The hot topic around the Mill City these days is Elkin McCallum's announcement that the Lowell Lock Monsters are for sale, and that he would even consider a buyer interested in moving the team. In response, there’s talk of task forces and searches for new local ownership aimed at keeping the American Hockey League franchise in Lowell.

Save yourself the trouble boys and girls. The Lock Monsters in Lowell are as good as gone, sent back to the lagoon, or canal, they came from. Think I’m wrong? Ask yourself; If someone was smart enough to amass the millions necessary to buy the team, you think they’d be dumb enough to endure year after year of million dollar losses?

Let’s give a big shout out to the local owners who brought the team to the city, and fought long and hard to keep it here. Without the efforts of Elkin McCallum, George Behrakis and Gil Campbell, the Monsters would have been gone many face-offs ago. All three took great pride in bringing and keeping a team in their hometown, yet all three are brilliant businessmen who know when to cut their losses.

The reasons for the Lock Monster’s failure were outlined by Barry Scanlon in a Sunday Sun article. From the Tsongas Arena construction delays, to the affiliate and management merry-go-round, Scanlon paints a portrait of a team doomed almost from the start. If you haven’t seen the story, check it out. It’s well worth the read.

A few other issues need addressing, however. The first is team management that inaugural year in 1998 year making a “monstrous‿ mistake in ticket pricing. The initial price range was from $11-$22, well above the AHL norm at the time. By contrast, Worcester Ice Cats tickets for that same year ranged from $8.50-$13.50. Recognizing the mistake, the Lock Monsters reversed course in year two and lowered tickets to between $10-$18, much closer to the league average. Too little, too late. By that point, the damage had already been done, and when coupled with the delay in getting the team up and running in the first place, the Monsters never recovered at the gate.

Another issue facing the hockey club was the lack of enthusiasm for the sport in this city. People look at the Spinners and see a wildly successful franchise, while hockey fans point just 45-minutes north to Manchester where the Monarch rule the AHL attendance charts year after year. Why do those teams prosper while the Lock Monsters flounder? Because of the passion the regions share with those sports. Hockey is religion in New Hampshire, hence Manchester’s Verizon Wireless arena averaging roughly 9,000 fans per hockey night, and the Whittemore Center in Durham being constantly sold out for UNH College Hockey. The Spinners? Do I even have to get into the love affair between this region and baseball? Put a well-run organization in that environment, and you might as well hand out a license to print money. No such passion for hockey exists in this area.

Which brings me to the other problem facing the Lock Monsters; Lowell sports fans in general. Now, I know I risk alienating much of my audience only two days into my new venture, but Lowell sports fans are notorious front-runners by nature. Be it high school, college, or pro, Mill City arenas and ballparks just don’t draw large crowds until a championship run takes place.

Remember the golden days of Lowell High Basketball in the 80’s? I played against those teams, then followed them during those classic battles against Cambridge Ringe & Latin and the rest of Massachusetts’ hoop dynasties. The Gymnasium’s were always packed with local fans, even when the team traveled far away for state tournament play. Go to Cawley Stadium when the High School Football team is 2-6 and tell me if the attendance is the same as when the team is 6-2. Did anyone pay attention to the Girls “Cinderella‿ Softball team this past spring until their fairy tale run to a state championship? How about the UMass-Lowell Women’s Field Hockey team, NCAA Champions in 2005? Not exactly a groundswell of support for the Lady River Hawks until the title was within reach, was there?

The point is, we are all to blame for the Lock Monsters failure to catch fire in this city, the team, its management and its fan base. And yes, I include myself in that last group. Perhaps our lives are too busy, or we have too many other entertainment options. But when we fail to support our own, we shouldn’t turn around and complain when we’re about to lose them. And make no mistake, unless a miracle benefactor is found, we are about to lose the Lowell Lock Monsters.