NHL Lockout: Just Drop It

NHL fans are mad as hell about the lockout and they're not going to take it any more. After three lockouts in eighteen years they realized, it's not about them at all. It's about the Benjamins. More and more Benjamins that they usually end up being forced to pay more of in rising ticket prices-- whenever the game gets going again. This latest lockout is the straw that broke the camel's back. One L.A.-based Canadian isn't going to sit idly by and let that happen. Oil Factory's Director Steve Chase created "Just Drop It," spurned by his pick up hockey teams collective rage. The film basically urges Hockey fans to boycott the NHL when it ever gets around to starting up again. For one game taken away from the fan, the fan takes one from the NHL, etc. According to an ESPN article entitled "NHL fans are tired of not being heard, Chase is hitting a nerve here.

The NHL and the NHL Players' Association met with a federal mediator on Wednesday but still remain in a stalemate in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. In all, the 526 lost games account for nearly 43 percent of the regular season that had been scheduled to begin Oct. 11. It's the third work stoppage in 18 years.

I love the idea of this, although the video would have been long enough at sixty seconds. Admittedly I'm not a hockey fan. Maybe a fan will be more inclined to be inspired by it. I'm a bit skeptical the people will rally behind this, because a true fan is eternal. They weather the storms more than non sporting fans would. But you never know. On one level it's a low impact commitment, asking people to do nothing. Then again if you're a fan it'll be the hardest boycott ever. As someone who believes too many people are overpaid in sport, be it athlete or team owner, I'm rallying behind it.

Director: Steve Chase Creative: Mike Devlin (Creative Director/EVP of DraftFCB NY) Production Company: Oil Factory