Take your time travelling Delorean with the Jets bumper sticker back to 1995

Want to see what people were saying about the Winnipeg Jets on the internet back before they left?  What's that you say? There was no internet back then?  You're wrong, good sir or madam.  Google has archives of usenet group wpg.general and other forum groups of the time, the blog of yesteryear before AOL and spammers ruined the public water cooler known as usenet.    Click on it and take a look. Phoenix Coyotes fans, take heart, your city council is only slightly stupider than ours was at the time.  It's fascinating how so many people back then used their real names in discussion forums.  15-16 years later, wonder where some of them are now.

some choice quotes (click the names to go to the original full post):

"The atmosphere inside was bittersweet. It was more bitter outside. I 
think there was about a hundred people outside at the highest point, but a 
lot of people left as soon as they found out the doors were locked. A lot 
of those hanging around had disappointed and depressed faces - especially 
when all the kids inside were cheering to the comment about Winnipeg kids 
always being Jets fans. " - David A.

 I think I was there.  Sounds like something I'd attend.

"Does anyone think it is fair to American NHL teams to institute a forof revenue-sharing. It would in effect be a form of cross-subsidization. Larger, richer team (mostly in the US) would be propping up teams from smaller centres, (mostly in Canada)" - Gregory M.

Oh if he only knew then what he knows now.  The irony.

"The MEC (Manitoba Entertainment Complex) needs to sell 40 boxes and 1500 club

seats by the end of November to proceed.  They've sold 38 boxes and about 500 club seats

so far.

David Baker, Director of Corporate Sales for the Winnipeg Jets, sold the 40th 

and last private box yesterday evening to Coke.  Club Seat sales are just over 

600 right now, and have started to sell more quickly.  A couple of club seat 

purchasers, MEC sales people, and press are going to San Jose, to check out 

that building some time next weekend.  The plan being that they will come back 

to the Peg gushing with news about how great our new building will be. - D Bergman

huh.  How many private boxes do the current Jets have.  Interesting to look back and see that the MEC plan called for 40.

"Senior city officials'.  Hrmph.  What this story seems to be based on 
is a local radio station having Mayor Bill Norrie on saying that the 
Jets majority owners have already sold their 64% interest in the team. 
(For the uninformed, the other 36% interest is held by Winnipeg Enterprises 
Corporation, a quasi-independent corporation set up under provincial 
charter to operate the Arena/Stadium/Velodrome complex in the city.  They 
assumed this share of the Jets after a buyout attempt by Michael Gobuty 
failed.)

 WEC has a complex arrangement with the private owners that the 
WEC will cover all losses over a certain amount (approx. $400 000), or 
the private owners will be free to break the lease they have with the 
Arena until 1997.  WEC has yet to cover the rest of the losses that the 
Jets incurred this year (approx. $1.2 million).  So needless to say, 
there is a great deal of speculation of what is going to happen.  There 
are two local groups of people that are interested in acquiring either 
WEC's share of the team or the whole team to keep it in Winnipeg.  One 
group plans on a new downtown Arena, tenatively called Manitoba Gardens. 
The other wants to take over the arena as is. .

Barry Shenkarow has said that the situation is rapidly becoming critical,but as of yet, there are no offers on the table either way.  Things still very much depend on city council. " - Daryl T

Interesting.  This is a post from 1991.  The Jets stuck around for 5 more years.

 "The only place the JETS are moving is UP, waaaay UP in the standings   :-)   " -  Ken D, worlds biggestt optimist  in 1994

Anyways, its fascinating to poke around and see that there is actually a record of what people were talking about then.  I'm sure theres other stuff you can search as well.  It's a shame there won't be the same resource in 15 years for people searching old twitter and facebook comments.  usenet, like the internet itself, was designed to be open, whereas the open protocols of the internet are being replaced more and more by closed protocols that do the same things.  All according to plan, I suppose.  Watch for legislation that further puts the internet in the control of government, in the name of protecting us from ourselves.  (Really, protecting politicians from bloggers and the people).  That's what the conservatives crime legislation is designed to do.  Not stop true crime.  Otherwise why not require a warrant?