Nashville Predators: Banner Will Be Raised, What It Really Means
By Chad Minton
A monumental evening is on tap for the Nashville Predators will have their home-opener at Bridgestone Arena, and raise their Western Conference Championship banner.
When you go into the venues of historical franchises like the Detroit Red Wings or Boston Bruins, you see a countless number of banners hanging. The Predators get to hang their first of what should be many more to come.
With the Flyers coming to town for the 2017-18 home-opener, the Western Conference Championship banner will be lifted. This is a culmination of everything that the Predators fans have been through in the almost two decades of existence.
What It Means For Nashville
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The Predators have been here from the start for the city of Nashville on its journey into professional sports. They arrived before the Titans moved to Nashville, and were up against much bigger challenges. Making hockey work in the South? Are you kidding me? The raising of this banner is a prize to not just the organization and players, but for the loyal fans.
Natives of Nashville have seen very little sports success, outside of the Titans reaching the Super Bowl in 2000. Yes, the Tennessee Vols have had plenty of success on the national stage, but they’re not Nashville’s team. The Predators are truly Nashville’s team, so this hanging of the banner means that much more to its natives.
As much as Nashville is growing, the success the Predators achieved last season will undoubtedly build new fans for the long-term. Newcomers to the city will have an easy time transitioning to be a Predators fan. Hanging banners strengthens the fan base, and brings in new ones nationally.
How It Affects The Future
Obviously the Predators have more lofty expectations now. Seeing the banner be lifted to the
rafters will be an awesome moment, but the team has to follow-up with more success. The truly storied franchises enjoyed sustained success to get where they are. Hockey allure comes through several years of being at the top. The Predators have taken a few steps down that road, but have a long way to go.
A win tonight to celebrate the banner presentation will be epic. There’s a long season to go and too early to know what an 0-2 start really means. However, that slow start will be easy to forget about with a win tonight after the banner is raised.
Next: Preds Search For First Win Tonight Vs. Philly
The Predators are going to lift plenty more banners. The front office, led by GM David Poile, is one of the best in hockey. They’re building something great from the bottom up. More banners are to come, but rallying around this first one is such a great thing for the city of Nashville.