Ownership Loyalty

Predators owner-to-be William "Boots" Del Biaggio may have just given himself a rough start with Nashville fans, some of who are already worried that he just wants to take the team to Kansas City.

The San Jose Mercury News interviewed Del Biaggio for an article on the Sharks ownership changes this off-season. He gave them some interesting quotes (taken totally out of context i'm sure):

[The Sharks] lost money, in spite of the new NHL labor agreement. It makes you wonder if this was why Del Biaggio evacuated. Not at all, Del Biaggio said. Reached by phone this week, he sounded like a kid with a new toy....
"I've just been really looking to become a larger owner of a team in the last few years," Del Biaggio said. "It's a turnaround situation in Nashville. And I'm going to have a much larger say in the hockey operations there. I'm excited."

When asked if he was unhappy in San Jose:

"I have no issues here in San Jose. I loved being an owner of the Sharks. It's a first-class operation, and Greg Jamison is a first-class executive. I just have a desire to be a majority owner of an NHL team one day. But I'm still living here. I'm not moving. We have season tickets behind the Sharks bench. Our son plays for the Junior Sharks squirt team. When Nashville comes in to play the Sharks this season, I'm sure he'll be wearing his Sharks jersey."

So, this brings up an interesting question: How effective can you be as an owner if you're still a season ticket-holding fan of a rival of your own franchise?

I don't mean to blow this out of proportion. It was an interview given to the San Jose paper. But still...telling Nashville fans that you aren't moving from San Jose, will continue to attend Sharks games from behind the bench, and your kid will be wearing Sharks jerseys?

Not exactly a great start to the new relationship of a group of fans that are admittedly a little fragile and shaken from this off-season to begin with.