Why Isnt the Hawks' Record Start a Bigger Story!?!?!

[Jntg4]

Going back to the subject of hockey not being popular in America. So Dmelt, when you said soccer was the most popular sport in the world and they only score 1 to 2 goals, did you realize that backs my statement completely about big numbers and the feeling of instant gratification here in the states? Soccer is the LEAST popular sport here because they do not put up big number and we don't see 60+ points a game and 7 different kind of goal dances to go along with it. Hockey is not far behind in the goal category. If hockey had bigger nets and 20+ goals a game instead of 3 to 6, then America would be all into the sport. And it goes back to my sayings that most United States American (estadounidense no americano, por mi mexicaño amigos!) citizens play basketball and football since it is easy to play. Big American egos and testosterone are elevated when they look at the hundreds of yards or dozens of points they put up in a game in comparison to the 1 goal they have to work 60 minutes or 90 minutes for. The appreciation for teamwork is not as heavily rewarded like it is everywhere else in the world. And since we are a country where we "want to be the best NOW NOW NOW," having to work hard for years just so you can put up 3 points a game is not as savvy as spending a couple months on the field to put up hundreds of points. Get it?

At the same time, high scoring games deplete the significance of a point, and the points are worthless and much less exciting (e.g. basketball).

 

[DMelt36]

Going back to the subject of hockey not being popular in America. So Dmelt, when you said soccer was the most popular sport in the world and they only score 1 to 2 goals, did you realize that backs my statement completely about big numbers and the feeling of instant gratification here in the states? Soccer is the LEAST popular sport here because they do not put up big number and we don't see 60+ points a game and 7 different kind of goal dances to go along with it. Hockey is not far behind in the goal category. If hockey had bigger nets and 20+ goals a game instead of 3 to 6, then America would be all into the sport. And it goes back to my sayings that most United States American (estadounidense no americano, por mi mexicaño amigos!) citizens play basketball and football since it is easy to play. Big American egos and testosterone are elevated when they look at the hundreds of yards or dozens of points they put up in a game in comparison to the 1 goal they have to work 60 minutes or 90 minutes for. The appreciation for teamwork is not as heavily rewarded like it is everywhere else in the world. And since we are a country where we "want to be the best NOW NOW NOW," having to work hard for years just so you can put up 3 points a game is not as savvy as spending a couple months on the field to put up hundreds of points. Get it?

I believe it was Gunzaan who said that, not me. I think you make a fair point there, but keep in mind that hockey did have ridiculous amounts of scoring in the 80s. Can't speak to how popular it was during that time, though.

I think hockey will continue to be a niche sport for, at least, another 20-30 years because it remains highly unpopular in the southern states. Teams have only been around in that area for 30-40 years, at the most. You could include the western half of the US in that as well. It was strictly a midwestern/northeastern US and Canadian sport for a long, long time. And you can't make the change to widespread popularity in a generation with so many other sports competing for attention. The other three major sports have franchises in the west and the south with long-standing traditions. The NHL does not.

 

[DMelt36]

I see your point, Dmelt, and would completely agree with you, if NBC sports wasn't such a joke. In the US, ESPN has a television sports monopoly, unless you consider local comcast coverage.

I'm not going to proclaim NBC Sports as an equal with ESPN at all, but I do think they're doing a fine job of growing the network. The fact that NBC owns Comcast, which in turns means that they own all of the Comcast SportsNet <Insert city here> networks does allow for some smooth transitions between different markets.

 

[DMelt36]

That's not really that true. When ESPN had hockey they promoted it really well. They did some great commercials for it and always had premier games on. Did they plug it as much as football or baseball(this is before they had the NBA)? No. But that would have been a stupid waste of marketing dollars seeing as the NHL isn't as big a ratings draw compared to those two.

I can't really comment on how ESPN use to cover the NHL but in regards to today, where would all the NHL programming go? It seems like ESPN already has a ridiculous amount of shows to air each day that I don't know where they could fit another sport. Particularly, like you said, one that probably isn't going to draw a ton of ratings.

 

[Gunzaan]

I'm not going to proclaim NBC Sports as an equal with ESPN at all, but I do think they're doing a fine job of growing the network. The fact that NBC owns Comcast, which in turns means that they own all of the Comcast SportsNet <Insert city here> networks does allow for some smooth transitions between different markets.

Oh, don't get me wrong, ESPN is absolutely horrible... It has turned sports into a soap opera. NBC Sports has done nothing to make me tune in though... Soccer, golf, and Notre Dame coverage don't do it for me.

 

[ClydeLee]

Oh, don't get me wrong, ESPN is absolutely horrible... It has turned sports into a soap opera. NBC Sports has done nothing to make me tune in though... Soccer, golf, and Notre Dame coverage don't do it for me.

Well it's mostly NBC Sports not normal NBC... and they kept the same hunting/fishing/auto programing of Verses, basically any niche sport market which is the only flaw I see with them connecting to the NHL. Plus when they dropped the Daily Line, the only show program they had focused on discussion hockey in more than highlights, it went even worse.

 

[Franko725]

I'm not going to proclaim NBC Sports as an equal with ESPN at all, but I do think they're doing a fine job of growing the network. The fact that NBC owns Comcast, which in turns means that they own all of the Comcast SportsNet <Insert city here> networks does allow for some smooth transitions between different markets.

Actually Comcast just bought the rest of the 49% of NBC that they didn't own already. They pushed up the date to buy it early due to the fact that they deemed that the cost per share that they were going to have to pay when the regularly scheduled sale date was going to be much higher. That was in part due to the fact that NBC Sports is expected to keep increasing in ratings and worth.

 

[kvalentine]

i think its getting pretty much attention.... this is the nhl

 

[dabynsky]

Clearly the biggest problem is the fact that hockey is low scoring. No sport in this country that doesn't have offense every thirty seconds does well. I mean no one watches baseball in this country which has fewer runs per game than hockey does goals per game.

 

[HawkWriter]

Clearly the biggest problem is the fact that hockey is low scoring. No sport in this country that doesn't have offense every thirty seconds does well. I mean no one watches baseball in this country which has fewer runs per game than hockey does goals per game.

Baseball has more runs per game than Hockey does goals per game. Almost double.

 

[X]

OP's got a point. if the fugging Indians started their season off 70-0 with 10 wins in Extra Innings, it would be big news....

 

[dabynsky]

Baseball has more runs per game than Hockey does goals per game. Almost double.

Yeah the chart I looked at was by team for baseball compared to hockey which was by game. Though with the decline in offense in baseball with recent increase in hockey the difference isn't nearly double anymore.

Point remains that while baseball has more it hardly is a high scoring game like football or basketball and yet remains popular.

 

[Franko725]

I have to say that it is getting more attention from the East Coast biased, LeBron ass kissers over at ESPN. It is being mentioned in almost every lead-in to the start of one of their programs. I think one of the biggest things that has helped with hockey at least becoming more relevant in the U.S. has been that more and more games are at least on national tv. It may never get to be as commonly watched as any of the top three right now, but that is just up to each individual viewer. I don't much care to watch the NBA outside of the playoffs, and I have never really liked watching soccer. To each their own.

 

[ClydeLee]

BTW, turned on Sportcenter randomly last night. It was the first leading mention in their top stories segment. Sounds fine to me.

That was BEFORE LeBron and The Heats win streak got mentioned.

 

[DMelt36]

Yeah the chart I looked at was by team for baseball compared to hockey which was by game. Though with the decline in offense in baseball with recent increase in hockey the difference isn't nearly double anymore.

Point remains that while baseball has more it hardly is a high scoring game like football or basketball and yet remains popular.

Baseball is America's past-time. It's a tradition. Hockey is only a tradition in about 10 states.

 

[dabynsky]

Baseball is America's past-time. It's a tradition. Hockey is only a tradition in about 10 states.

Right hockey is a regional sport that is the worst transfer from live to television, and those are bigger factors for hockey being the least popular of the big team sports in this country.

 

[NCChiFan]

I've seen it all live. Football, college football, pro basketball, college basketball (Dean dome), Soccer (manU v. Barca), baseball, NASCAR, and of course Hockey. Hockey is by far the most enjoyable to watch live and one that I loath watching on TV. It is a shame.

Having grown up watching the Blackhawks live (dad was a season ticket holder back in the Stan Makita days), it may skew my viewpoint, but having judged the reaction to a minor league team here in town for a few years and how it changes my local friends opinions, I'll hold onto the view, that Hockey with a knowledgeable crowd is the most exciting live sport. Period.

It is a shame most of the sports viewing world doesn't realize this.

 

[DMelt36]

I've seen it all live. Football, college football, pro basketball, college basketball (Dean dome), Soccer (manU v. Barca), baseball, NASCAR, and of course Hockey. Hockey is by far the most enjoyable to watch live and one that I loath watching on TV. It is a shame.

Having grown up watching the Blackhawks live (dad was a season ticket holder back in the Stan Makita days), it may skew my viewpoint, but having judged the reaction to a minor league team here in town for a few years and how it changes my local friends opinions, I'll hold onto the view, that Hockey with a knowledgeable crowd is the most exciting live sport. Period.

It is a shame most of the sports viewing world doesn't realize this.

Couldn't agree more.

Although I've always that baseball is the one that makes the roughest transition to TV. But that's just me.

 

[FirstTimer]

I can't really comment on how ESPN use to cover the NHL but in regards to today, where would all the NHL programming go? It seems like ESPN already has a ridiculous amount of shows to air each day that I don't know where they could fit another sport. Particularly, like you said, one that probably isn't going to draw a ton of ratings.

This was quite a few years ago before the explosion of shitty shows like first take, SEC Storied, etc etc that took up time. It would be on ESPN 2 quite a bit though as well. ESPN also had Sunday Night Hockey quite a bit too IIRC. ESPN was programmed way different back then.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN_National_Hockey_Night

A (very)brief overview.

 

[Gunzaan]

Right hockey is a regional sport that is the worst transfer from live to television, and those are bigger factors for hockey being the least popular of the big team sports in this country.

Obviously, this is all opinion, but to me, baseball is by far the worst transfer from live to television. On tv, its almost as bad as watching paint dry.