Now that the millionaires and the billionaires have resolved how they will split up their pie, the NHL once again expects sports fans to forget the past seven hockey-less months and come crawling back.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in August he was confident the NHL would recover from the lockout because, "we have the world’s greatest fans.”
Apparently, having the world's greatest fans means having the ability to walk all over them.
Sports fans in South Delta and across the Lower Mainland have long supported NHL hockey with an intensity normally reserved for religious fundamentalism.
But with talks of fan boycotts, certainly some sports fans are tired of being disrespected by a league that takes their support for granted.
Of course, the NHL isn't only game in town. Many other professional sports organizations, such as the Vancouver Giants, Vancouver Whitecaps, and B.C. Lions, offer as good or better bang for your sports entertainment buck.
And every time the NHL can't get their act together, an increasing number of local sports fans discover there is more out there than just the Vancouver Canucks.
Wether or not the NHL can recover this time remains to be seen.
While Canadian hockey fans have a masochistic relationship with the NHL, and seem more than willing to endure any and all abuse from the league, American fans aren’t quite so forgiving.
But as NHL hockey returns to the arenas and television screens, spare a thought for those who have been hurt most by the lock out.
Local restaurants, pubs, sports bars, memorabilia shops, and cab drivers.
The people who own and work at these local businesses are your neighbours, family, and friends.
Because the NHL and NHLPA couldn't play nice, ordinary folks suffered the economic fallout.
So if you do choose to return to following NHL hockey, why not go and watch the games at your local pub or sports bar, and take a cab home.
These businesses live off the crumbs of NHL's pie, and if anyone is deserving of your entertainment dollar, surely it's them.