The Dayton Bombers are no more

Posted: March 31st, 2009 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Hockey, Kegerator Nation, NHL | 2 Comments »

The ECHL’s Dayton Bombers were in existence for 18-seasons but will fold in April.

The Dayton Bombers will fold after their season ends in early April after another season in the red…

Dayton’s suckyness, poor economy and lack of interest by the local media all a part of the factors that brought an end to another era of hockey in the Gem City…

See Ya Bombers!!!

by Mike Zimmer, Hockey Fan

The Dayton Bombers will fold at the completion of this season. http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bombers/2009/03/30/ddn033009bombersweb.html?cxntlid=inform_sr

I have some fond memories of going to Bombers games.  At both Sticky Floors Arena (that’d be that shit hole they called Hara Arena) and at the cavernous abyss that is the awful and generic Nutter Center.  I had fun at both venues on several occasions taking in the local Dayton Bombers and what was at one time, pretty good minor league hockey in the ECHL.  http://www.samhsa.gov/economy/#warningSigns

Big B and I in particular have taken in quite a few games over the years.  Heck, we even go back to the days of the Columbus Chill before the Jackets and the NHL arrived there.  We used to get groups togetherto go out to either Hara or Nutter Center to take in the games fairly often.

We even knew the guy that ran the website once upon a time (and from the looks of their current web site they’ve now past that duty off to a 9th grader) and he had season tickets.  Hell, I even published my first sports blog on that web site a long, long time ago.  I was more than happy to talk a little minor league hockey and NHL from time to time.

The ECHL has taken a bit of a beating in the region that really got it started and on the map in the late 1980′s.  Teams from the rust belt and mid-Atlantic have come and gone of late including successful teams like the Toledo Storm.  Despite growing down southwith the advent of hockey in the sunshine belt and absorbing some pieces and part of other leagues, the ECHL survives but some teams are exiting in harsh economic times.  Toledo may return but it doesn’t surprise me that teams like the Bombers are on their way out.

The Bombers used to have a fairly rabid, die hard fan base and may still.  However, ther region and the town have taken a beating in the economic down turn and people aren’t spending their cash the same anymore and advertisers aren’t buying up billboards in the rink the same way either.

Times are hard and no where else exemplifies the bad economic down turn like the shit hole that is Dayton.  That’s right campers, I called Dayton a shit hole.  The simple fact of the matter is, the region is dying in importance and the city itself has become somewhat of a joke.  But it’s been that way for a a looooong time and it’s a hard pill to swallow considering I come from there and I liked the Bombers.

However, I moved from the region and therefore graduated up to the Columbus Blue Jackets.  This didn’t help the Bombers in the least mind you, having the NHL club just up the road and the area and support for the Bombers declining.  What is worse is, the relationship between the two clubs doesn’t seem like it’s all that great and the ECHL is like AA.  Meanwhile, the Jackets have their AHL affiliate, their main training ground for young players in Syracuse, NY.  That doesn’t make all that much sense to me on either end.  Even the Dayton Dragons have the built in advantage of being the Reds Single-A affiliate.

The owners of the Bombers have run in the red since they purchased the team back in 2004 and despite hopes to turn things around, they’re folding up shop before they lose too much more.  It’s a real shame too as the Bombers were a nice, cheap entertainment option and something to actually be proud of in Dayton.

Too bad that no one really seemed to be able to care either.  The Dayton Daily News barely covered them.  That paper is an absolute insult to bird cage liners everywhere.  Whilst home this past month to visit the family, I couldn’t believe how awful that rag has become.  Whether it’s the liberal slant on everything or the fact that the thing including the sports section has shrunk to an absolute minimum, it’s a joke.  The sports section brief like a small town paper too, covering mostly things you can find just about anywhere.  Even the high school sports that is a stalwart of the region was given short shrift.  It’s too bad.

But really, there were more factors.  I’m actually surprised the team lasted this long.  The arena issue is a big deal.  Nutter sucks but it was a hell of a lot better than Hara.  I’ve also been reading that there was hope to build a down town arena too, which was abhorrently stupid.  No one wants to go down town in Dayton because it sucks and it’s ever so scary.  Just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come, this isn’t field of dreams, it’s the shit hole that is Dayton.

It was STILL too expensive for good seats too and the fan base in terms of season ticket holders was just never what it could have and should have been.  And hockey in general has really taken a beating of late because of their shit TV contract and the fact that they seemed to have alienated a good portion of the fans they earned back in the 90′s when the sport really came into it’s own in non-traditional places.  It does matter that there is a link to the big time sport or no one cares.

The other problem: people like Brew.  A guy who doesn’t understand hockey, therefore he loathes it.  Yep, Brew killed your Dayton Bombers.  The uneducated did have a part to play in this, but the team, the league and the game itself cannot be blamed for not growing the sport in the right ways let alone plan on such a humongous hemorrhage in the financial system and subsequent economic doom we are all currently facing.

So Goodbye Dayton Bombers.  I have fond memories and hope that some day maybe there might be reincarnation of you in the future.  Hockey in Dayton goes back a long time and not have a team there just doesn’t seem right.

My memories of drinking not-so-cheap draft beer, yelling at opposing players and occasionally giving a damn are fond and near to me.  Heck, like I said, my first blog was about the Bombers.  So, I’ll miss it, I really will.

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