I've been asked many times over the years why I dislike Charles Wang so much. It's not about like, it's about business. Sure, with Wang's 'colorful' business history there is plenty for me not to like however for the sake of time, it's just as easy to focus on general issues. And with all that written, I am full of shit. But hey, I tried to be diplomatic.
The Islanders franchise sucks. There is little to no respect for us as a club. And with clubs out there like Columbus and Ottawa to pick on, this is tragic. I mean we are the Islanders dammit! Umm hellooooo 4 Cups in a row Islanders? The day of the Islanders riding that history train has ended and now what do we all have to stand upon? Zippo.
The only solution to attempt to repair this franchise is for Charles Wang to sell the team. He's been holding the Isles hostage long enough for his development deal however after Monday's vote, it appears this will not happen any time soon. And even if the vote was YES, a new arena would still not have happened under Wang's ownership. A new arena being built was so much greater than a public vote. The vote was a dog and pony show which backfired. So then what else does Charles Wang to have as a foundation to his field of dreams? Zippo. Well zippo in the sense of support from something/someone that counts in getting a new arena built.
The Town of Hempstead (ToH) needs to be provided with an owner they want to work with. Charles Wang will not be that person. Could ToH come out and say that? Nope. But that's the root of the power struggle and it's not going to change. Considering Wang's colorful business history, I would hope ToH would fight tooth and nail to protect their town and the people in it. To reward Wang with more power and more business on Long Island would just be plain stupid. He's had many years to make something of the Isles franchise and he hasn't come up with much except for abusing the word rebuilding, which many Isles fans were all too happy to beat to death as well.
Let's see...what else...
Blaming the old folks for the NO vote winning: Simply put, to ask Nassau Country to allow this arena to be built in this economic climate was an obnoxious of an expectation by Islander fans. It amazes me how many excuses I've seen Islander fans make for why they are not getting their way, how many others they will blame rather than looking to the head of the Isles household as the reason why. Sad but true. Listen up kiddies, part of being a good business person is being able to close a deal. Wang failed at that on many occasions, if he were a CEO he'd be fired by now but since he is the Isles owner, he gets free pass after free pass by Islander fans...thank goodness NOT ALL ISLANDER FANS! And if you think you need a new arena to be a winning team, explain Detroit. What's that? You can't? Of course you can't.
Lions and Tigers and the Islanders are going to move OH MY!: If there would be one reason to start bitch slapping certain Isles fans, this would be it. Sort of like the movie airplane, in trying to calm down the hysterical woman kind of process...why? Because nothing seems to work to deprogram the cult-like fear Charles Wang put into fans about moving the team, a lame scare tactic that wasn't lame enough not to have had some effect. Yet if you ask these fear based fans what the process is in the NHL for moving a franchise...they have no idea. And with that they appear to think Charles Wang has the sole power to move the Isles. He does not. The NHL does. More specifically, the NHL Board of Governors. DO YOUR EFFIN' HOMEWORK PEOPLE!
I am a traitor, turncoat, moron and so on for not supporting a YES vote AND I am not an Islander fan: There aren't enough curse words out there to precede 'you' so I'll just skip to the next sentence. My guess is these insults have mostly come from Islander fans who have not been on the planet longer than I have been an Islander fan. I am 43 years old, started going to Islander games when I was 5 or 6, you do the math. If it were not for my love of the Islanders and Long Island I would not have spent the last 3 years researching every step of this process I could find. What that research has been and who I have spoken to will remain a closed file. At the end of the day, I feel an almost maternal instinct to protect my team from Charles Wang. And since I grew up on and love Long Island, same goes there. I will not apologize for it, I will not back down from it, and I will not rest until Charles Wang is no longer owner of the Islanders.
Could I be wrong about Wang opening up to offers to purchase the Islanders? Sure. But here's the thing, I am determined not to be wrong. If there is an impending exit door coming for Mr. Wang, I'd fork out some moola to be the one to slam it behind him.
As my Nanny used to say...better days are coming.
LET'S GO ISLANDERS!!!
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