Why does nashville have a hockey team

As the Nashville Predators make their first-ever run through the Stanley Cup Finals, their bandwagon grows more crowded by the day.

But there are a few fans who can trace their enthusiasm back further — to the first professional team to play in Nashville: The Dixie Flyers, who took the ice nearly four decades before the Preds. Graham arrived in Nashville at age 20, after playing in Ontario and Philadelphia. His initial impression: This was a far rougher place.

We had no mouthpieces. Just sharp sticks. The rink in Nashville and many other venues was shorter than regulation. There were only 13 players on a roster. I really enjoyed it. The Dixie Flyers were primarily people like Graham — Canadians who hoped to earn a living playing hockey at a time when there were just six teams in the NHL. In Nashville, hockey was a northern novelty. Fans sat close.

Functionality and information are in compliance with guidelines established by the American Association for State and Local History for online state and regional encyclopedias. Written by Carroll Van West. Close Sliding Bar Area. I gritted my teeth. So I just took my whipping. And makes money off it. The man patted me on the back and went to get a beer from an ice chest.

I said nothing. A few years ago my wife and I sat next to defenseman Kevin Klein , now of the Rangers , in a cramped restaurant. The Predators were good that season but still building towards the level of reverence we hold them in now. There is a weird code of silence about celebrities in this city. Nicole Kidman is a really nice person.

No one does. Welcome to Nashville: No one talks to Jack White in public and everyone is better for it. A few years later I was waiting with my wife to get a sonogram of our first child and saw Shea Weber in the waiting room. Is that how hockey is supposed to be? Then they almost lost their franchise to the Canadian equivalent of a Bond villain. Then the city and a handful of local businessmen fought back and kept the Predators from moving to Kansas City or Ontario.