Is Salt Lake City a hockey town? Utah is about to let the world know about it.

Over the past week I have been asked to do numerous interviews on local and national radio stations/networks and websites from Toronto, Ontario, to Orlando, Florida, from Vancouver, BC, to New York, NY. And what do you think is the most? Frequently asked questions are in the questions I asked?

Usually they asked about you.

Will an NHL team thrive in Salt Lake City? What kind of hockey market is the Salt Lake area? What are you, the fans, like there? Can Salt Lake, can yousupport multiple top professional teams?

The only question I had difficulty answering was: What team name do you prefer for the new hockey team? I came across that, even though I had written a column in which I proposed fifty names of candidates. I like a lot of them, but maybe my favorites are the Utah Raptors, a real dinosaur, right? and the Salt Lake Black Diamonds and the Salt Lake Scorpions. Someone then suggested the Screaming Eagles, as a nod to Utah Beach and the 101st Airbornes' part in the Normandy invasion. Golden Eagles, the favorite name of some of you, looked too much like the Golden Knights in Vegas. I thought The Skateful Dead was a no-go.

There is another one that is easily accessible.

My answer to the question about what the fans are like here was and is enthusiastic. The care factor is high here, and so is your loyalty factor, as evidenced by the support the Jazz have received for the better part of five decades, despite never having won an NBA title, though most seasons been. have won. Even this past year, when the Jazz were sending mixed signals to all of you, one moment sounding like they wanted to win and the next giving the impression that tanking was preferable, the Delta Center was packed. Look where that support hangs if the Jazz keep losing.

And that is the corresponding answer to the other questions. When the team formerly known as the Coyotes gets here, will you support it? Is this a hockey town?

Good. That will be the case if the team establishes itself as a team that is well managed, from top to bottom, well coached, and if the players put in their best effort to win and make a decent effort to connect with the community . Winning would push the entire endeavor to its limits, bonding with fans in Utah for seasons to come.

Will Ryan Smith own and operate Salt Lake (fill in the blanks) in a way that resonates with you, the people, some of whom you may not even know yet/they are hockey fans? Beats me. His company Qualtrics has made his name and mark on coming up with ways to improve customer service by improving the customer experience, so you might guess he'd do a good job with that. But the Jazz haven't exactly flourished, or competitively, since he took over, so that question remains unanswered. Will he find the right managers, the right coaches, the right players among the staff already with the Coyotes and will he oversee the assembling of bigger talent in the future? Um, you have to.

I once conducted a survey of so-called experts in various professional sports as to which of the established clubs had the greatest influence on success owners, general managers or coaches, and while each was said to play an important role in that endeavor, owners were the most common. answer. An owner who sets a positive tone, who helps create a winning culture, who is willing to hire the best people to fill the other roles, and pay for enough athlete talent, and who isn't an asshole to his fans or her team. That will be Smith's job to complete, to satisfy you.

There are enough people, enough corporate sponsorship along the Wasatch Front and in other areas around Utah, and a lot more moving here that multiple professional teams can attract fans. That goes for the Jazz, for RSL, for the Royals, for the new NHL team and ultimately for a Major League Baseball team. The basis for that success is there.

As I have said in several interviews, Salt Lake City and the communities surrounding it are no longer a cluster of dusty, rustic villages, outposts somewhere in the West, nor can they be defined as a walled fortress of determined people. religious fanatics who want to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.

That's not you, most of you.

Yes, politics can be more than a little wacky and downright stupid at times, but the most important part of the communities here, you, the people, have become increasingly diverse, people who want what most people want: a safe, clean, peaceful, thriving environment where the teams scare the hell out of teams from other cities, proving that whether we have any other than emotional connection to the local teams, we are superior to those from other cities and states.

Everthing okay.

Additionally, hockey is a fantastic sport, the version played at the NHL level, filled with great athletes with remarkable skills and tenacious physicality. I grew up as a Philadelphia Flyers fan just as that team known as the Broad Street Bullies was emerging as a real force in the NHL. They went on to win Stanley Cups, and while they did that, a lot of young people in the Philly area got hooked on hockey, not just from watching Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent, et al., do their thing, but a lot young people started playing hockey. the ice, on the gym floor, on the street. As one of the youngest populations in the country, it's a good bet that something similar could happen to some of you here in Utah. If you are an investor looking for a new opportunity, it may be wise to devote a few resources to investing in and building ice rinks, as there will be a greater demand for those surfaces in the coming years.

There are already hardcore hockey fans here and there will be more of you. Not everyone agrees with that assessment, but that's my suspicion. Especially when Ryan Smith does what great owners do, create a team in a team environment that deserves your attention, loyalty and respect. And your entertainment dollars.

Are you not having a good time? Are you not having a good time? Isn't this why you're here? That's what Maximus Decimus Meridius so famously said in a certain movie. That reminds me of another possible name that I really like: Gladiators. Your Salt Lake or your Utah Gladiators.

What do you think?