It's the perfect sport:
The ideal combination of grace and brutality and a sport that requires a great deal of skill and atheleticism (sp?). So why isn't it more popular in the U.S.?

Probably because it doesn't translate well to T.V. It's just too damn fast-moving. Somebody has to figure a way to make this televise better. It's too good a sport to be ignored.

Are you a fan? Have you ever been to a game?

I enjoy the sport but I only really pay attention to the playoffs. Never attended an NHL game though...

now Hockey the drinking game, I get into.

i have never watched a full hockey game on television. one of my friends is a hardcore flyers fan, so he has dragged me along to some games and it's been fun, but i could never be a fan because i could never do it. (i don't skate.)


it's not more popular because most of the US can't grow up playing hockey. it's also wildly expensive for the equipment.

I enjoy hockey but freely admit that it will never be more than a niche sport.

Also...



will kick your ass

Hockey's always gonna be a fringe sport because it is so damn expensive to play. You need a crap load of gear and ice time costs money. Sure, in colder climates, you can play on a pond with some skates and a stick, but in the US, that's only in selected spots and only for parts of the year.

Agreed. Even in Atlanta and (especially) Dallas where youth hockey participation and leagues have skyrocketed in the last ten years, its still mainly upper class white kids who play.

I love hockey. Currently getting a lot of enjoyment out of watching the Sabres and the Islanders play. I don't really have a team in the NHL. I have season tickets to an AHL team that is the farm team for the worst run sports team in ALL of SPORTS (the Chicago Blackhawks). I watched their asses get handed to them by the Sharks last night. At least the Penguins game was much more exciting.

I don't think the lack of popularity comes from not being able to play it. I love soccer and hockey and have never played them. I cannot really stand baseball and basketball and I have played both of them.

To be honest, I don't think people understand it. The same reason why soccer doesn't get as much play. It's not as simple as 4 downs, punting, field goals, and touchdowns. THere are a lot more rules, the offsides rule seems to be more complicated for most people, and it is much faster paced than football or certainly baseball.

Hockey is the single best sport on the face of the planet. Anyway, just my opinion.

Holy shit do I agree with that!
But I used to rent an apartment from Wirtz and, as lousy a franchise owner as he is, he is a helluva landlord.

But yeah, a complete crap team owner.

the speed of the game has nothing to do with the fact that it isn't popular. i like hockey fine and i will attend a game from time to time, but if the nhl disappeared i wouldn't care at all except for feeling bad about the canadians and weirdos who would be bummed out.

Yeah. I think this is partially due to the violence. That turns a lot of would-be fans off.

I saw a couple Blackhawk games back in the day and they are more exciting to watch in a stadium than on TV.

i am curious as to what makes him a great landlord. were you, like, able to watch home games in your apartment, or something?

I'd say violence ranks fourth in why its not popular (and maybe first or second in why it IS popular):

1. Translates bad to TV (as PT mantioned)
2. Foreigners (unpronounceable names, etc.)
3. Most people didnt play it growing up (unlike baseball, hoops, and even soccer)
4. Violence

Cheap rent -- included utilities (of course).
Well-kept buildings with decent-sized apartments.
On-premises building manager.
Quick response to the few problems that did arise.

Hockey has several problems. If you don't live in a big city, you have no way of playing it and most likely can't see it live. The league in general has been poorly managed and it's dropped off the radar alot. It's failed to market it stars like it once did. There's more competition for viewership these days. And the season is too long.

You should go to DC sometime. Ovechkin is everywhere.

Unfortunately, the Thrashers most marketable player killed one of his teammates and had to be traded to Ottawa. They try their best to market Hossa and Kovalchuk, but its just not the same.

But the fact that you couldn't play it as a kid does make a difference?

Basically, my statements about the speed issue come from bringing first timers and parents, etc to hockey games and having to spend about a period and a half explaining every little thing, trying to help them follow the puck, mainly so they don't get hit in the face with one that slips over the glass, and trying to point out why a ref called whatever particular penalty. I think speed has a lot to do with it. Even though it is fast, if you can't comprehend what is happening because you can't keep up then the game is going to get boring and make people lose interest.

I just don't see how access to the sport as a child has all that much to do with the popularity of a sport. Maybe to a certain extent I can see that, but I really don't think that has ever affected my opinion of sports. I love PLAYING baseball but I would rather rip my toenails off than watch it on tv or even live. I don't care if I can skate or play hockey, I love the sport. I don't know. I guess I am different than most people because everyone seems to be agreeing with Bloor. I should have learned by now to adjust my opinions to match his. *sigh*

Bloor has a pretty good list there.

I'm a huge sports fan and I'll admit that I just don't understand all the rules and how to defend against other teams strengths, strategies, etc.

For me, it's because I never played it down South, hell I only saw snow about once a year. Down here, you learn how to beat the 3-4 defense in football by age 15.

Also, I've never had a team make the playoffs. That changes this year with the Thrashers. I will be watching every game this year while they're in it. I think that is a big help at least regionally.

The funny thing about this is that bastard blacks out the games on tv when the Blackhawks are at home.

If you ever get a chance to watch a Boston Bruins game, do so this year. One of the biggest examples of how Chicago is such a horribly run team is a player named Brandon Bochenski. He was in the top 3 scorers in the AHL and was on the Blackhawks farm team. He had scored 4 hat tricks, three at home and one of them he scored 4 times in the same game. He'd get called up and put on the 4th line with like 6 minutes of ice time. He got traded and now is playing on the first and second lines with Boston and keeps getting point after point. INstead we got some rookie who is okay but nothing that special. They make poor poor decisions ALL the time. Dale Tallon (the GM) has to be one of the biggest morons in sports.

Didn't Wirtz win some "worst business man of the year" award last year?

I'm not sure that violence is a hinderance. I mean that UFC is really losing fans, and I know people who watch NASCAR just for the wrecks and aggressive driving.

the playoffs bit is a good point. I think the fact that the Hurricanes won the cup last year has done massive things for the fanbase and attendance in Raleigh. They're not having that great a year, but they are still selling a lot of seats. Selling out? Not yet, but it will happen.

I think the fighting is a huge draw actually. Most of the time the arena isn't any louder than when there is a fight, especially if the home team wins it. My mom doesnt like the fights, but generally speaking, the average fan is probably more interested in a legal beatdown rather than goal scoring.

He's not really on par with Gretsky, Super Mario, etc.

I also think that video games are underrated as a marketing tool. I really believe Madden has helped football. Conversely, there is no BLADES OF STEEL out there right now.

NHL 2K7 is one of the best sports games I have played.