There was a standard joke in the NHL between 1991 and 1996 that when San Jose played Winnipeg, the Sharks were in a fight with the Jets.
The joke went away after the Winnipeg Jets left for the sunny desert of Phoenix to become the Coyotes. Now many are rooting for a return of the "West Side Story" reference.
We at CanadianCrossing.com have been reluctant to jump in to this long-standing soap opera of stubborn Gary Bettman refusing to admit he made a mistake in thinking Phoenix could support a hockey team.
But the Jets might come back to Winnipeg, and the Manitoba capital can thank the Goldwater Institute.
Canada's conservatives can't out-conservative American conservatives. And in memory of the grandfather of that revolution, Barry Goldwater, the Goldwater Institute has threatened to sue over the latest opportunity to have a buyer for the Coyotes.
Not even John McCain, the person who took over Goldwater's seat after the former presidential candidate retired from the Senate, could change the minds of the Goldwater Institute.
Interestingly, the Goldwater Institute and Canada have something in common: they don't like tax dollars funneled to sports teams. Quebec City, another Canadian city that lost a NHL team, tried to get federal funding to build a new arena to lure a NHL team and were denied by the conservative (you guessed it) Harper government.
Winnipeg has a new arena, currently home to the successful minor-league team, the Manitoba Moose.
Given the many victories Bettman has had on this battle over the years, we won't believe the Jets are back until the moving vans hit Canadian soil. We knew the only way Winnipeg would get this team back is if the decision wasn't Bettman's. And thanks to the Goldwater Institute, this may be true.
When there was talk that the Jets would leave Winnipeg, people protested to cries, "Save our Jets." Not too many in the desert are saying, even quietly, "Please save our Coyotes." Time for the Jets to come home, and the Sharks-Jets rivalry to resume.
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