Posted on 02/09/2005 6:37:29 PM PST by SamAdams76
Last week, espn.com, the Internet site for all-sports TV station ESPN, asked its American subscribers to weigh in on the NHL lockout. "Do you care that the NHL is expected to cancel the 2004-05 season?" they asked.
Of the 146,514 responses, 73% said "No."
Given what we north of the border have been surmising over the past few months, that percentage is not terribly surprising. Hockey coverage in the States is as hard to find as cricket coverage in Canada. It's a boutique sport at best.
What is surprising is that many actually responded. Were they giving away free cars?
We in Canada love and care about hockey in a way unmatched around the globe, but I'm starting to doubt if Canadians care as deeply as we think about the current labour dispute. Given his or her druthers, every hockey fan in this country obviously would choose to have the NHL back on ice and back on our TV sets. But in light of the equally obvious fact that it's not going to happen anytime soon, I am sensing little in the way of passionate outrage that you might expect of a people deprived of their game.
Lockout conversations tend to peter out after a minute or two, simply because there's not a lot to say. Once you get past "Are they coming back?" and the obligatory negative response, talk turns to more urgent matters, like the price of kids' sticks.
So, what in the name of Gordie Howe is going on here? It certainly isn't that we don't care, because down deep we do.
My own belief is that in an age of unfathomable player riches, not to mention ticket prices, the public has disconnected itself from the people who play and run the game.
Trevor Linden may expect us working stiffs to appreciate the principle behind his association's stalwart refusal to accept a cap on their salaries that would reduce the average salary from $1.8 million US to $1.3 million, but the truth is nobody I know can relate to such thinking.
If you can believe the industry numbers, there is a $2 billion pie (shrinking with each passing day) to be divided. How can such an economic reality get lost in the semantics of "salary cap" and "linkage" and "cost certainty."
For heaven's sake, at $1 million a year a middle-of-the road NHLer will gross more in two seasons than about 90% of the population earns in 40 years of working.
In the realm of professional athletics, hockey players have managed in general to maintain their image as "real" people; good guys, humble and as well-grounded as the small towns where so many are from. But in recent years, it has gotten so that the only people who can afford to go to watch them play are rich and well-connected themselves.
Because it's hockey and because it's Canada, folks will cheer for the sweater (whenever that sweater reappears). They will pine quietly for the game they love but care little for the "plight" of the millionaires who play it and the billionaires who own the teams.
As this charade of a negotiation drags on yet another week, each side rooted to the same patch of ground it occupied two years ago, the players and owners will continue to wage their little war through the media for the hearts and minds of the people in the street.
As far as we can tell, though, those hearts and minds already have moved on.
Those left turns are a bitch! lol
Oops sorry for the double reply, my bad
Do hockey fans really have anything else better to do right now?
Sick and tired? If play resumes the fans will fill the stands every night.
LOL! I worked in Woburn at the time, and I dated girls from there and Reading and Melrose. My mistake ;-)
Ohio girls are easy. Many have roots in West Virginia. Tells you a lot!!
I'm a life-long NY Ranger fan, after cutting my hockey teeth on the Long Island Ducks captained by John Brophy who was the coach/player they modeled the lead in Slapshot after (palyed by Paul Newman)...God, I miss hockey...
But the NHL has only itself to blame. The game itself has become almost unwatchable with the talent dilution due to over-expansion and the allowing of clutch and grab obstruction throughout the regular season. Stanley Cup playoff hockey is still one of the most beautiful sporting events to behold...but the regular season? Blech...
I place plenty of blame on both of the arguing parties...the owners for granting contracts that their revenues do not support, the league for over-expanding into non-hockey markets leaving 6-8 teams in constant financial turmoil and diluting the talent and the players for not acting in a financially responsible manner (but it's hard to blame someone for not seeking the most money they can garner in their line of work).
A pox on all of them!
I prefer soccer. Hockey's fine though. I'll watch anything, really, but soccer is one of the few sports I really enjoy.
Really though, must soccer be put down to compliment hockey?
Hockey, unlike football, has never pulled the television ratings to get a big contract. For the NFL, the ratings are high enough to guarantee big money, and the stadiums hold significantly more people.
Hockey, That's the game they play with rocks and brooms right?
No, it's the one they play with cow pies and pitchforks.
Is this it?
Like you said, pitchers and catchers are reporting soon--some teams (i.e. Yankees) will start as early as next Tuesday. By March 3, ESPN will be airing some Spring Training games due to the NHL strike. Last baseball season was a doozy...there's going to be a lot of excitement going into this one. The NHL's lack of presence has caused most sports fans in the US to move on to other things, like football and that fast-approaching baseball season. So to answer your question, no one cares about hockey RIGHT NOW, let alone when ST officially starts.
Yeah, the NHL is a mess, but maybe the AHL will replace it. Here in Connecticut we have two good AHL teams in Hartford and Bridgeport - let the NHL go, the AHL games are just as enjoyable to watch and actually affordable for a family.
I hope the ice cracks and they all fall through and drown.
(just kidding)
The owners should FIRE all the players and just announce they are re hiring the next crop of players. 500K is MORE than enough.
Professional sports leagues don't bear the slightest resemblance to those of us in the real world. They're collusive monopolies.
Replacement Fans
Truer words were never spoken.
Since childhood I was a rabid baseball fan. I used to go to about 30 games a year. Post strike, I go to maybe 2 or at most 3. Same for the rest of my family. Everyone's game going habit has changed drastically.
Pro sports best get a clue, they are killing the golden goose.
Funny how pro sports labor disputes turns conservatives into Communists.
Attendance for pro sports in general is higher than it's ever been.
Attendance in baseball back in the "Good 'Ol Days" without the union and with tiny salaries and no free agency was garbage.
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