A lack of interest in the World Cup

[Rob]

ST. PAUL, MINN. -- Outside Canada, World Cup of Hockey fever does not appear to be catching.

Here, in the middle of "the hockey state," as Minnesota proudly calls itself, there has been only one sellout at the Xcel Energy Center.

That came in the round-robin game between the United States and Russia on Sept. 2, when the crowd was announced as 18,064, although there was no shortage of empty seats.

When the U.S. team played Russia again in the quarter-finals, in a game where the loser was out of the tournament, even fewer fans showed up. The organizers announced the crowd as 17,218, but seasoned observers pegged the number at no more than 12,000.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040909/SHOALTS09/TPSports/Hockey

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[Cawz]

This has been marketed very poorly, the start times alienate half the continant (games start at 4 pm on the west coast), but when it was called the Canada Cup, it was the same thing - little interest outside of Canada. Just because the name is changed isnt going to make it more popular.

I'm enjoying it. Thats all I care about.

 

[Robertsson 4-ever]

The tickets are to expensive, at least thats the case in Europe. Many regular fans can't afford to pay 800 SEK per ticket. I certinly wouldn't do it.

 

[mattihp]

The fact that the games are just commercial for the NHL might be why it's not that popular. I'd rather watch an olympics type of tournament, with value.

 

[miss hockey]

$26 a ticket?

Finland-Czech and Finland-Sweden round robins were minimum €70 and Finland-Germany quarter was minimum €80!

$26 a ticket? damn!
Now how ***'ing expensive is Finland if we think $26 is cheap!?!?

 

[Jazz]

Problem with the games in St. Paul (and this is from U.S. Coach Ron Wilson) is that to make the games at 7pm EST, the games are on at 6pm in St. Paul, and that is not letting the locals there enough time to get in after work...

He mentioned that he was hoping for a great crowd response to start the games, but he has noticed fans filtering in well into the 1st period....

 

[Jussi]

Don't forget that the US Open is still under way and we just had the Olympics. If there is another World Cup, maybe they'd better start having it during uneven years.

Btw, Gurj, who's that Transformer in your avatar?

 

[Riddarn]

Don't forget that the US Open is still under way and we just had the Olympics.

True.

If there is another World Cup, maybe they'd better start having it during uneven years.

I agree, or at least try to get some distance between the WCoH and the Olympics.. one week isn't enough.

 

[Papa Smurf]

I just find it hard to believe that most people would rather watch the US Open.

 

[Reilly311]

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!?!?!?!?

With the NFL starting today, any ratings/intrest the NHL or World Cup commitee had hoped for is all but gone.

ESPN might run a small blurb of it in the last 2 mins of Sportscenter

 

[ceber]

I really doubt there were only 12k or so there at the end of that game. In the first period however, that's probably accurate. Not really important, though. The point of the article hits the mark. There's just not much interest outside of the die-hard fans, it seems. Maybe better marketing would have made a difference.

 

[guinness]

Part of the problem is that the WC isn't being marketed well and going to hockey games have gotten too expensive, I know they have for me. Paying $40+ to sit in the nosebleeds at the JLA just isn't worth it to me, I just as soon sit at home and watch the game on TV.

 

[Oilers Chick]

...add to it all of the negative publicity that the CBA has generated recently and the possibility of NOT having an NHL season come October and it may partly explain the lack of interest.

ESPN has done so little to promote it (I don't think I've seen ANY promo for the World Cup before or during it), various US media outlets give it so little press coverage (heck, I've seen more US press coverage on the Suter & Vanek signings than I have on the WC).

 

[Sec of Partying Down]

Marketing has been non-existent...ESPN as far as I know didn't have a promo for it. Ask 90% of Americans and they wouldn't know it was happening. ESPN2 has all the games in primetime and my local newspaper, the Idaho Statesmen, didn't cover it. I guess ESPN figured that the diehard base would watch without the marketing and no one else would really be interested. But I think Americans love to see the US compete against the rest of the world. USA vs Canada Gold metal match got solid ratings.

 

[littleHossa]

As a Canadian I don't care that much about the World Cup myself. The Olympics has the prestige, but these tournaments organized by the NHL with NHL rules and rink size aren't for me.

The World Championships, which might not always have the best players through 4 lines, is full of surprises and excitement because of that, and there is a real organization behind it, the IIHF, not to mention ALL the countries in the world that would like to test their hockey muscles are allowed to do so.

I prefer the World Championships a lot more to the World Cup, it's not a meaningless tournament for me either, and I always love looking through the message boards and seeing french or ukrainian or japanese fans being happy about their teams, as well as the excitement of the games themselves and promotions/relegations.

 

[Mountain Dude]

Its because there aren't enough true hockey fans out there.

Who wouldn't want to watch a best-on-best hockey tournament with some of the greatest players ever competing with other greats?

Its not popular in the states because hockey never will be.

 

[Reilly311]

Its not popular in the states because hockey never will be.

There are more hockey fans in the states than in canada.

 

[Sec of Partying Down]

There are more hockey fans in the states than in canada.

Well considering the US is 10 times the size probably...

 

[LadyJet26]

There are more hockey fans in the states than in canada.

I find that to be a bunch of bullcrap. The States have more fans yes, but do they have as many true fans as Canada? I think not.

 

[Reilly311]

The States have more fans yes, but do they have as many true fans as Canada? I think not.

oh please, you know you have no arguement whatsoever when you have to play the "true fan" card.

 

[jstreet]

well people better start getting excited because it looks like this is the last hockey we will be seeing for the next 5 years.

 

[LadyJet26]

oh please, you know you have no arguement whatsoever when you have to play the "true fan" card.

honestly, when it comes down to it... Canadians cherrish hockey a helluva lot more then americans, it has nothing to do with how many fans go to games there. There are more hockey fans in the US because it's 10 times the size of Canada population wise. When it comes down to international events, who's more patriotic? Canadians. Who has the best hockey players in the world? Canada. What team doesn't trash their hotel room after finishing 6th at the Nagano Olympics? Canada. We Canadians love the game and want to make it better, more and more American teams are ruining the game.

 

[Reilly311]

When it comes down to international events, who's more patriotic? Canadians. Who has the best hockey players in the world? Canada. What team doesn't trash their hotel room after finishing 6th at the Nagano Olympics? Canada. We Canadians love the game and want to make it better, more and more American teams are ruining the game.

So, because Canada has done better internationally in the last two years, they have "truer" fans? :lol


Read Canada prevents hockey's progress , take notes, then get back to me.

 

[(lone)Yashinfan#79]

'02 Olympics in SLC is a decent barometer, IMO... team usa/and/fans 'would have liked to have won it..'
whereas canada absolutely 'had to win it'...

volume/number of fans is apples and oranges..

your casual hockey fan in the u.s. compared to one in canada is not nearly as dialed in (partly because the 'big three' or as i like to call them, the 'taunting sports'--football, baseball, basketball--are mass marketed and even the most ancillary of schools/markets, trump hockey coverage; consequently hockey is and always will be a distant fourth).

speaking firsthand, i think the avid hockey fan/player from america covets the sport just as much as canadians or any others, even if the broadcasting infastructure of this country has the NHL/Int'l/NCAA hockey doomed to failure.
i pay the extra $$dough for CBC, TSN, et al., feeds because if i rely on espn, or *pffffft* Fox Sports, with its identical cookie cutter promos for every market, then i'd really be holding my hand on my arse..

 

[Le Golie]

If the US won the last Olympics I wonder how many fans would have poured on to the streets of all the major cities, played impromptu street hockey games that grew large enough to shut down the most major intersections in town.

Just can't see it in New York, Los Angeles or Miami.