Home Posts tagged T-Birds

T-Birds Promote Be the One Initiative

By Contributor
Opinion

Opinion

By Henry Howard

 

There is nothing minor about the support the American Legion Department of Massachusetts receives from the Springfield Thunderbirds.

For years the Thunderbirds have supported Massachusetts Legion programs such as Boys State, Junior Law Cadet, American Legion Baseball, and the developing softball program. The hockey team honors a Veteran of the Game and regularly conducts a jersey raffle, with proceeds going to a Legion program.

Department of Massachusetts NECman Jodie Pajak raves about the support. “There’s no question, no feedback, no static when we ask them for anything. There is no hesitation from anybody on their staff. I’ve never been to any establishment where they are that welcoming. They want to be part of the community, and it definitely shows. The relationship is phenomenal.”

The Legion-Thunderbirds partnership was on full display on Dec. 1, the Legion’s Be the One Day. American Legion members set up a booth inside the arena to educate fans about the organization’s primary mission to reduce the number of veteran suicides. Legion family members handed out customized brochures to thousands of fans. Additionally, a special Be the One jersey, signed by the entire team, was revealed. It will be raffled off at the end of the season, with proceeds going to the Veterans & Children Foundation to support Be the One.

The Be the One mission is especially meaningful for Pajak. “Veterans suicide is a cancer that should not be,” she said. “There are way too many resources, way too many programs to help veterans and their families, to help combat these needs and feelings that these veterans develop in their military careers and come across as they try to transition out of service and back to civilian life. You can’t just flip a switch and go from structured to unstructured. You have to have some help. After a few years, you find you just can’t cope. With this program, we hope that they see us and seek us out.”

Be the One was a natural tie-in this season for the Thunderbirds, which have regularly honored veterans. Their nickname, appropriately enough, is related to the Air Force Thunderbirds.

The team “wanted to get more involved with the community, and they are wonderful to work with,” said Pajak, who, along with her husband, Drew, are members of Post 185 in Agawam. “They felt the need, and they did want to help. They have been phenomenal in promoting this as a way to reduce the stigma. We have a partner that loves putting the Legion first.”

The Thunderbirds highlight the American Legion at all 36 home games. The Legion staffs a table inside the arena, promoting timely programs and initiatives. Over the course of a season, that outreach connects the Legion with at least 220,000 fans.

“At this level, specifically, I thought it was crucially important for us to build our business to open our doors to community projects and give it back to a number of programs, specifically the Legion,” said Nathan Costa, Thunderbirds team president. “Part of the vision from the very beginning was how we can do things to make an impact on the community while also trying to do the right thing.”

Ryan Smith, who manages the team’s media, community relations, and broadcasting, said his grandfather served in World War II. “It’s wrenching for me that there are so many of these military folks who come back and, for a variety of reasons, are not able to reacclimate to society,” he said, adding that he is thankful for the freedom he enjoys thanks to generations of veterans.

“This is a chance to thank them for all that they do, because without them, who knows what we could be doing on a day-to-day basis?” he said. “There is no amount of thanks that we can give them for all that they do for us.”

Strong community partners embolden the Be the One mission.

“It should be important to everybody,” Pajak said. “Everybody should be aware. The Thunderbirds are family-oriented and community-oriented. It’s not only veterans; it’s the community itself. It could be your neighbor. It could be your friend. It could be your co-worker that might need some help. They are willing to help us spread the word and make sure that it is known that is it OK to not be OK.”

 

Henry Howard is deputy director of Media and Communications for the American Legion.

The T-Birds Take a Big Step Forward

By
Opinion

Editorial

 

From the day he took the helm with the fledgling Springfield Thunderbirds hockey team, Nate Costa, now the president of the franchise, talked about the importance of winning to the ultimate success of a team.

Indeed, Costa, who came to Springfield following management roles with several minor league sports operations, often spoke about the importance of presentation and the overall experience when it came to how well a team could capture the hearts and minds of a region or community — and thrive financially. But ultimately, he said there is no real substitute for winning. A team can have endless promotions, bring in big names as guests, and offer special prices on hot dogs and beer, he implied, but in the end, it would have to win to really break through.

The events of the past few several months, and especially the past few weeks, have proven Costa right.

As the Thunderbirds made their way to the Calder Cup finals against the Chicago Wolves, the team moved to a new and much higher level in terms of visibility and presence, for lack of a better term, in the Greater Springfield area. While T-Birds ultimately lost the series, four games to one, including the last three at home, it was a clear winner on every other level.

Let’s start with the games themselves. The downtown area was electric on game nights. Some fans would arrive an hour or two before the game started. There was some tailgating in some of the parking lots and larger crowds in many of the area restaurants.

The weekend games that closed out the series were sell-outs, and there were high levels of energy in the MassMutual Center.

Overall, the Thunderbirds were front of mind for the past month or so as they progressed in the playoffs to the finals. They were the lead story on local sports pages and the local news shows, but there was more than that.

People were talking about them — at the office, in coffee shops, and at the many events that have been staged in the region over the past several months as the long-awaited return to normalcy from the pandemic has moved to a different level. And they are still talking about them.

And while people were talking about this team, they were reminiscing about championship teams from 30 and 50 years ago. Hockey, for at least a little while, became king.

The best news is that interest in the T-Birds has moved well beyond talk. Season-ticket sales are far ahead of the pace for previous years, and they, as everyone knows, are one of the key cornerstones to success. More corporate support is certain to follow.

While the Thunderbirds have always had a presence in Springfield and the region, they have now officially arrived. And this bodes extremely well for a city that will need this team to play a big role in its full recovery from the pandemic and ongoing efforts to make downtown a place to not only work, but live.

The T-Birds did not bring home the Calder Cup in 2022. But they may have succeeded in an even bigger game, if one can call it that.

They have broken through and truly captured the attention of the region. That makes them big winners.

The T-Birds Take a Big Step Forward

By
Daily News

From the day he took the helm with the fledgling Springfield Thunderbirds hockey team, Nate Costa, now the president of the franchise, talked about the importance of winning to the ultimate success of a team.

Opinion

Indeed, Costa, who came to Springfield following management roles with several minor league sports operations, often spoke about the importance of presentation and the overall experience when it came to how well a team could capture the hearts and minds of a region or community — and thrive financially. But ultimately, he said there is no real substitute for winning. A team can have endless promotions, bring in big names as guests, and offer special prices on hot dogs and beer, he implied, but in the end, it would have to win to really break through.

The events of the past few several months, and especially the past few weeks, have proven Costa right.

As the Thunderbirds made their way to the Calder Cup finals against the Chicago Wolves, the team moved to a new and much higher level in terms of visibility and presence, for lack of a better term, in the Greater Springfield area. While T-Birds ultimately lost the series, four games to one, including the last three at home, it was a clear winner on every other level.

Let’s start with the games themselves. The downtown area was electric on game nights. Some fans would arrive an hour or two before the game started. There was some tailgating in some of the parking lots and larger crowds in many of the area restaurants.

The weekend games that closed out the series were sell-outs, and there were high levels of energy in the MassMutual Center.

Overall, the Thunderbirds were front of mind for the past month or so as they progressed in the playoffs to the finals. They were the lead story on local sports pages and the local news shows, but there was more than that.

People were talking about them — at the office, in coffee shops, and at the many events that have been staged in the region over the past several months as the long-awaited return to normalcy from the pandemic has moved to a different level. And they are still talking about them.

And while people were talking about this team, they were reminiscing about championship teams from 30 and 50 years ago. Hockey, for at least a little while, became king.

The best news is that interest in the T-Birds has moved well beyond talk. Season-ticket sales are far ahead of the pace for previous years, and they, as everyone knows, are one of the key cornerstones to success. More corporate support is certain to follow.

While the Thunderbirds have always had a presence in Springfield and the region, they have now officially arrived. And this bodes extremely well for a city that will need this team to play a big role in its full recovery from the pandemic and ongoing efforts to make downtown a place to not only work, but live.

The T-Birds did not bring home the Calder Cup in 2022. But they may have succeeded in an even bigger game, if one can call it that.

They have broken through and truly captured the attention of the region. That makes them big winners.

News

Contact

Advertise

Events