“Max, what do you think of David Garel and Hockey30’s new video tangent?”
If I were one of the contestants on the (late) game show Ultimatum, I think I’d use my ricochet. Actually, no, I’d use my mirror option. What do you think of David Garel and his attempt to change people’s perception of his Hockey30 site?
Not an easy question, is it?
My colleague (and friend) JT and I pulled off a real tour de force on February 28, when we hosted David Garel on our Stanley25 podcast. At last, people were able to put a face to the man who has been running Hockey30 for some 15 years.
Jean-Charles Lajoie, Tony Marinaro, Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, Georges Laraque, Ben Roger, Max Lalonde, Anthony Marcotte, Alexandre Lanctot, Réjean Tremblay, Martin Lemay, the guys from La Poche Bleue… pretty much the entire sports media community tuned in for this special episode.
David then showed up at Georges’ card store in Laval… between noon and 3:00 p.m., I’m told. As you may have guessed, Georges was on the air on BPM Sports!
But this little visit to Laval allowed David to be invited a few days later on BPM Sports(Laraque and Gonzalez), much to the dismay of my chum Gonzo.
And this renaissance culminated last week, when Hockey30 published a video of 30 minutes spent with Georges Laraque in Edmonton. Seriously, it’s a good video. It really is!
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I was talking about it with some people in the business who viscerally hate Hockey30, but they had no choice but to admit that David succeeded in spending time with Big Georges in Edmonton… with his kids. He managed to get into his private life!
The video is well produced and the final cut is very well done. If the guys had always worn microphones, we’d be approaching TV quality.
So to answer my original question, I have to admit that if I didn’t know David and his site – which I’ve hated in the past – I wouldn’t have hesitated to share his video with Big Georges, calling it a must-see.
But since it came from Hockey30, I hesitated for six days, hehe.
Still, it’s going to take more than one or two good videos for the Hockey30 brand to shake off its reputation of the last 15 years. David’s next 10 or 12 actions will (perhaps) define what Hockey30 has become in 2024. Maybe not!? Changing brand and identity is never an easy thing to do. Talk to the Montreal CF, the BPM Sports board and the list goes on. You can’t make people forget the past like Will Smith in Men in Black.
But it can be done, change…
Except that on the Hockey30 site, the most recent articles this morning are about Carey Price’s (supposed) (private) medication to treat his anxiety attacks, the dark secrets of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton and Lance Stroll’s blonde. Hockey30 will never come to ICI Radio-Canada, I know, but…
How did my grandfather put it? You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig?
I’ll wait to watch the next four or five Hockey30 videos before making up my mind about his rebranding. Your next moves will do the talking, David! We are watching you!
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Georges Laraque in full transparency
Georges was true to form when he welcomed David to his Edmonton home. He agreed to answer David Garel’s many questions without backing down.
People are more respectful of privacy in Edmonton than in Montreal…
Georges felt more racism in Quebec than in Edmonton…
I was fired from TVA Sports because of jealousy…
Tony Marinaro would like to be interviewed by Hockey30, but he can’t…
Jean-Charles Lajoie should invite David Garel to do a one-on-one on TV…
Georges isn’t in a cult, he’s a Freemason and mostly collects money for charity…
Enjoy (if you haven’t already)!