The Life of a "Defunct" Minor League Hockey Fan

 For many hockey fans in Houston, reality has yet to set in that their hometown hockey team is gone for good. But that reality is creeping in, as free agency kicks into gear following a great postseason show by the top two hockey leagues in North America.

Andrew Ferraro-Guest Contributor

Because I think I will stay close to the AHL, I try to keep in touch with the fans and my colleagues who covered the Aeros with me over the years. I think I have a pretty good pulse on what Houston hockey fans are going to do with their "hockey free time" in 2013-14.

There is one group that will just turn out hockey for good. These are the casual fans that only liked the Aeros or only came because their hard core hockey family went to the games. There is another group, that will continue to follow the NHL and attend a handful of games in Dallas. And thanks to the internet, of course, many of the Aeros fans, who are also Wild fans, may continue to keep up with that team as well.

And then there is a another group of fans, maybe the smallest of the three, that will continue to follow the AHL through Twitter, AHL live and by attending games in San Antonio and Cedar Park.

Many of these fans are already planning trips to the AT&T Center for when the Iowa Wild make their first trip to Texas. I am one of these fans, and I can only hope that they play down here on a weekend - a Sunday would be much appreciated so I can get there and back without falling asleep on I-10 somewhere close to Columbus.

Until this fall, we've had hockey in Houston for nearly 20 years, and it is a damn shame that tradition will not continue. I think, like Cleveland did on two occasions, we'll get hockey back, and the Aeros name and brand will live on through another affiliation and ownership group.

Andrew Ferraro is the former Aeros beat writer for the Houston Chronicle and can be found on twitter @andrewjferraro. I hope to have him as a regular contributor to the site this season.