The "Duke" of Blueland

My friend Everett meeting former Thrashers' star Ilya Kovalchuk.

   Everett Duke has a pretty awesome life. Never before have I spoke with a guy that has been able to do so many cool things in the sports world. He has been the mascot for minor league baseball and hockey clubs, most recently as "Boomer" of the Columbus Cottonmouths. He just graduated from Auburn with a double major in Business Administration and Marketing and has been accepted to grad school so he can pursue an MBA in Sports Management. Everett has been to multiple NHL All-Star games, the World Series, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics (so jealous), The 2011 BCS National Championship and has been a proud member of the Atlanta Thrashers since 1999.

   Through a friend, I met Everett via the internet and he was nice enough to get my friends, family and I a great deal on tickets when the Penguins played the Thrashers in both teams' final regular season game. Walking into the CNN Center before the game in Atlanta on that day, I was so excited to see my Penguins play what I considered to be a warm-up game right before the playoffs started.  
   I ran into Everett as we were going inside a local restaurant to get something to eat. He was sporting a Dustin Byfuglien All-Star jersey (If I am remembering correctly) and we both seemed shocked to run into each other. Honestly, I was shocked that he even showed up. The Thrashers were playing for nothing but pride, already eliminated from playoff contention a few weeks before the game. The Penguins won easily, 5-2 and I was overjoyed. It was fun watching my favorite team get an easy win right before the playoffs. All I could think about then was my team and how great I felt; now all I can think about is how Everett feels.
   The Atlanta Thrashers are moving to Winnipeg and Everett's childhood love affair turned full blown hockey matrimony just got hit by a train. The team he followed and loved since 1999 is gone and now he is left with an empty feeling that I hope I will never have to go through. I was going to take bits and pieces out of my Q&A I did with him about the whole ordeal, but I realized that Everett simply writes it the best. Below you will see someone who has not just lost his hockey team, but a part of himself.


1. The Thrashers' relocation did seem inevitable, but what was your instant reaction to losing the team when the sale went final?

I think it became real to me on the 19th when the Winnipeg papers starting saying it was a done deal and it only got worse from there. The waiting to find out what was going to happen to my team was hell to deal with. With it now being official, obviously it hurts. I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that I've shed some tears. I watched the news conference from Winnipeg while listening to an interview with one of the former owners of the team on an Atlanta radio station. Obviously one was very happy and the other was very sad, which was fitting since I've felt a full range of emotions for this team. The weird thing to me is that I don't feel angry or pissed off. I feel that sense of loss that comes with death, because that is what this really is. Winnipeg is getting to party while Atlanta fans are having a funeral.

2. I'm aware that poor ownership failed the Thrashers, but does the city of Atlanta really deserve a hockey team? Why or Why not?

I can without a doubt say that Atlanta deserves a hockey team. To see how the sport has grown there since the Thrashers arrived is unbelievable. I think the last time USA hockey put out a report, membership had grown close to 500% and the Atlanta area had one of the largest youth hockey programs in the country. A lot has been said about Atlanta having the 8th largest tv market in the U.S. I understand that the viewing numbers have been low, but the potential has always been there. Obviously from a business stand point, the league is leaving money on the table by leaving this viewing audience. Every time relocation rumors start, you hear about cities that have buildings. Well, Atlanta has a building. Philips Arena is one of the top 10 money making arenas in the United States, and to not have hockey there is a tragedy. Atlanta is often called the capital of the south. It has hosted the Olympics and Super Bowls as well as numerous big college championships. To have a city be capable of hosting such huge events and not be home to an NHL franchise is awful.

3. Will you be sporting a new Winnipeg Jets sweater next season or will you try to relocate your fanhood to somewhere close like Nashville or Carolina?

I don't like it, but I know I'm going to end up with Winnipeg gear. I've invested so much of my life in to this team and these players that I can't not follow them. With them remaining in the southeast division next year, road trips will be incredibly possible to places like Tampa and Carolina as I'm sure they will have some weekend dates there. When the players that I watched in Atlanta and their minor league system work their way out of the organization, I may start leaning towards a new team, but I just don't see it happening now.

4. As an aspiring NHL executive, what would you have done differently to save the Thrashers?

This is a tough one because I don't know that anything could have been done from a hockey stand point. The problems weren't from the hockey staff, outside of maybe Don Waddell who had been there since the beginning. I think for me the main problem with the Thrashers is that they really diminished the value of their product. I've worked in minor league sports long enough to know that the #1 thing that kills franchises is discounted tickets. The Thrashers were so eager to bring people in that they did it at prices that made them look cheap. They could never win back people to pay full price because fans knew they just had to wait around for a discount. Atlanta didn't have to have the highest ticket prices to survive, but they had to have prices that were consistant. Being a season ticket holder and knowing that I was paying more than everyone else was disappointing.  

5. Here is the toughest question of them all: Would you have rather seen the team stay in Atlanta and continue to consistently miss the playoffs or move to Winnipeg and have major success? 

Honestly, I think Atlanta was a year or two away from becoming a consistant playoff team, so of course I'd want them to stay. Every bit of success that they have in Winnipeg is going to hurt me a little bit. The franchise finally has the people in place to build from youth and not need to over pay questionable players. Winnipeg is lucky to not be getting an expansion franchise. They won't know the lows that Thrashers fans dealt with for so many years. I can say that this team is incredibly frustrating to watch, so somebody in Winnipeg can now have the pain that I dealt with every game when the didn't show up to compete. The Thrashers were my team, and whether they won or not, they stayed my team. I wanted them to always be my team, and I'm just not so sure they can be in Winnipeg. I'd much rather drive and watch them lose 41 nights a year in Atlanta than watch them win 82 games on tv somewhere else.

   

   Say what you will about the fans in Atlanta, but I am proud to know a guy that will vouch for all of them. Everett Duke has a pretty awesome life and has been a proud member of the Atlanta Thrashers since 1999 and that will never change, no matter what.

   Check out his blog and just remember this: When your team has not made the playoffs in years and has a GM that consistently makes stupid trades that destroy the team's chemistry, at least you have a team. Everett would do anything for just that.

   If I could go back and let the Thrashers win that day I would. It was not just a warm up game for the Pens heading into the post-season. It was the game where the Thrashers were put to rest forever and for my friend Everett, I never wanted that. Stay strong buddy and continue to make Blueland proud.