For most of his 22-year NHL career, all with the Detroit Red Wings, Steve Yzerman and his teammates enjoyed warm and welcoming receptions in NHL arenas around the continent.
Buildings that were typically empty by comparison to sold-out Joe Louis Arena -- in cities like Phoenix, Miami, Los Angeles and even Winnipeg -- are often brimming with boisterous fans in red and white to cheer on the visitors. It started in the late 1980s, when the Wings caught lightning in a bottle under coach Jacques Demers, who took Detroit to the Stanley Cup semifinals in his first two years, ending two decades of futility.
Local travel agencies enjoyed a sudden boom in business as Wings fans began following their team on the road, where tickets were easier to come by as the season-ticket base soared past 16,000 with a waiting list of a few thousand more. Some agencies were booking trains full of fans to games in Toronto and Chicago. And when the Wings scored a goal on enemy ice, they earned cheers as if they were at home on the banks of the Detroit River.
The Detroit Red Wings travel well, typically attracting hundreds and often thousands of followers wherever they go. Yzerman, of all people, understands what that kind of support can mean to a visiting team -- and he's seen it with all the fans in Red Wings' colors who show up at Amalie Arena when Detroit shows up to play his Lightning.
Which is all you need to know to understand why, as silly as it seems, the Tampa Bay general manager is discriminating against Michigan-based fans -- and any other fans outside the state of Florida.
As ridiculous as it sounds, Wings fans, the Tampa Bay Lightning don't want your money -- if you were considering trying to buy tickets when their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series begins Thursday at Tampa's Amalie Arena.
Nothing against the Wings, particularly, the Lightning say. They have the same issue when Atlantic Division rival Montreal visits, and Western Conference foe Chicago, too.
So if you're hoping to buy tickets by credit card, you'll need a credit card attached to a Florida address -- or a friend with a Florida address to buy them for you. Otherwise, the sale will be refunded -- without regret.
But Yzerman's Lightning are taking this silly business to extremes. Fans attending the games wearing Red Wings gear will not be allowed in the Chase Club -- Tampa Bay's equivalent of the Olympia Club at Joe Louis Arena.
"Chase Club and Lexus Lounge ticket holders -- please note that for all 2015 NHL playoff games at Amalie Arena, only Tampa Bay Lightning team logos will be permitted in these areas. Fans wearing visiting team logos will be asked to remove them while in the Chase Club and Lexus Lounge areas."
The playoffs are under way. Let the foolishness begin.
