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Mike Commodore 64: Commodore USA president would be ‘ecstatic’ if it happened

Mike Commodore, Eric Fehr

Washington Capitals right winger Eric Fehr, left, fights Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Mike Commodore for control of the puck during the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game on Friday, Oct. 1, 2010 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP

The momentum keeps building for Mike Commodore to appease the nostalgic video gaming masses by donning the No. 64 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski deserves a great deal of credit for bringing the situation to the hockey world’s attention and also organizing a charitable drive to encourage Commodore 64 to become a reality. Sure, there are some who have voiced their dissent for the idea, but the consensus (of those who care at all) points toward it being a crowd-pleaser.

Wyshynski points out at least one prominent person who voiced his approval for the idea: Barry Altman, the president and CEO of Commodore USA. Altman must have sensed that dormant nostalgia for the Commodore 64 a little bit earlier than anyone else, because he resurrected the brand (only with modern bells and whistles) on April 5.

To what should probably be little surprise, Altman seems delighted by the free publicity and would be even happier if Commodore ends up wearing that number.
“I can’t even think of words to describe how ecstatic we would be,” said Barry Altman, president and chief executive of Commodore USA.

Altman seems primed to capitalize on the opportunity, if the NHL will allow it and Commodore embraces it. He seems to be taking a wise business approach by simply leaving it up to those parties to determine how much the computer company ends up being connected to the situation.

“This is really a grassroots adventure, where the fans have come together and realized that the name, the company, the franchise and our company all have reached a perfect storm,” Altman said. “If, in fact, he feels comfortable wearing that jersey, the No. 64, obviously it would thrill everyone when he hit the ice.”

Altman said his company has no formal agreement with Commodore, and is not sure how the NHL would embrace the combination, business-wise. It is not believed there are any league rules that would prohibit a partnership between the player and the company.

“We are eagerly awaiting his decision,” Altman said. “We’ve envisioned supporting them in any way that’s comfortable for everybody -Commodore giveaways, Commodore nights, Commodore T-shirts. Again, this is all up to the team, and all up to Mike. Whatever they decide, we’re going to roll with it.”

One could see things getting a little out of hand if Commodore actually became an official endorser of the product (worst nightmare: a tattoo of the old computer, maybe?). That being said, you can’t really blame Altman for trying to take it that far, but we’ll have to wait and see if he even ends up wearing No. 64 anyway. If nothing else, it’s an amusing sideshow during the slow, hockey-free months of summer.