It's not hockey's fault...
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by user Hogpage
Many columnists and bloggers have taken this past week to discuss the likeliness of hockey regaining its popularity south of the border. Primarily because of the astronomically low TV ratings the NHL received in the US during this years' playoffs.
Common suggestions include more fighting (some actually think less fighting), fewer teams (even though rumor has it that the NHL is considering expansions in Kansas City and Las Vegas, idiots), or changing the schedule process (use the Original 6 to its advantage).
Some have advocated going back to the old rules which would fuel more physical play (I personally don't like that idea).
Many experts feel the NHL needs to figure out some way to ensure that the big-market teams are contenders every year. The majority of the population wants to see Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, etc, playing on the biggest stage.
And of course, the obvious, taking that Versus contract and shoving it as far up their ass as possible. A monkey eating horse shit could tell you that Mr. Bettman. It's just mathematical. If half the country doesn't get the channel, the ratings are going to suck. Especially when the other half gets the channel, but doesn't care enough to find it. The first step will be getting the NHL back on ESPN. Period.But, in my mind, it's not hockey's fault. It's the era of sports that we live in.
In an era that applauds high-scores, tattoos, flash, selfishness and me-me-me attitudes, hockey has just kept it's course, and American sports fans exited miles back.
For a lot of the same reasons the San Antonio Spurs are not widely accepted as a worthy NBA dynasty (myself included, but that's more personal than anything else), hockey, in some minds, has sunk to the level of professional bowling. The lack of bad-boys. The lack of super-star appeal. The absence of high-scores. The lack of run-ins with the law. The fact that the game is played on ice and people in the south are just not brought up playing it.
Remember, a big reason why baseball, basketball, and football are so popular is because that's what our children experience. When you play a sport as a child, or even as an adult, you obtain a certain attachment to that game. Something you wouldn't have otherwise. You relate to the players more. You understand the strategy. You appreciate the difficulty.
You covet the passion.
Expansion teams such as Nashville and Columbus, which only remind fans of the Arena Football League, can be included in the long list as to why American's hate hockey.
All of a sudden.
Now, people want to see the Kobe Bryant's and the Terrell Owens'. People yearn for the next time Randy Moss fake moons the Green Bay faithful (me included). Fans can't wait for Pac-man Jones to be seen in the back of a police car again. The common man wishes that Ron Artest climbs the bleachers to attack another fan. That same man thirst's for Artest's next rap album to be released.
This is what sports have transfigured into. Entertainment with a side of competition.
But in a game where teamwork thrives. In a game where passion and intensity flourish. In a game where players don't relax on defense. In a game where a player won't complain about getting the ball. In a game where players will lay down in-front of a 100 mph slapshot, 15-games into the season because their team has a one-goal lead with five minutes to play.
In a game that forces its super-stars to, also, be teammates.
In a game that reiterates the soul reasons people fell in love with sports in the first place.
Hockey, has become a glitch on the American sport's radar screen.
And it's because of all those things that we, as sports fans, claim to hate.
Hockey simply doesn't have a Ron Artest, a Randy Moss, or a Pac-man Jones. It's because Sydney Crosby IS tattoo -less, passes as much as shoots, and hasn't been arrested yet.
It's because fans, for some reason, won't hesitate to say, "Defense wins championships," but chastises the sport the promotes it the most.
It's not hockey's fault. Hopefully in 10-15 years, the sports fan will revert back to what it once was.
http://hawgsports.blogspot.com
