Impressions of CannonFest

Impressions - well, I normally don't do any impressions...

I went to CannonFest at the recommendation of #cbj twitter celebrity @johntkemp.  John and I have been close friends for over a decade.  John is the one who encouraged me to start blogging about hockey and the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The thought of blogging and getting on twitter really didn’t appeal to me at first. I am not at all wired to understand fandom.  It took literally 8 or 9 beers one July afternoon in 2011 for me to get a twitter account.  After a few months of tweeting, despite my “negative” persona in the #cbj twitter-verse, John encouraged me to start blogging as well.  It was my ‘perspective’ he kept saying.  “It’s your perspective that is great.”  He also mentions a little less perceived negativity might be good.

Happy Happy Joy Joy, Happy Happy Joy Joy!

I am fully aware that my expectations for the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets are high, and fairly unpopular.  The Blue Jackets have been in the NHL for 12 years and should be positioned to compete for a Stanley Cup.  Celebrating little positives from a loss in Major Pro sports is like giving your child money for getting all D's on their report card.  Yes, there are those games we two teams battle and it’s a heartbreaker that one team had to lose.  Those games are great for fans.  The Blue Jackets haven’t found themselves to be regularly competitive for some time.  When the Blue Jackets are finding themselves in that situation where they are regularly competitive, I’ll happily start drinking the CBJ Milk.  Until then, my expectations will remain high.

"You think this is mini-mites you Jack Wagon?  The fans better boo your ass for wasting their money!"

I have been on record and will go on record that Columbus is not a hockey town.  It’s ok to wish it was, and someday, maybe someday, it will become one.  But it is not.  However, that does not mean there isn’t a great core of loyal and passionate Blue Jackets fans in Columbus.  There is great levity from a core group of fans.  I think fans do open themselves up to a little ridicule when it’s suggested Columbus is a hockey town.  But honestly, there would be no Columbus Blue Jackets today if it wasn’t for passionate fans.  There would be no fun tweet ups or CannonFests without a solid foundation of fun, loyal CBJ fans.

Passion and emotion in this face.

I learned some other things about Blue Jackets fans and the twitter-verse at CannonFest as well.  I learned what a DD hat trick was.  I learned that network TV camera turn away from you when you’re talking about bathroom humor and 4 letter words. I learned that the twitter #cbj hash tag has interesing dichotomy. I learned that while I hate video editing there is a guy who really loves it and is extremely gifted at it.  I learned why the Arch City Army stands up all game.  I learned that I was not at all prepared to answer reader questions, because honestly, I didn’t think anyone other than “@mjr_pnlt” read the blog (and we’re flattered he does!).  I learned that a NATO peace keeping force will be deployed in Columbus if Derek Dorsett is ever traded.

One day, you could be this cool - totally.

I blog about some funny stuff, I blog about equipment, I blog about poetry, I blog about the glaring short comings of the Columbus Blue Jackets – I don’t blog about why Steve Mason is going to turn it around this year nor do I blog about how much better this team is without Nash.  I love hockey and wish this franchise would turn the corner, but like the old Russian proverb goes, “The fish rots from the head first.”  The new arena deal will help with some of the red ink, but other changes must be made.

At a personal level, it was good to see a core group of CBJ fans to be around other fans  to share hope and a passion at CannonFest.  This franchise cannot survive without them.  Hockey is the best sport in the world.  I realized I’m not wired for fandom, and I’m trying to learn the nuances of social media and how to best share my perspective – this is why John Kemp is paid $185,000 a year to be my director of content. I have really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and interacting with folks on twitter.  I’m sometimes unsure that despite the stats on the blog, that anyone really reads our posts.  But hope for the season and the DKM blog came to me at CannonFest in the most unexpected of compliments.  A well respected member of the CBJ blogosphere shared that they read the DKM blog because we were ‘willing to have open and honest conversation about a 30^th place team.’  When the measuring stick for all CBJ blogs has something measured to say about Distinct Kicking Motion, it lets you know that while we may not have the brightest shining goal lamp in the CBJ world, that a few folks actually do notice it when it’s on.  Thanks CannonFest.