Arena: Why Tonight Was a Wakeup Call

Tonight was the first of the polls that Chris Botta was referring to in one of his recent tweets: that the outcome may be a "NO." Newsday came out tonight with an article saying that 75% of the 620 residents who were polled wanted to keep the Islanders, but not on their tab.

According to Botta, the Association of Better Long Island (I still crack up at their name) is starting a week-long advertising campaign to promote the "NO" vote.

So, it's now eight days before the vote. All hands are on deck here, and if nothing else, this should serve as a wake-up call. Forget the Alexei Yashin rumors. Forget Charles Wang and his curious decision making. Forget the fact that Garth Snow still has not traded for a top-4 defenseman. At this point, it absolutely does not matter. I respect and understand the viewpoint that hockey operations are tied in with public relations, but they cannot coincide in this situation.

If you hate everything the Islanders are doing right now, be it their inability to reach the cap floor on July 24, their four straight bottom-5 finishes, or their extremely loyalty to players who may not deserve it, it does not matter. If you love everything the Islanders are doing right now, be it accumulating high-end talent for the future, smart asset management and drafting, and the rebuilding process as a whole, it also does not matter.

We need to come together as Islander fans and put this vote through. Yes, I realize Newsday's poll had over 325 voters who are over 55. In some ways, it was flawed. But again, not the point. The point is the referendum in that poll was shot down, and while it does not matter, it should serve as a motivational symbol to not take this for granted. There are no guarantees in life, and this is a perfect example of that. I urge anyone who lives in Nassau County to vote YES, no matter if you are the Islanders' biggest criticizer or their biggest superfan. If you live in a New York City borough, Suffolk County, New Jersey, Connecticut, Switzerland or wherever else - if you know anyone in Nassau County, get them to vote YES.

This vote is in our hands, and it's in our hands to even get the politicians to look at the proposal. We wanted to be heard, so now we have our shot. We have to make it count.

-CH