By Josh Clipperton
Nostalgia is the name of the game as the Ottawa Lynx prepare for their 15th, and quite possibly final, year in the nation’s capital.
As the team readies for the April 17 home opener – exactly 15 years to the day from their first game in Ottawa – rumours persist the Lynx will move south of the border to Allentown, Pa. in 2008. Many believe the deal is done.
But for Lynx general manager Kyle Bostwick, it’s business as usual.
“All the rumours don’t impact any of our preparations,” says Bostwick. “There has been no official announcement so we can’t tell with 100 per cent certainty if this is our last year in Ottawa or not.”
In fact, Bostwick says this season the Lynx will be inviting old fans back to relive the glory days of the Lynx.
There have been many memorable moments for supporters, including the Triple-A team capturing the International League title in 1995.
“We’ve been reaching out to people for their Lynx memories,” says Bostwick. “It’s been really nice to hear their stories about the Lynx.”
Dan Lalande has worked on Lynx community television broadcasts on and off since 1994.
He remembers many individual player performances.
“For me there’s one in particular,” says Lalande. “Cliff Floyd [now of the Chicago Cubs] hit one monstrous homerun to left field. It cleared the wall and hit a moving OC Transpo bus on Coventry Road!”
Team management hopes that nostalgia – including inviting popular former players back to Ottawa for games – will help bring people back to the ballpark. but it’s unclear if the tactic will succeed.
“There’s a little more buzz than usual,” says Lalande. “The diehards are gonna go [to the games] every year no matter what. The nostalgia thing will sell some tickets but I’m curious to see how many.”
The Lynx arrived on the Ottawa sports scene in 1993. The team set minor league baseball attendance records during their first few seasons. But since then, fan numbers have dropped significantly.
Management has tried everything to get people interested in the team, says Lynx blogger and fan Patrick Shanks.
“They’ve tried more than enough,” says Shanks. “Other teams do half the promotions [the Lynx do] and they get sellouts. There was a love affair for three or four seasons and now [fans] just aren’t coming.”
Lalande says that Ottawa has grown too big for minor league sports teams.
“One thing that doesn’t get mentioned is that over the last 10 years, is the average income in Ottawa has gone way up,” says Lalande. “Triple-A baseball is a blue-collar sport. Look at the successful teams, Scranton and Rochester…and Allentown where [the Lynx] are supposedly moving to, is as blue-collar as it gets.”
The Lynx seemingly imminent demise in Ottawa is the sign of a greater trend, according to Shanks.
“I think baseball in Canada is in trouble. In the last few years we lost the Montreal Expos in the major leagues and Edmonton and Vancouver in the minors,” says Shanks.
Lalande agrees.
“Losing the Lynx is going to be the second loss of the golden triangle of Canadian baseball. We had the Expos two hours away, the Blue Jays four hours away and the Lynx here,” says Lalande. “It’s a real shame.”
Lalande says the demise of professional football in Ottawa – twice – and the lack of support for the Lynx shows Ottawa sports fans have a one track mind.
“Hockey is a huge part of this country and this city and between the 67’s and the Senators there’s not much room for anything else,” says Lalande.
Regardless, Shanks says he will continue to support the Lynx.
Because there has been no official announcement about the team’s future, he still holds out hope.
“I’m still gonna go to the ballpark. I hope it continues but I can’t blame them for pulling up and moving somewhere based on the attendance,” says Shanks. “I don’t know why, but I’m still optimistic.”