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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2008 Creation of an Ice Hockey Tradition in the South Daryl Paul Wenner University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons Recommended Citation Wenner, Daryl Paul, "Creation of an Ice Hockey Tradition in the South. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2008. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/353 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Daryl Paul Wenner entitled "Creation of an Ice Hockey Tradition in the South." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Geography. Thomas L. Bell, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Robin L. Hardin, Ronald Kalafsky, John B. Rehder Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Daryl Paul Wenner entitled “Creation of an Ice Hockey Tradition in the South.” I have examined the electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Geography. ________________________ Thomas L. Bell, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: ________________________ Robin L. Hardin ________________________ Ronald Kalafsky ________________________ John B. Rehder Accepted for the Council: ________________________ Carolyn R. Hodges, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Creation of an Ice Hockey Tradition in the South A Dissertation Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Daryl Paul Wenner May 2008 Copyright © 2008 by Daryl Paul Wenner All rights reserved. ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated in loving memory to the grandparents who never got to see it but did so much to inspire me to it. Stanley Zatzek Josephine Zatzek Henry Wenner Emma Wenner Otto Naujoks iii Acknowledgements As this dissertation finally nears its completion, I would like to take a moment to thank the many people who helped make it possible. To begin, I offer my sincere thanks to my advisor, Dr. Tom Bell for all his hard work and effort in seeing me through this project. His ideas and perspectives continuously opened new directions for this study to analyze and consider. I would also like to thank the members of my committee. It was in their courses on the South, Urban Geography and Sports & the Media that this dissertation was born. Their emails and willingness to discuss ideas helped it to grow and mature. I would like to thank everyone in the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee who helped me complete this dissertation. This dissertation would not have been possible were it not for the help of the reporters, media relations people at the NHL and the individual franchises, and the countless fans who gave of their time, ideas and opinions which provided me with excellent data. I especially wish to thank Jack Diller, Terry Crisp and Cathy Lewandowski from the Nashville Predators, David Neal from The Miami Herald, and Tom Hughes from the Atlanta Thrashers. Reflecting on my career as a student, two professors stand out for special thanks. First, Dr. Brent Yarnal at Pennsylvania State University. At a time when I was not sure I could handle graduate school he encouraged me to try and keep trying until I succeeded. Second, Dr. Charles “Fritz” Gritzner at South Dakota State University. His amazing teaching style and classroom discussions changed the way I view the world. Most importantly, he never forgets his former students and always makes time in his schedule to offer help, advice or just talk. Although I have not seen her since elementary school, I must thank my 1st grade teacher, Miss Broody. It was she, when I was only six years old, who took one look at my handwriting and said “Daryl, you are going to be doctor.” It turned out she was prophetic in her assessment. My family and friends played a major role in this paper. Life didn’t stop so I could write a dissertation and they did more than I could have hoped to help see me through everything that came up along the way. Dr. Dick Webster, thank you for the advice, I did get it written. To Ed and Faith Naujoks, my deepest gratitude for the constant support, love and energy you’ve always given. For George and Eleanor Hargraves, the day you never thought you would see is at hand: I’m finished with college. And to my parents, David and Janet Wenner, I love you both, thank you. Finally I need to thank the person who has done the most over the past eight years to bring me to this moment, my wife Krista. She supported me as I finished this work in more ways than I could ever count and words could never express the love and appreciation I feel or the debt I owe her. iv Abstract This dissertation examines the links between culture and tradition. It argues that traditions are influenced by the underlying cultural foundations from which they develop. It also argues that as traits diffuse between cultures, they do not do so “as is” but are interpreted by the recipient culture group and altered by their cultural beliefs. Because of the alterations that occur, the diffusion event is not a one-directional incident. The alteration of the trait causes the original exporter to evaluate the changes made, thereby altering the source culture’s opinion of the recipient group. The dissertation uses a three-stage model to examine the above arguments by using the diffusion of the National Hockey League (NHL) into the South during the 1990s as a data source. The first stage of the model investigates the place of hockey in southern sport culture prior to the NHL’s arrival, the Precondition. The second stage examines how hockey culture developed between the arrival of each southern franchise and the Lockout lost season of 2004-05. The final stage compares the cultural underpinnings of southern hockey to general southern sport culture and hockey’s hearth culture. This dissertation found that southern hockey’s cultural foundations lie in general southern culture and not with hockey’s hearth culture. This finding supports the notion that diffusion events do not occur as direct exchanges of cultural traits but rather diffused traits are altered to fit into existing cultural frameworks. This finding led to an alteration in the original model, with the concept of a “cultural filter” being added. Key Words: Tradition, culture, South, hockey v Preface I attended my first Nashville Predators’ hockey game in the spring of 2002. I had seen games in many arenas in the Northeast and Canada, but Nashville was my first time in a Southern hockey venue. On the ice, the Gaylord Entertainment Center looked like any other National Hockey League (NHL) arena. Its rink was regulation size, the layout of penalty boxes, team benches and scorer’s table was similar to other rinks where I had watched games. I recognized the players, coaches and even the referees. The stands around me, however, provided me with a new experience. Fans were talking and laughing as though at a party, some seemingly unaware of the hockey game taking place a few feet away. The Jumbotron flashed signs telling fans when they should chant and the program told them when to cheer and what to yell. Most striking was the bandstand set up at one end of the arena. My first thought was it must have been left from a concert the night before. During the first intermission, however, I was amazed to hear a live country music band begin to play. Many arenas play music over the PA system during intermission, but a live band? It all seemed out of place to someone who considers himself a hockey fan. The look of wonder must have shown on my face. A man sitting two seats from me leaned over his wife and asked, “Is this your first hockey game?” I said, “No, but it is the first one in Nashville.” He smiled and replied, “I thought so. Welcome to Southern hockey.” He was wearing a Detroit Red Wings sweater, the Predators’ opponent that evening. We talked through the rest of the intermission about the game and the fans. He vi had moved to Nashville from Detroit several years earlier when the automobile company he worked for opened a factory in Tennessee. He was excited when the NHL brought the Predators to town, but was as shocked as I was after attending his first game in Nashville. “The good news is that they’re getting better,” he told me, referring to the fans, not the team. He also said he was beginning to enjoy the Southern brand of hockey, although he did miss the atmosphere of Joe Lewis Arena, where the Red Wings play in Detroit. Although I had enjoyed the game that night, I could not help but wonder about the differences in the experience of a Nashville game compared to those in the former Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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