apologizeSometimes you need to say sorry.
As a good Canadian girl and Ottawa Senators season ticket holder, I have been incensed at the behavior of a bunch of over paid, spoiled owners and players without the grace to acknowledge and apologize to the fans who were dismissed during this conflict. In my opinion the hockey the owners and have a responsibility to acknowledge that their actions hurt other people.
According to Ryan, the Puck Daddy:
They should be down on their hands and knees, groveling for the fans to return to their arenas to buy seats and concessions and jerseys after all this. Everything should be half-price. Every purchase should come with the warmest “thank you” imaginable. But of course, they don’t. Because the league doesn’t give a rat’s ass about its fans, no matter how much free Center Ice they throw at us.
But maybe they don’t know how to apologize with grace. It is a skill very few people have. In reality, an apology is not about you. Thus justifying, being defensive, shifting blame, or being dismissive doesn’t work.

How to apologize:
1.Admit your mistake, and make it genuine. Own what you did.
2. Say sorry like you mean it. I mean really mean it. Don’t justify your actions, make stuff up, or fail to look that person in the eye. A real, heartfelt apology.
3. Explain your understanding of what you did to hurt them. Use feeling words and explain that you now ‘get it”.
4.Make amends as much as possible. How are you going to fix this. Real, tangible actions speak louder than words.
5.Tell them what you are going to do to see that this doesn’t happen again. Make a commitment to change and back it up. Make sure the other person knows you are apologizing, not just offering them a backhanded way of making yourself feel better.
Be prepared for an unsettled, and awkward conclusion as the hurt party processes a real apology. In the case of my team The Ottawa Senators, and a majority of the other teams they could really benefit from seeing it from someone else’s perspective. As for the players, how many of them kept up their charity work while they were sitting by waiting for the season to begin? You’re right I’m mad. Mad enough to give up our season tickets. An apology would have gone a long way to easing that anger. I try and remember that the next time I screw up.
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