Can someone please talk to the Blades management? This is getting stupid.

We had another holiday edition of a Blades home game. As has been the truth for every one that preceded it, the game bombed. On the scoreboard it worked out fine, as the Blades came away with the win. I would suggest however, that playing on Thanksgiving had little to no effect on that.

Meanwhile, the game was played in front of an empty arena. No one attends a holiday hockey game. I presume that the logic behind it is, everyone has the day off so they'll probably come out to the Blades game for something to do! Ummm, no. That doesn't happen. People stay home on a holiday, and eat big meals with their family, or spend time enjoying an extra day off. They don't go to the rink for a hockey game.

This error is compounded by the fact that Saskatchewan's team, the Roughriders, were playing a pivotal football on this particular afternoon. Obviously the Blades couldn't know the Riders would be on the verge of a home playoff game on October 8, but it doesn't negate the fact that they knew, or should have known, there would be CFL football competing for people's attention on a holiday Thanksgiving Monday. Scheduling a rather meaningless WHL regular season game is likely to lose the battle for interest.

But they persist and we'll do more holiday hockey games. Each one will suck, from a fan participation perspective. Large sums of money will be wasted on staffing to service a crowd that just never shows up. I wish the people in charge would learn from their folly and speak up when they're listed for an afternoon tilt on a holiday weekend. It would do everyone a service if these games were moved to Tuesday evening.