NOW is the time to watch the Thrashers!

By Earle McDonald
Sunday Paper Sports Writer

This is addressed to all the sports fans in Atlanta who have ever said "I'd like to get to a hockey game sometime", or "I've tried to watch the Thrashers on TV, but it seems boring".

NOW is the time to check it out. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any ill will for Atlanta sports fans that aren't behind the team yet. I understand all the arguments: so many foreign players, I don't understand it, it's boring on TV, there's no tradition with the Thrashers/we're in the south, or even - they're not winning. I truly understand and empathize with all those things.

When I was a kid growing up in Connecticut I would hear people talking up the Whalers (first the New England Whalers, later the Hartford Whalers, now the Carolina Hurricanes). But I was a football/baseball guy.

Then my Dad went in with three guys from work to split season tickets. We went to about 10 games one year. I was absolutely hooked. Many sports are better live than on television (although many argue that football is actually better on TV - a discussion for another time). Hockey is like a different sport live. You can see the plays develop, you can see the action that happens away from the puck, you feel the cold, you hear the banging of the boards better. It truly is the largest disconnect live vs. TV of all the sports.

Plus, this team has several players that have been here for years. Add to that the four, that's right, four, trade deadline acquisitions the team made, and we've got a great team. The Thrashers are in the playoffs for the first time ever.

Go to Philips and see a game, maybe two. Plus, after you've seen a few live, watching on TV will be a lot easier. Call one of your friends that's a Bruin, Ranger, or Blackhawks fan and go with them. They can talk you through the parts you don't understand.

Plus, as an added benefit, these guys are easy to root for. I've had the opportunity to get to know several of them over the last few years, and these guys are good guys. They're nice. I want to root for them. I don't always have as easy a time rooting for pro athletes in other sports.

Several of these guys are big time hockey veterans like Scott Mellanby, Keith Tkachuk, and Marian Hossa. Our team also has budding superstars like Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen. And from a 25-year fan of hockey, let me assure you there are few things in sports like the NHL postseason.

Go see a game or two live, watch the others on TV (if you can stay away from Philips after the first game). If you're a sports fan in Atlanta and you're not part of Blueland, you're missing out.