The puck has not even dropped to start game 7 and the Bruins have already missed an opportunity. The team will not be offering their fans a viewing party at the TD Banknorth Garden tonight citing “fan safety” as the main concern.
I don't see why fan safety is a concern here in Boston when Vancouver had a viewing party for game 6 and the Mavericks had a viewing party for when they won the NBA Finals a few days ago. How would fan safety be any different if the Bruins were playing game 7 at home and won the title?
The Bruins should be doing everything they can to capitalize on the exposure and fan support they are receiving. Over the last decade the Bruins have been buried in the sports pages as their counterparts, the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics have won titles and made big free agent splashes. Besides for this years great run, B's fans have had little to cheer about. Previous playoff runs ended early in disaster and the most exciting thing that has happened was getting the number 2 pick (Tyler Seguin, who by the way should be getting minutes on the powerplay).
Now the Bruins are the only news in Boston sports. The Celtics were thrown out of the playoffs by the Heat, the Patriots are locked out, and the Red Sox are in the midst of a very successful but long and boring season. The Bruins need the viewing party to help draw people to this team and franchise. Memories are not only made on the ice but they are made in the environment the fans are in. The feeling of celebrating with thousands of fellow black and gold fans with help strengthen the brand. If they don't win game 7, the same feeling of community helps build fans association with teams. A big part of being a Red Sox fan before the '04 and '07 championships was the fact you were going through the pain of losing with an entire community.
Hopefully the Bruins can capitalize on building their brand another way tonight and that is by winning.
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