Franchise Relocation: Fan Effects

Some time ago we were contacted by the Whalers Booster Club whom had been contacted by Porter Williams, a student doing research for his thesis to be entitled "What Is The Reasoning Behind A Franchise Relocating From A City And The Effects Of The Loss And Gain Of A Franchise To The Fans Of The Original And New Cities?"

Mr. Williams was focusing his thesis on fans in Hartford and the Raleigh-Durham area so naturally, we were interested in the results. The survey shows some interesting results, even if, as Mr. Williams concedes, the sample size was small, some of the findings are interesting. Since we're guessing not all of you want to read a 75 page thesis, we've picked some highlights below. If you do want to receive a pdf of the thesis email here.

Good Times With Signs

Everyone loves the opportunity to rearrange a usually serious sign and change the message conveyed. For many of us with the sense of humor of a 14 year old, the rearrangement is best and most amusing when when some inappropriate language is peppered into the message, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Sad City reader Edward S. snapped a very humorous rearrangement of this sign on the Wal-Mart on Flatbush Ave.

The area is easily familiar by the plethora of healthy dining options (Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, and McDonald's) available in the shopping plaza. For a thorough tale of the tape analysis of our Wal-Mart as compared to our wealthier neighbors to the West, be sure to check out Sad City's Guide to Wal-Mart.

Of course the big question is what does the sign say? Be forewarned, it's probably not safe for work and if you're lacking a sense of humor or too "high brow" you might not enjoy such childish nonsense and may want to leave the site. (and likely not return) For everyone else, just click the jump.

The Fastest Two Minutes

Some say the fastest two minutes in sports is the Kentucky Derby. We'd posit that if you were in this building at the wrong time in Derby, CT yesterday, you had the fastest two minutes of your life. Luckily for all, no fatalities were reported as of Thursday night. A Tebowing of thanks to Sad City friend John Biscuit for these awesome photos after the jump. These pics are so good you don't even need any commentary from us. And if there's one thing we like to do, it's comment.

Let The Madness Begin!

For the second time Sad City has been able to tie Hartford to Tebowmania. This pic was shot earlier this week by Sad City friend Victoria Reallylonglastname. With Tebow having been traded to the Jets this week a slew off questions arises; will the Jets challenge the Patriots and Giant for popularity in Hartford, will El Mercado start carrying Tebow jerseys, and is Mr. Tebow morally opposed to foot fetishism?

While we can only speculate on the latter two, the first isn't all that far fetched. Remember when you were growing up in the 80's and 90's and EVERYONE was a Giants fan save for a few weirdo Jets fans and you knew like one person who liked the Patriots and you'd just want to ask them "why?" Well a couple Super Bowls can sure make a difference can't it?

Not The Mercedes!

After our Welcome to Hartford post earlier this week, we received some car accident shots from our loyal readers. Sad City reader Eric C., who loves working in downtown for the panorama of experiences Hartford offers, sent this shot in.

 Let's face it, everyone stops and looks at a car accident. Who hasn't got backed up in traffic for 10 minutes only to find out the logjam is caused by people slowing down to gawk at a smashed up vehicle? This accident is interesting mostly because it features the mangled nose of an otherwise beautiful Mercedes-Benz. Terrible. We couldn't help but wonder if the gentlemen with his hands on his hips on the corner is the owner of this fine auto.

Sad City Readers Take On The Park River

(Ed. Note Sad City spent last summer trying to navigate the Park River. While we never got underground, some readers recently made the journey and sent us a description)


Cruising the Park River in Hartford became a minor obsession for me ever since I first
read about it on Sad City. I never knew that a river once ran through Hartford, let alone
that it is now encased in a massive cement conduit that goes underneath the city.

And that’s no surprise. Most people have never heard of it, even the longtime area
residents. But everyone’s eyes widen when they hear that it’s possible to canoe in an
underground river. And absolutely everyone called me crazy when I told them that I was
going to do it. It is, after all, basically a sewer.

Dutch Point: A Hartford Novel

This blog has given us the opportunity to do a handful of things that we might not have otherwise done.  When Kareem R. Muhammad contacted us about reading his book Dutch Point a couple months ago, book reviewer got added to that list.  Having been vociferous readers for most of our lives we felt qualified to give it an attempt.

Dutch Point is a self-published, fictional novel based in Hartford and focuses primarily on Andrew Edwards, a Hartford social worker.   Mr. Muhammed himself has spent over a decade as a Hartford social worker investigating cases of abuse and neglect, which lends credibility to the characters and situations we encounter throughout the book.   Having had social workers as family members and close friends we know from first-hand accounts that social workers encounter some of the most horrific situations imaginable and deal with some of the most unsavory people imaginable. Dutch Point gives us a glimpse into that world.

The Hindenburg Over Hartford

Sad City reader Bruce B. clued us into this amazing video of the ill-fated Hindenburg blimp zeppelin flying over Hartford in 1936.  The Hindenburg would famously  be destroyed in a May 6, 1937 fire and crash that killed 35 passengers and one person on the ground and ended the era of blimps as passenger transportation.  Photographs of the Hindenburg crashing are some of the most recognizable photos ever taken.

Easily recognizable Hartford landmarks the Traveler's tower and the State Capitol can be seen in this clip.

The YouTube page with this upload adds the following:

A Monster Mattress Colony

Regular Sad City readers are familiar with our fascination with the mattress colonies that pop up out of the concrete to add a certain flair to our city's streets.   Some readers even take it upon themselves to become amateur mattressoligists and submit their own finds.   This colony, which really can only be defined as a tower, was submitted by reader Zazzattack, and we must say we are impressed.

Sunrise At The Gold Star Bridge

Sad City reader J Copper sent us this great photo of a sunrise on the New London side of the Gold Star bridge.

Sad City Readers Know Hartford History

Last week we took a look at some photos of the Hartford Civic Center roof collapse of 1978. While examining the photos we wondered what was the colorful mural we could see in the photo. Sad City reader Doug sent us a link to the artist Michael Borders website along with a brief history of the mural.

Sad City Readers Come Through

Thanks to Sad City reader Nada P who sent us a tip on where to locate Hooker Watermelon Ale. Looks like we know what we will be sipping after the Hooker Day Parade on Saturday!