The Atlanta to Winnipeg Saga: What Winnipeg Jets Fans Would Like You to Know

Dearest friends, family, and media,

On behalf of Jets nation (member since 1977), I'd like to thank you for your support these last few months. The reports and updates you've provided, via Facebook and otherwise, about the NHL's impending return to Winnipeg and the recent wave of congratulatory messages you've passed along in this, the eleventh hour of our fifteen year struggle, have shown that you care. We really do appreciate the support.

Now, if you don't mind, please keep your thoughts to yourself.

Please don't get us wrong. We mean that in the nicest possible way. Your intentions all along have been more than genuine.

But we're a little stressed at the moment and, to be honest, you're not helping.

So kindly refrain from comments like "It's a done deal!" until you get the green light from one of us.

Because in truth, the majority of us aren't betraying a moment of joy until we land the only endorsement that has regretfully ever mattered. I'm speaking of course of the final word from Emperor Bettman himself. Anything short of a definitive declaration from the very top of the republic is just noise to us.

We've been in pain too long.

Our scars are too deep.

You see, there's no need to link us up to the latest news because our radar has been so finely tuned since the advent of the cap-era that Google Alerts couldn't even scoop us. We've watched the CDN dollar for so long, most of us would qualify as amateur currency traders. We've struggled through brutal headaches, the product of reading tea leaves with one eye, while the other is peeled to the writing on the wall. We've seen so many ups and so many downs that our armor is now too thick to erode in the face of one op-ed in the Globe and Mail.

Many of you began paying attention two years ago, when TSN reported that court documents from the Coyotes bankruptcy case showed the Emperor on record as saying that he would prefer the beleaguered franchise land in Winnipeg, rather than Hamilton.

It was then that my Facebook wall began ringing, so to speak and, again, your excitement was heartfelt.

But even then, most of us saw Bettman's statement as simply a rebuking of Jim Balsillie, rather than an indication our team was coming back. Our optimism was muted by caution then and it's not changed much since.

We do bear some of the blame for stoking the fire, of course. My own FB page has been littered with stories related to the Jets' return and I even recently posted a highlight goal by Ryan Strome who, as I was happy to speculate, would possibly be the Thrasher/Jet/Moose/Falcon franchise's first round pick in the 2011 draft. But this is all part of each Jets fan's personal therapy and my posts have never been celebratory, nor have they contained even a whiff of finality.

Speaking of certitude, it's nice to see that Stephen Brunt has kept his mouth shut since declaring last Thursday that the sale of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment "is done" and that an announcement would come today.

The my-source-is-better-than-your-source pissing contest that ensued between Rogers Sportsnet (to whom Brunt is a contributor) and TSN was only the latest painfully public exchange that Jets fans have had to endure, with TSN's Darren Dreger claiming that there was no deal in place and Bob McKenzie insisting that even if a deal was done, an ownership group in Atlanta could still scuttle the deal in the weeks to come. It's worth noting that the TSN folks have clearly come out on top by erring on the side of caution, now that the Brunt deadline has come and gone. I would submit that the Dreger/McKenzie approach is as much out of deference to the anxiety of Jets nation as it is to journalistic integrity.

In fairness to all of you, the spontaneous gathering at Portage and Main in the wake of the Brunt piece did give you all a valid excuse to join in the party. But seriously, you think that's the official welcome-back party? A gathering of hundreds? Come on, when and if the Emperor does bless the return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg, the festivities that follow will make last year's Cup parade in Chicago look like 2004's Cup parade in Tampa Bay (sorry, I couldn't resist).

So that, in a nutshell, is where we are. Understand that we love that you want us to believe, we love that your faith is blind, and we love that you care. But please, for our sake, wait for the moment we're waiting for. The moment we've waited for for 15 years. The moment our former nemesis, Darth Bettman, becomes St. Gary the Great.

Warm regards,

Your friendly neighborhood Jets fan.