I've had a few of those really excited moments lately, the ones only a starved hockey fan gets around this time of year. You know -- you hear "Start Me Up" playing on the radio, dig up your favorite hockey team's t-shirt to wear out on the town, or start praying for those cold winter nights. Ah, yes. If you're truly obsessed, you probably even have at least a few games on tape -- ones you could watch, say, if you get desperate. (Please leave a certain game from June of 1999 on the shelf. It's really not that bad.)
I'm guilty of those moments and more. I heard the mention of "your official station for Red Wings hockey" on 1270 AM and blasted my car stereo. And I don't even like the Wings. I busted out the NHL apparel and even began humming the Hockey Night in Canada jingle. And the draft isn't even until the 30th. It's official -- I'm a diehard hockey fan. And if you're like me, it's our duty to bring this game back with a bang and share our passion with new fans.
Seeing the possibilities? Now comes the tough part: popular and NHL -- the two words just don't mix. Right? At least in the U.S., where fans aren't "Canadian enough" to appreciate the game. ESPN's Terry Frei on broadening the fan base:
"... the sport's most fervent proponents, whether in the seats or the front offices, in Canada, Sweden or the U.S., ditch this proprietary, "our sport" mind-set. Potential new fans -- yes, especially in the U.S. -- have been turned off when they encounter the attitude that they should have to pass a rules and a history test to be allowed to buy a ticket for an NHL game, or that they must swear allegiance to hockey above all other sports to be considered a true fan.
The NHL has remained a niche and cult sport in the U.S. in part because some fans don't want to go through what sometimes can seem to be like a fraternity initiation to be accepted. And, yes, the fans in the nontraditional markets tire of being belittled in the double-standard judgments: Empty seats in Boston are because the history-drenched Bruins stink and consumers are smart; but empty seats in Florida for a rotten Panthers team are because the fans are "bad" and it's an unworthy market."
Geez, I think I even might have been guilty of this. Living near Hockeytown all my life, I assumed people around me liked hockey. And I also assumed that when I traveled to other cities in the U.S. -- be it New York or Chicago -- that people didn't. And those fans in nontraditional markets like Florida and Texas? Just transplanted northerners that left for jobs or retirement. And how could kids that have never even seen snow appreciate a game played on ice? Maybe a lot of us -- including the majority of the hockey media in Canada -- just think it's not genetically possible for Americans to embrace hockey the same way they do football. Frei on the media:
"... many high- and low-profile members of the U.S. media, even in large markets where the NHL is a major attraction, cease serving up their rationalizations for continuing ignorance about, and inattention to, hockey.
... I'm sick of the "Chicago" rationalization, the one that went (at least in the old days): "There are only 18,000 people in Chicago who care about hockey, and they're all at the Chicago Stadium." Hockey interest is more widespread than that, and it gets ridiculous when columnists in major markets are writing more about bad NBA teams drawing, oh, 6,000 a game than NHL powerhouses selling out. Why? Because there's "more interest" in the NBA.
Maybe there is.
In Boise."
The local media outlets in Detroit definitely give Red Wings top billing on every occasion. But it's not so in other cities, especially on the national level where a great overtime goal or head-turning save gets buried beneath football, basketball, golf, even off-season baseball rumors. And forget any coverage if your favorite team isn't New York, Colorado, Philadelphia or Detroit -- especially if you're a fan of a team north of the border. There's been entire seasons without an Edmonton or Vancouver game on ESPN/ESPN2 -- even when Vancouver was near the top of the league.
But is it the media's "duty" to create fans? No. But do they fuel an ongoing war with Canada's best import? Yes. All of the time. And please, I don't think people started emailing ESPN begging to see more of the strongest man competition.
There's a bunch of reasons you can point to the lack of success the league has had the United States. The lockout hasn't helped that image and the lack of a national TV deal will probably make it suffer further. So that's why I call on you. Frei one last time:
"... I've also experienced the enjoyment of witnessing transformations in both individual fans and entire markets, when grandmothers who didn't know the color of the blue line a few years ago now are asking why the hell that clown is on the point, when mothers are driving vanloads of kids to the rink for USA Hockey-affiliated leagues and programs, and when -- just to cite one example -- a national championship collegiate hockey program in Denver increasingly is drawing from an in-state talent pool. Don't give up, and not only because the new partnership between owners and players is tied to percentage of revenues and dollars can come because of interest in the non-NHL markets, as well. Don't give up, and not only because minor-league pro hockey has spread to unlikely outposts in the U.S. (how about those Laredo Bucks?), and even there it can become more than a cheap-ticket, beer-and-fights phenomenon."
I hope you're as excited about the return of professional hockey as I am. Bust out the t-shirts, car flags, bumper stickers and pom-pons. Cry when your team doesn't get Sidney Crosby in two weeks. Host "Hockey Night in Canada" parties in the fall. Just promise me you'll spread the good news.
I am most certainly excited. I just can't wait for Friday - I wanna know where Crosby is going.
Posted by: Phil | 19 July 2005 at 10:19 PM
I will definitely be waving my pom-pons for the Wings.. and who knows, maybe I'll wave Crosby right on over to Detroit. haha, yea right.. have fun with your 3 balls, Buffalo!
Posted by: amber | 20 July 2005 at 01:57 AM