Codey Holland joined the madness in the Cellblock towards the end of the 2007-2008 season.  What started with off-chance tickets turned into a “Pick 6″ pack, and the next season turned Codey into a full-season ticket holder along with his wife Brooke.  Each time Codey sat in 303, he asked Jeremy about the online presence, seeing it on the banner watching over the section.  Considering Jeremy’s packed schedule, the website was high on the want list but low on the need list.  Over the winter of 2008 and into the new year of 2009, Codey began researching who owned Section303.com, Cellblock303.com, as well as other variations of the website.  A temporary placeholder of Section303.org and Cellblock303.org were thrown up in order to have some kind of site for the Cell Block.  A breakthrough occurred when after multiple inquires the owner of Section303.com offered to sell the domain back to its rightful owners.  Although not cheap, Section303.com was back in business.

The sale of the domain got the gears turning.  Garrett Bartley and Paul Nicholson of PredFans/ReTweetBot fame stepped up to offer hosting.  Garrett even set up the WordPress install so that site wouldn’t be all raw-HTML programming.  And then, with inspiration from Paul Nicholson’s post, the Cellblock’s first post gave thanks to sponsors that help keep the lights on and the ice cold for the Nashville Predators.

Since that time, the site has grown, changed hosts, dealt with technical glitches, and been one of the most enjoyable things that Jeremy and Codey have embarked on.  There have been some great moments in Nashville since the re-launch: Thumping Detroit 8-0 in Cal O’Reilly’s first NHL game, Taylor Swift introducing the 3rd Jersey (and being the site to break it!), Jason Arnott’s 1,000th game, meetups, tweetups, and even an On Tour stop to St. Louis.  To say it’s been a fun ride would even be an understatement.

Not to use a cliche, but it’s everyone that reads the site, comments on Twitter, listens to the podcast, and greets us at the game that makes this worth it.  We sincerely appreciate everything that you have done, regardless of how small, to help us grow and make this site better.

Sincerely,

Codey Holland, Jeremy K. Gover  and the rest of Cell Block 303.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about some kind of party to celebrate this?  We’ve got you covered!

Crowd Notes

Overall, Washington had a very friendly crowd, and by that, I mean we never heard “Preds suck!”  In fact, after the game, we had several people ask questions about Nashville, want to know about specific players, and even express surprise at how tough we played considering how our season had started.  Much better than the beer bath that nearly missed us in St. Louis.

Another thing that surprised me about Washington, is that this crowd is into the Capitals.  I expected to see a lot of political types, that were using the Capitals to schmooze for earmarks.  I was pleasantly surprised to see these fans showing serious passion for hockey.  Everything from mites hockey during intermission, to a Cellblock-ish section in the lower level that taunted the goalie and started chants.  Also, this crowd is LOUD.  While hearing “Let’s go Caps” got nauseating after a while, the crowd was loud while doing it.

It was nice seeing several Predators fans in the arena, including active PredFans poster, George “Stackiii” Scoville and others.  Reuniting with friends of years past is always an enjoyable time.

D.C. Area Notes:

A must-stop while you’re in the DC Area, is actually in Old Town Alexandria, VA.  A pizza place and sports bar called Bugsy’s.  Many of you saw my tweets over the weekend praising the place.  Here’s the story on the owner…

Bryan Watson had a long and colorful career in the National Hockey League that started when there were only 6 teams and 1 division in 1962, until his retirement in 1979 when there were 16 teams and 2 divisions.

A Canadian like 99% of all NHL’ers of his era, Bryan was born in Bancroft Ontario and was recruited by the great Montreal Canadians at the age of 13, to play in their renowned Junior system with the Peterboro Petes. When he made the Junior A team at the age of 16, Scotty Bowman was his coach and Bryan ended up team captain and won Most Valuable Player in his final year.

While coming up through the Montreal system was the best possible training for the young athlete, there was no permanent place for Watson on the big team for the next year. Bryan played the better part of the season with the Quebec Aces, where he had the true fortune to be the line mate of Doug Harvey, to this day still considered the greatest defenseman other than Bobby Orr to play the game.

Bryan got his big break when he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. He quickly settled in with the team and fans alike. It was that playoff in the semi-final round against the Chicago Black Hawks, where he would have his in famous 4 game run in with Bobby Hull. While the Red Wings would lose the Stanley Cup to the unbeatable Canadians in the final round, Watson’s series against Hull put him in the history books of NHL and established him as a permanent favorite with Detroit fans. It was that playoff where the nickname Bugsy was started by Andy Bathgate and Gordie Howe.

1968 saw Watson do a brief stint with the Oakland Seals and from there he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1969, where he played for 5 1/2 seasons. Watson, along with players such as Syl Apps, Glen Sather, Rene Robert and Coach Red Kelly helped put the Penguins on the map at the same time Roberto Clemente and Willy Stargell were anchoring the great Pirates and the new look Steelers with Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw and Roy Gerella were making their marks in baseball and football history.

From Pittsburgh, it was back to the Detroit Red Wings where he was warmly welcomed and Bryan was sure it was the last step in his long career.

A true shock to the player came when he was traded to the Washington Capitals for Greg Jolie. The older veteran for the 1st round pick who had failed to shine with the low ranking Washington. For the worst team in the league, Watson one more time gave his all but the team simply did not have the players.The Washington trade turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Bryan despite his initial disappointment. He and his wife Lindy quickly fell in love with the nation’s capital and decide to settle there permanently, where they happily reside today.

In 1983, after hockey,Bryan and Lindy began their enjoyable and successful career in the restaurant business in neighboring historic and beautiful Old Town Alexandria as owner’s of Bugsy’s Restaurant & Sports Bar.

And I’m so glad they did open that place.  Brooke and I stop by there every time we’re in the area.

Also, while in town, you have to visit the obvious attractions, Arlington National Cemetery, White House, National Mall, take enough time when you’re in the D.C. area to really soak in the nation’s capital.

If you have any questions about whether Washington D.C. is a great place to see a hockey game, I’ll answer for you with a resounding YES.  Well done Caps fans, I’ll be back soon enough.

Tonight, quite the cast of players in the Predators community presented for Social Media Club Nashville regarding how we’re using Social Media tools to build a stronger fan base, and boost the product that is our beloved Nashville Predators.

Dirk Hoag (On The Forecheck), Paul Nicholson (ReTweetBot), Derek Perez (Nashville Predators), and myself took about two hours and talked about everything from Eklund to how a pop star can drive traffic to your site.

Paul’s introduction of ReTweetBot showed us how instead of following 600 seperate users on Twitter, we can all communicate with PredFans and commit to having a hockey discussion.. without knowing what you had to drink at Starbucks (now I want a caramel apple spice.. drats!).

Dirk Hoag showed us how powerful the SB Nation platform is, and how anyone in the community can contribute material to the site, not just Dirk.  Using his Fan Posts, and FanShots segments, you can post your thoughts and photos from the game or any Predators-related subject.

Derek Perez talked about how the Nashville Predators have adjusted their online strategy.  He mentioned that their ‘core’ was Facebook and NashvillePredators.com.  Anything else they do, say on Twitter, is to drive traffic to those two core segments of their online presence.  Ultimately, their goal is to sell a product.  Using the traffic from multiple platforms of social media to drive back to Facebook and NP.com allows them to get their users back to that product.  Very interesting discussion.  Paul Nicholson was able to relate it back to his experience at Dell, and how their social media is strong in some platforms, but still ramping up elsewhere.

Oh yeah, I was there too.  I presented a quick background on where Section 303 got started, where we have been, and where we are hopefully going.  Jeremy whipped up a quick version of the 303:30 tailored for #SMCNash as well.

So, in summary, what did we learn?

1. Having an online presence is fantastic, but if you’re going to create a presence, make it an active one.  Don’t just throw something up to say you’re on Facebook, Twitter, etc… and not post active content.

2. You have to know what your goal is when growing your audience.  Are you driving traffic to your site?  Are you selling a product?  What is your ultimate goal, when reaching out to the community to draw interest?

3. I am not addicted to Twitter.

I know I speak for the rest of the panel and thank those that watched via UStream, as well as those that were in attendance.  I hope you learned something, I know I did.  Oh, and if you want to hear the special “303:30″ edition we created for #SMCNash, SMCNash 303:30 Promo.

HAPPY HOME OPENER DAY!!

“THE PUCK DROPS HERE” OCT. 7
Tips, Tools, and Techniques to score in social media:
A Case Study of The Predators’ Online Social Communities

Social Media Club Nashville will host a panel discussion focusing on what Nashville’s online hockey community can teach you about social media. Explore how, where and why Predators fans are engaging online. Learn more about what social tools and technology these bloggers, podcasters, marketers, and fans are using to stay connected online.

When:
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
6 to 8 p.m.

Where:
Nashville Downtown Partnership
150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite G-150
Nashville, TN 37203

This event is FREE to attend. Please R.S.V.P. to socialmediaclubnashville@gmail.com.
Light refreshments will be served, and Wi-Fi internet access will be available.
Visit Park It Downtown for information on nearby parking.

Connect with our panelists or follow @Predfans on Twitter to join in the conversations:

Derek Perez, chief marketing officer, Nashville Predators
Web: http://www.nashvillepredators.com; Twitter: http://twitter.com/dperez915

Dirk Hoag, blogger, On The Forecheck
Web: http://www.ontheforecheck.com; Twitter: http://twitter.com/forechecker

Paul Nicholson, blogger and co-creator of @Predfans and ReTweetBot
Web: http://paulnich.blogspot.com;     Twitter: http://twitter.com/pwnicholson

Codey Holland, co-editor of Section303.com
Web: http://www.section303.com; Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cellblock303

Rob Robinson, director of social media, McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations
Web: http://www.mpf.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/thinktrain

About Social Media Club Nashville:
Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit. For more information about Social Media Club Nashville programs and events, please contact Jessica Murray or Georgia Cross.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/smcnash
Wiki: http://urlzen.com/u8m
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SMCNash

*If you blog, shoot video, take photos, tweet, etc., please use #smcnash as your hashtag.

And yes, Codey’s headed to the pro shop to get Ward’s name on his jersey… finally.

Here’s what others are saying (will update as they post):
On The Forecheck
Coach Trotz (Official Predators site)
What The Puck
The View from 111
Hockey Buzz’s Paul McCann