This probably doesn't concern Albom, since in addition to the Free Press gig, he also makes his money talking on sports radio stations, ESPN, and as an author. And he gets a press pass. He's not likely to spend $500 or so for tickets, driving, parking and drunks and/or snacks for s sporting event, and if he does, that's not as big an economic deal to him as it would be to people who have no job, or have their hours of work cut, or who are scared of losing their job and the financial hardship that comes with it. In that cased, it's pretty easy to see what choice even the most die-hard sports fan is going to make. If you're fearing for your job, you save your money and watch the game on cable. The Wall Street Journal illustrates this.
And, as several Detroit area bloggers point out, the Wings have higher ticket prices than most clubs and a marketing staff that apparently treats their customers with contempt.
If Albom were still a good journalist, he'd be asking those questions. But he's apparently as out of touch with Detroit fans -- and the problems that they face outside the JLA -- as much as the players. Instead, the bloggers are doing his work for him.
EDIT: this columnist from a competing Detroit newspaper says it a lot better.
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