It has reached boiling point, and tomorrow night Devils fans will stay outside of the rink at faceoff in protest at the running of the club.
We asked Paul Sullivan (@sullydevil) for some more information about the protest, and the ideas behind it.
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Firstly, thanks for the exposure of the event tomorrow night, it’s much appreciated.
Not too sure what precisely you might want for the blog but there isn’t really a set PR / manifesto at this point as many of the fans that I have spoken to or contacted me have varying level of awareness and dissatisfaction.
Also, I am keen to point out that I cannot and am not attempting, to speak for anyone but myself so I don’t want to try and project my situation onto others. That said I will use a royal / generic ‘we’ as it makes more grammatical sense when discussing a plural...
What I can tell you as a matter of truth / fact (‘FACT’ has become a flashpoint word here in Cardiff this season!) is that tomorrow night, based on the support and contact I have had, I can say with almost total surety that I will be standing outside with some relatively new fans, some extremely long-term ST holder fans, current sponsors, former sponsors, current and former match night volunteers, supporters club members, former employees and players of The Cardiff Devils.
This is not planned to destroy the Club we clearly feel passionately about. This is not planned to turn fans away. No fan going only to the game will be solicited, approached, opposed or confronted by us at any point. We have been actively encouraging people to attend the game, giving us only 10-15 minutes of their time from face-off at 7:30.
@IAmMcCausland
What this is, is a statement. A show of dissatisfaction and sorrow for the consistently shabby treatment of Devils players, sponsors and subsequently the fans. It is a statement that, contrary to some Club statements, we number more than 20. We are not here on personal vendettas or harbouring ulterior motives. We love this Club and want at all times the best for it.
For me - I do not protest over personnel changes, but the execution. About the lies issued regarding supporting players that are then reneged on. About the monies still outstanding to players from August of last year.
It has been simplicity itself for the CEO to attempt to isolate and point fingers at individuals involved in this show of dissatisfaction, and it is easier to believe, in the world of British Hockey, that some are out for themselves than a more altruistic desire to see the best for all our fellow fans. Already this week it has been implicated that the actions of myself and the outsiders have been and are responsible for players positions and wages being under pressure. For an idea that is, at time of writing, 7 days old, I struggle to see how anyone other than our management are responsible for any financial predicament.
We are more than 20. We want our Club to be run with honour, dignity and respect. We want a Cardiff Devils of which we can once again be rightly proud.
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"Why should we care?" I hear you Sheffield Steelers fans say. The answer is simple:
This could have been us.
3 years ago, Ragan was the new Great White Hope, the Secret Millionaire coming in to save our club. Except it didn't work out that way did it?
What is happening in Cardiff right now is what could have happened to us. We at Frozen Steel suggest you show your support to our peers in Cardiff. How?
Paul last week suggested the following idea, from Chelle Lewarne:
At 7:30pm tomorrow (Thursday), go outside and take a photo of yourself/yourselves. Have the hashtag #DevilsOutside somewhere on your person. Upload it to Twitter with the same hashtag.
We can't be outside the BBT with the Devils fans. But we can show our support. I suggest you do.
Liam
@FrozenSteelBlog
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