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NHL might expand

MadVlad

By MadVlad
in Sports

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satalac Burg

satalac

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its hard to have as much interest when the sport isn't followed as closely in the south. You have 1 player from the south in the NHL, New England may have 20-30, im not sure, but either way the more locals the more interest. Once southern cities begin to grow athletes into the sport I think interest at all levels will increase.
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satalac Burg

satalac

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11 Fairfield County, CT $73,110 :whistling:

No Tennessee county finishes in the Top 20, according to this source. But whatever. Just because companies come around and support the team, just because a family might be wealthy, doesn't mean it's suitable for a pro team or a hockey team. The main factor is, how good is the product and how many fans can you put in the stands. Nashville, even with a good team that made the playoffs, seen a low turnout compared to most other NHL cities. That doesn't look too good. Especially if the trend is downward (see: Carolina)

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MadVlad Town

MadVlad

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The point you are missing is football is a TV friendly sport, hockey is currently not. To watch a football game on TV is easy, to follow the puck around the boards where you can't even see it is difficult to those that aren't used to it. I used to work with a guy that never played and said he hated the game. I asked why, he said "I can't follow that stupid puck on TV". I took him to a Whalers game and he was a season ticket holder ever since. Comparing football to hockey is almost apples and oranges at this point, hockey will never gain that type of following (much to my chagrin). Also, the whole skating thing turns people off. To play football, you only need to know how to run, same with baseball and basketball. I knew some guys that played dek hockey and hated it... it was a hack league because all the dudes that didn't bother to learn to skate could run around and smash people. Now, to quantify, yes, I understand that football, baseball, and basketball are more than just running, but that's the most basic aspect, if you can run, you have a shot. Unless someone has a physical disability, they can run. Hockey requires skating, which most people just can't do. Roller blading has helped immensely, but most guys I know that haven't played, that's the reason they give...

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nowensone Burg

nowensone

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^ I dunno, I think it is more a matter of being used to it and knowing the premise. A great many people watch a football game and while it seems completely obvious how to follow the action they have no idea what is going on. The hockey puck may be smaller than a football but the rink is smaller and I think less cluttered, not to mention the opposite color of it's "field". Once a football is on the ground or the back is surrounded you have little idea what exactly is happening. I suppose that is comparable to a fight at the goal to slip the puck in.

Anyway, both sports are a matter of experience IMO, and I'm going to have to agree with Justadude on the running of the NHL. The days of Gretsky are long over and they are missing the opportunities to make heroes and household names of players a la Jordan era basketball or current day football. The television advertising is not there, I saw practically nothing this past year to alert or build up tension over the playoffs to the casual/borderline fans. If the NHL sponsored any public events I must have missed it (which is part of the problem). Like most people I find the casual fans to be more annoying than those who aren't fans at all, but true fans must get created somehow. And that is solely up to the NHL to accomplish.

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Lowerdeck Burg

Lowerdeck

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On a side note today, I was at the Auburn (MA) mall earlier today. In the parking lot was a SUV, Mass. plates, several Carolina Hurricanes bumper stickers and a license plate frame. I had to look at this thing several time to see right. Then again, anything's possible. After all, back when I was in 5th and 6th grade, it was a fad to root for the Panthers ... even though we were nowhere CT and they were Miami.

But that's exactly the opposite of Nashville's problem. They've got enough fans to turn a profit, but corporate sponsorship is lacking.
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