Americans and Hockey

[Stickman]

So up here in the far north we love our hockey. 95% of the time all sport talk shows are talking hockey even in the summer. Probably on the level of NFL in the states. However, Canadians tend to feel like the NHL is alienating them while trying to cater to an American public that doesn't seem to care about hockey.

My question is this. Why do Americans not care? Is it because it's not an American sport which does seem to be a common trend in regards to sports in the US. Are you americans really that stupid that you can't follow a black puck on white ice on television while the camera follows said puck? Is it the camera angles? I admit they could definatly come up with some better way to show the game on TV, even though with HD hockey is incredible.

We know that Americans like fast sports (Well maybe not they like baseball) and hockey is fast. They like hard hitting sports which hockey is even though they're trying to pussify it to please the americans (makes no sense I know). There's fighting which everybody loves even those tree huggers who say it should be taken out of the game (which would be terrible). Hockey even has the best looking trophy in ALL sports across the world.

So what is it?

[LoDownM]

Hockey in HD is the best thing since sliced bread. I kinda like it how it was before the lockout or whatever, when 8-2 final scores weren't everyday. Screw scoring fests, give me a close 3-2 game, if I want to see a scoring fest, i'll play NHL 2006.

[Mr. Aristocrat]

Personally I love Hockey, but I think the reason most don't like it is that most never play it. I mean the sport that 99% of Americans play when friends and familys get together is football (American Football, not Football/soccer). Most people in America will never even get on an ice rink let alone play hockey. It's just the way it is. It's the same reason a lot of white Americans don't like basketball. We never play it. The negros are all so good that we never grow a love for it.

Also, Hockey just goes back and forth. I mean the puck is on the other side every dozen seconds or so and their is not a big build up to actually scoring. With Football, you get a slow (or occasionally fast and exciting) progression towards the endzone. It usually builds suspense.

As for Baseball, that is really only popular is a very select few areas....Boston...well all of Mass really. New York, LA, and a couple of other places are the only ones who give a rat's ass about their baseball teams. There is an illusion that Americans like baseball, when in fact, unless it's a special moment or big climax of baseball history, no one knows or cares. Most everyone I know thinks Baseball is the most boring sport ever (and I agree, though it's a great drinking game). Really the only sport Americans go nuts for is American Football...and when I say go nuts, I mean we get excited a fraction of how much most of the rest of the world gets about Football (soccer).

[ct2k]

I thought Detroit was quite a big hockey town?

[MVP]

I think some Americans don't care about hockey cause most of the sports networks don't give a shit about hockey. For instance, the NBA finals are around the same time as the Stanley Cup, and all ESPN talks about are the NBA Finals (Dwayne Wade last year in particular), and they barely gave the Stanley Cup the time of day on Sportscenter. Also as far as I know the NHL Amateur Draft was not broadcast live unlike the NFL and NBA drafts, even though in 2005 they covered it a little bit cause of Sidney Crosby, but I am willing to bet that way more Americans know the 1st round picks in the NBA draft than the NHL draft.

It kinda sucks really cause I watch Sportscenter a lot, but I hate NBA so most of the time in the winter I only watch it to follow NFL stuff. So for NHL news I usually try to catch a game on OLN, and usually they cover NHL news, but that's not exactly what you call a major sports network.

[Caged Heat18]

I am an American and I love hockey. I'll watch football and baseball and none of them compare to hockey for me. I have been playing hockey for almost all of my life, and their are no greater fans than hockey fans. I wish Americans would realize what an awesome sport it is, and that it would get the proper coverage it desevres. On sportscenter they give Barry Melrose about five seconds to talk about the game's that night. How is anyone supposse to care? I like the fast pace action, and that it never stops. Baseball takes forever with all the breaks between innings, football has timeouts all the time, and you can set up each individual play, but hockey you always have to be two steps ahead of the play, which makes it even greater in my opinion.

[Stickman]

Yeah, my beef with football especially in the states is that every bloody play is drawn up. There's not really flow or anything, you just get the opportunity to do one of your coreagraphed plays that the coach decides on, and if you don't get ten yards in 3 opportunities you kick it away. I think with hockey it's always moving and everything is reactionary so I can't understand why it hasn't caught on higher than the 4th major sport in North America.

As for the networks not showing highlights does that have to do with the people telling the media what it likes or is it the media telling the people what to like?

[Skippord]

I love Hockey and Football

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Yeah your right, its definetly because Americans are idiots and can't follow the little black puck

Or maybe its because, outside of the Northern states, nobody really plays hockey growing up. (Those states, just like Canada, get cold as fuck during the winter months) Plus even if you wanted to play it, you better have two really good parents (having to drive kids to practice at 5 am) with a pretty decent cash flow, because youth hockey isn't for poor people. (Atleast here in the Boston area, where hockey is pretty fucking big)

I'm not even going to go into view on NFL because you don't understand it (which is fine) but just because you feel that way doesn't mean others do as well (I personally can't understand people's love for baseball, outside the Red Sox games I really don't find myself sitting down and watching it) I personally think hockey is a bit of a clusterfuck, but do I think everyone else should feel that way? Not really

SportsCenter thing is garbage tho, ESPN plays what people watch. It's not their faults there isn't a lot of hockey fans.

[Stickman]

I understand football.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

lol I knew you where going to post something like that, I didn't mean you just get it, I meant really understanding it. If you think its a coach's diagramed play getting 3 cracks at a first down and that's all there is to it then you don't really understand it.

I can sit down and watch a hockey game and know whats going on but I couldn't tell you a thing about a penatly kill, I really don't truly understand the game of hockey.

[Blitz]

I can't agree with the whole "we didn't play it growing up, so we don't like it" argument.

Fuck, I never flew an X-Wing growing up, but I can still enjoy watching Star Wars.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

It's not the only issue, but it is a big one. If you grow up playing hockey, you are probably going to grow up to like it - it only makes sense. That is why in areas in the US where hockey is big, the NHL is farely successful.

I don't see how a Star Wars comparison has anything do with sports though

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

It is kind of like Professional Lacrosse, where did the 6 original MLL teams originate? The northeast region in the United States, since that is where ameture lacrosse was born. Hockey is just on a larger scale and obviously a lot more successful but the same principles apply, personally I think hockey should say fuck any struggling franchises in areas where hockey is not a major sport and just concentrate in the regions where hockey is big time.

I've investigated this shit gentlemengs, it is a part of my major.

And another thing, for some reason people who have never played a down of football in there life LOVE football. I really think that is why it is so succesful right now, people who never stepped on a football field at any level are like addicited to it. Look in the South, they sell out 20,000 seat high school football games, there is just something about it that people love. Not to be THAT GUY and bring myself up here, but the last high school football game I ever played was infront of 6,000 people - and my high school only held about 1,320 and the school we played even less. I don't know, I really don't think all those people had a connection to the 75 kids on my team or the 55 kids on the other team. Something about the game meng

[Stickman]

No I really do understand football. My analogy of it probably just wasn't the best. In a nutshell, I feel it's an over coached game where players almost "rehearse" nearly EVERYTHING they do. In hockey, yeah you practice a lot, but the game is much more reactionary than anything.

However, mad oral sex for bringing up lacrosse. Would you like me to use lube?

[Blitz]

The only hockey I've ever played was street hockey with my friends, and that didn't start till after I started watching hockey.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

I'm not disagreeing with you and saying it is impossible for there to be a hockey fan who has never played hockey, that obviously happens but not at the same rate as say football.

With the rehearse thing, yeah I guess you do have a play drawn out but you have to react to the defense and vice versa. Its not like you draw up a 36 ISO then run it no matter what, rehearse some plays to run againest Belichek and dont be ready to adapt on the fly. See how well you do, or draw up a defense againest Peyton Manning and only run it the way you "rehearsed" and watch him pick you apart for 4 TD passes.

[Triple A]

I think the growing up playing it thing definitely has something to do with it. When I was growing up I would play basketball like every day, and I also played football and baseball a lot. Hockey? Never really, other than in gym class sometimes.

I think another part of it is that since nobody really cares about hockey here, you don't really try to care about it. If a sport is real big and everyone is talking about it, obviously you are going to want to check it out. But if nobody cares about it, why should you care?

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Yeah thats true about the cycle, if nobody cares about a sport then you grow up disinterested then you continue to stay disinterested for the rest of your life. Again, this isn't the case for every single person obviously but a large percentage.

Another reason why I think football is so successful is becasue there is one game a week and they are always on Sundays. Then the one game that isn't on a Sunday, is like the biggest thing going on on a Monday Night. Theres a very rare times when I've looked fowarded to watching a Celtics game on a Tuesday, I alway just seem to stumble across it but with a Monday Football game it is a lot different, so many people look foward to that game even if their favorite team isn't even playing.

[Stickman]

AAA is right about nobody talking about it thus nobody caring. I think if ESPN for example decided to talk about it people would care.

Mind you I see highlights of the NBA and I refuse to watch or care. Way to go "Memphis" Grizzlies.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

I personally don't buy ESPN having control over what we watch, they show highlights for every sport and you can pick and choose. Granted the majority of their key stories aren't on hockey but why should they be? Hockey hasn't earned the right to have the top story IMO. If you can only get one game of the Stanley Cup finals on free TV then that says a lot to me.

ESPN is brought up a lot on these boards, do you guys not have other sports networks in your area or something? I usually watch more of the local sports networks since they talk more about teams that interest me. I really don't care if the Red Sox are the lead story or not on SportsCenter and it wouldn't bother me one bit if they never got mentioned. For some reason though, people on TPWW FLIP OUT over the over coverage of certain teams/players. I really don't get why people even care.

[Stickman]

I dont' know what other channel covers sports in the states thats why I use ESPN as the example.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Well your argument is kind of flawed, I mean you are asking "Why aren't people watching hockey?" but then say they shouldn't change the game for more fans to wanna watch? If people currently aren't watching the product - they aren't going to start randomly watch it out without any changes. I don't really know what you want the NHL to do.

[Stickman]

I'm trying to find out what changes these non fans would like to see in order for them to watch. The problem with changes is that if they completely change it they've alienated their current fan base. The problem is, they dont' know what changes actually make a difference to the American fans and keep them Canadians happy.

So I guess, to you Americans that aren't into hockey, what would it take for you to care more?

[Triple A]

AAA is right about nobody talking about it thus nobody caring. I think if ESPN for example decided to talk about it people would care.
ESPN has nothing to do with it. I am talking about people in general, not the media. Plus ESPN shows plenty of hockey highlights but I could still care less about it.

[Triple A]

So I guess, to you Americans that aren't into hockey, what would it take for you to care more?
I don't think I will ever really get into hockey because like I said, nobody around me at all is into hockey. So there would be no point for me to suddenly want to get into it out of the blue. Unless somehow everyone started to get really into hockey for some reason, I would put in some effort to see what all the hoopla is about.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

I'm trying to find out what changes these non fans would like to see in order for them to watch. The problem with changes is that if they completely change it they've alienated their current fan base. The problem is, they dont' know what changes actually make a difference to the American fans and keep them Canadians happy.

So I guess, to you Americans that aren't into hockey, what would it take for you to care more?I think a lot of fans lost interest after the strike and maybe they'll eventually come back. Other than that? I really don't think you can do anything to make changes right away. If I was the NHL I would only try to target those "used to be fans." Or maybe try a "cradle to grave" idea where you get to people when they are real young, hoping to create a fan for life.

[Zen v.W.o.]

Hockey is a bit harder to just strike up a game and start playing, so I'll give them that. That's usually a good way of getting kids to start enjoying something. And it is more expensive to play than any other sport.

But still..it should garner far more interest. It's clearly the most exctiing sport going.

[Triple A]

Clearly.

[El Fangel]

Hockey is probabily the second best thing about Canada, besides the beer, I have no clue why americans dislike hockey, maybe its too much for them, like our beer, which has an alcohol content over 1%.

[YOUR Hero]

I doubt Tampa has many ice rinks for kids to go play hockey at. Their NHL guys won a Stanley Cup and I bet if the team packed up and left, hardly anyone in that market would care. There is not enough connection to the game growing up in the area. It's like that in far too many US hockey markets.

[Crippla]

Football.

[El Fangel]

I agree, hockey in Arizona for example has always bothered me, I mean its like 100 degrees outside, and your inside playing an ice sport?

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

An entire NHL season got canceled, I think a lot of people are totally forgetting that in this topic.

[McLegend]

yeah when the NHL went on strike Americans relized they didn't miss it.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth]

Americans have a lot of other options then just hockey, when hockey went away hockey fans found other sports to watch. Now that hockey is back, nobody really cares. Not one sport is more exciting then another, as much as people want to be fucking idiots and try to argue that point. You can't measure excitement. Its different for everyone, for some reason the Candians in this thread are having a hard time realizing this. It must be us though, the Americans, we're wrong here.

[weather vane]

I think it is getting a lot better than what it was. More Americans seem to be watching and there is a tiny bit more exposure down south.

I can understand why Americans don't really watch hockey but I do think that they are missing out on a great sport. Hockey is unreal. The game has it all.

[D Mac]

Because there is no KC team.