North Cole
♧ Lem
- Jan 22, 2017
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Do you like the NHL being 4th in the 'Big 4' or do you wish it was more popular?
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BrokenFace
Registered User
When the owners locked out half a season even though the league was perfectly healthy a few years ago, I stopped caring about the NHL's popularity. If the owners of the league don't care about the NHL's appeal to new fans, then why should I?
I'm OK with NHL not being #1, but there is no way it should rank below MLB. I know excitement and enjoyment is subjective to an extent but there is no way anyone should find baseball more exciting than hockey.
FLHabs
Send all your underacheiving prospects!!
- Feb 18, 2017
- 2,319
- 3,905
Ok so this will be a very long post, almost essay like lol. I just started writing and kept writing. I know most probably won't read all that, but since I wrote it, might as well post it haha...
Hockey will never surpass the other major NA sports and I'm ok with that. Like most have said, access to hockey for a young athlete is very difficult and expensive which cuts out a good portion of ppl due to economic factors. A lot of athletes in the NBA or NFL come from a poor background where one of the few options to get out is playing sports. On the other hand, more comfortable families would rather push their children into academics rather than sports due to the fact that only a fraction of athletes actually make it to the bigs. Of course there's exception and the reason for that is that high school football, basketball, baseball, etc are subsidized by municipalities, which gives every one a chance whether poor or rich. Highschool hockey is barely subsidized even in Canada and pretty much nonexistent in the US. An arena for every school would be just to expensive and that's the hard truth.
The other factor is hockey is probably the hardest sport out of all them to play. The amount of technical skills needed to play hockey at a high level easily surpasses the other sports. Raw athletic gifts and talent simply aren't enough. For the other major sports, you only probably need raw athletic abilities + 1 or 2 skills. Let's take basketball for example, you definitely need height and coordination as raw gifts, and as far as technical skills, know how to shoot the ball and dribble, depending on your position. You could basically just shoot the ball 1000 times a day from your high school years to college and end up being a good enough shooter to make it in the NBA (if you have the raw gifts aswell). And as for football, other than a quaterback, raw athletic gift like speed and strength are usually enough to get you a foot in the door. If you're a wide receiver for example, speed will get you in and catching abilities + route running will keep you there. As a defensive lineman, if you're strong enough to bull rush the offensive lineman and create chaos at the line of scrimmage, you already got one foot in the door. I'm not gonna go through all the positions, but you understand what I mean. (The thing that most ppl overlook about football though is that it's a very cerebral game no matter the position. Understanding schemes and what the other team is trying to do is what separates good players from the elite ones.)
Now we get to hockey. In hockey, from a young age, you need to learn how to skate, which is a bit like learning how to walk. That right there is a big difference from the other sports where all of them are played on 2 feet which is a natural state for humans, being on skates isn't. Then, when you got the skating part down, you have to learn how to stick handle, which is like adding an extension to your arms. Again, in the other sports, your hands or feet are in direct contact with that ball, in hockey you have to learn how to use a stick as an extension of yourself. Then, when you can finally use your stick as being one with your arms and hands, you have to learn how to shoot the puck accurately in tiny unpredictable moving openings. Two of the most important technical aspects of hockey are unnatural to human biology and need to be all done simultaneously. Only after mastering these technical aspects comes the raw athletic abilities. In most other sports, the athletic abilities come first. So yea hockey is hard to learn and expensive, so that doesn't bode well for regular children to pick the sport up for fun.
Now, for those that don't play and are just sports fan, which are the majority of sports fans, why isn't hockey attractive? Well, culture definitely plays a part. The US simply doesn't have a hockey culture generally speaking. It's weird because out of all the sport, hockey is probably the most interesting. Off course I speak as a person from Montreal where hockey is the only major sport we have. If Montreal had an NBA team or NFL team, I might view things differently. As a neutral fan though, I enjoy football, although watching a single game can get a bit tedious because of all the breaks in action. That's why I watch NFL redzone. And basketball, which I'm also a fan of, can also get a bit boring because of the repetitive aspects of the back and forth scoring race. What makes hockey interesting to me is how fast and unpredictable it is as a sport. The continuous intensity and mix of finesse and physicality is just something you don't see in other sports.
One thing to point out though is that both football and basketball, just like hockey, tend to be very exciting and tense when the game is close and nearing it's conclusion. Same goes for playoffs when the stakes are high and every play matters. But yeah, like I said in the beginning, hockey will probably never become as popular as the other major sports and I'm totally fine with that, it's popular enough that it won't go away anytime soon and that's all that matters.
Hockey will never surpass the other major NA sports and I'm ok with that. Like most have said, access to hockey for a young athlete is very difficult and expensive which cuts out a good portion of ppl due to economic factors. A lot of athletes in the NBA or NFL come from a poor background where one of the few options to get out is playing sports. On the other hand, more comfortable families would rather push their children into academics rather than sports due to the fact that only a fraction of athletes actually make it to the bigs. Of course there's exception and the reason for that is that high school football, basketball, baseball, etc are subsidized by municipalities, which gives every one a chance whether poor or rich. Highschool hockey is barely subsidized even in Canada and pretty much nonexistent in the US. An arena for every school would be just to expensive and that's the hard truth.
The other factor is hockey is probably the hardest sport out of all them to play. The amount of technical skills needed to play hockey at a high level easily surpasses the other sports. Raw athletic gifts and talent simply aren't enough. For the other major sports, you only probably need raw athletic abilities + 1 or 2 skills. Let's take basketball for example, you definitely need height and coordination as raw gifts, and as far as technical skills, know how to shoot the ball and dribble, depending on your position. You could basically just shoot the ball 1000 times a day from your high school years to college and end up being a good enough shooter to make it in the NBA (if you have the raw gifts aswell). And as for football, other than a quaterback, raw athletic gift like speed and strength are usually enough to get you a foot in the door. If you're a wide receiver for example, speed will get you in and catching abilities + route running will keep you there. As a defensive lineman, if you're strong enough to bull rush the offensive lineman and create chaos at the line of scrimmage, you already got one foot in the door. I'm not gonna go through all the positions, but you understand what I mean. (The thing that most ppl overlook about football though is that it's a very cerebral game no matter the position. Understanding schemes and what the other team is trying to do is what separates good players from the elite ones.)
Now we get to hockey. In hockey, from a young age, you need to learn how to skate, which is a bit like learning how to walk. That right there is a big difference from the other sports where all of them are played on 2 feet which is a natural state for humans, being on skates isn't. Then, when you got the skating part down, you have to learn how to stick handle, which is like adding an extension to your arms. Again, in the other sports, your hands or feet are in direct contact with that ball, in hockey you have to learn how to use a stick as an extension of yourself. Then, when you can finally use your stick as being one with your arms and hands, you have to learn how to shoot the puck accurately in tiny unpredictable moving openings. Two of the most important technical aspects of hockey are unnatural to human biology and need to be all done simultaneously. Only after mastering these technical aspects comes the raw athletic abilities. In most other sports, the athletic abilities come first. So yea hockey is hard to learn and expensive, so that doesn't bode well for regular children to pick the sport up for fun.
Now, for those that don't play and are just sports fan, which are the majority of sports fans, why isn't hockey attractive? Well, culture definitely plays a part. The US simply doesn't have a hockey culture generally speaking. It's weird because out of all the sport, hockey is probably the most interesting. Off course I speak as a person from Montreal where hockey is the only major sport we have. If Montreal had an NBA team or NFL team, I might view things differently. As a neutral fan though, I enjoy football, although watching a single game can get a bit tedious because of all the breaks in action. That's why I watch NFL redzone. And basketball, which I'm also a fan of, can also get a bit boring because of the repetitive aspects of the back and forth scoring race. What makes hockey interesting to me is how fast and unpredictable it is as a sport. The continuous intensity and mix of finesse and physicality is just something you don't see in other sports.
One thing to point out though is that both football and basketball, just like hockey, tend to be very exciting and tense when the game is close and nearing it's conclusion. Same goes for playoffs when the stakes are high and every play matters. But yeah, like I said in the beginning, hockey will probably never become as popular as the other major sports and I'm totally fine with that, it's popular enough that it won't go away anytime soon and that's all that matters.
Last edited:
JianYang
Registered User
- Sep 29, 2017
- 19,413
- 18,654
The NFL is able to drive interest without a fan even having a horse in the race. Fantasy football/nfl gambling are giant industries in their own right.
I don't have much interest in the NFL, but I know many people that watch just because of those vehicles.
Hatfield
Registered User
- Jan 27, 2007
- 1,101
- 1,092
I’m perfectly fine with where it is right now. I’m sure owners would feel differently, but I think this is the sweet spot.
It sucked a little when I first got into the sport in the early 90’s simply because it got very little coverage where I lived (DC area), but now it’s more accessible in every way: (1) you don’t need a satellite dish to watch games every night, (2) way more local rinks and youth teams, (3) other fans aren’t hard to find (even if online), (4) the internet has made news, stats, EVERYTHING easily available.
It sucked a little when I first got into the sport in the early 90’s simply because it got very little coverage where I lived (DC area), but now it’s more accessible in every way: (1) you don’t need a satellite dish to watch games every night, (2) way more local rinks and youth teams, (3) other fans aren’t hard to find (even if online), (4) the internet has made news, stats, EVERYTHING easily available.
Why wish it was less popular so its less corporate Now we have NBC trying to make the NHL "family friendly." Give me a break.
This sport is hard to follow for a non-hockey fan with the main reason being that tracking the puck is too hard for most viewers. If you cant do that, then you won’t know what’s going on.
Bounces R Way
Registered User
To what? Basketball? Maybe in Toronto but Canada is a lot bigger than Toronto. Soccer? The pro game has made leaps and bounds in Canada but still no where close to Hockey. I actually think ESports will see the biggest increase in popularity in the next 15 years. Last year's LoL championship drew more viewers worldwide than the Stanley Cup Finals and World Series combined. By more than triple.
Do agree with your take on the current brand of hockey in the NHL. The flow and spontaneity is/has been coached out of the game. There is no room out there and the NHL has to do something to address it. Widen the rinks by 5-6 feet and give these guys some more runway.
Kairi Zaide
Unforgiven
To be fair, you have to have an incredibly high IQ to understand the game of hockey.
ole ole
Registered User
- Oct 7, 2017
- 11,996
- 6,085
If the NBA shrank its games down to 5 minutes, it would not lose an ounce of excitement.
qqaz
Think Happy Thoughts
- Oct 25, 2018
- 2,210
- 2,843
The number of people who like hamburgers doesn't change how much I like hotdogs.
Hockey could be the most popular, or 4th, or 40th. Why should I care? If darts was suddenly the #1 sport, hey, great for you darts fans. Would it affect hockey in the slightest?
Hockey could be the most popular, or 4th, or 40th. Why should I care? If darts was suddenly the #1 sport, hey, great for you darts fans. Would it affect hockey in the slightest?
Mr Positive
Cap Crunch Incoming
- Nov 20, 2013
- 37,970
- 18,891
the cap growing every year is a sign that since adding a cap, the league is getting better. It was in rough sorts before. As long as it is healthy, I don't mind it's standing.
It's been said before though: the NHL does not embrace its star players enough. Friedman said this during a broadcast recently: that inferior players are allowed to hook, grab and slash more on stars, I guess just because or else there would be too many PPs in a game. Other sports clamp down more. Showing off your best talent is a way to advertise yourself better.
To me it does give the NHL a team-first identity, which I kind of like. The teams that do well aren't the ones loaded with superstars. They are the ones with a careful balance of talent, with great coaching and chemistry, and goaltending. It might be a source of the NHL's great parity as well, since not everyone has top superstars
It's been said before though: the NHL does not embrace its star players enough. Friedman said this during a broadcast recently: that inferior players are allowed to hook, grab and slash more on stars, I guess just because or else there would be too many PPs in a game. Other sports clamp down more. Showing off your best talent is a way to advertise yourself better.
To me it does give the NHL a team-first identity, which I kind of like. The teams that do well aren't the ones loaded with superstars. They are the ones with a careful balance of talent, with great coaching and chemistry, and goaltending. It might be a source of the NHL's great parity as well, since not everyone has top superstars
Clint Eastwood
Eff the Habs
I know some true football fans despise stuff like the halftime shows and all the drama that goes into the superbowl. Imagine having intermission shows from Katy Perry.
Trocity
Registered User
- Nov 24, 2016
- 504
- 514
Basketball is at least high tempo/constant action but yes, football and baseball suck.
The only thing more boring than watching guys run around for 8 seconds and then taking 30 to 40 seconds to reset and do it again is watching guys chewing and spitting sunflower seeds while a whole bunch of nothing goes on.
BruinsBtn
Registered User
- Dec 24, 2006
- 22,080
- 13,548
I don't understand why people even care. You can watch 5 games a night if you want to. What difference does it make if it's more popular? Do you like your favorite band more if it's popular?
If anything all the money and 'popularity' has made the NHL worse
If anything all the money and 'popularity' has made the NHL worse
OVO16
#WeTheNorth
- Apr 16, 2017
- 10,607
- 10,613
Hockey is never gonna grow as much as the other 4...mainly because it doesn't have a diversified fanbase.
If you wanna grow in the US, you need the black population to follow you, which they don't.
Its a white predominant sport and its most likely gonna stay that way for a very long time.
If you wanna grow in the US, you need the black population to follow you, which they don't.
Its a white predominant sport and its most likely gonna stay that way for a very long time.
ItWasJustified
Registered User
- Jan 1, 2015
- 4,664
- 5,889
I don't think that the pool of players would be that much bigger. Different people are attracted to different sports.
Huh? Blacks are 13% of the US population. If you wanna grow your sport it's better to market it exclusively to the white and hispanic population.
ScaredStreit
Registered User
The NHL will never surpass the other 3 leagues simply because significantly less people play hockey growing up/as leisure than the others. For baseball you need a glove and ball to play catch, basketball a hoop (which public ones are near most people) and a ball, football a ball to play catch. For hockey you need a stick, net, ball/puck, and a few other people at a minimum. Hockey's much more expensive as well, creating a barrier for many communities. The NHL honestly does just fine to be honest.
King Mapes
Sub to My YouTube Blocks_4_days
There isn’t that many in the US. If you want to grow in the US you need less hot places. Why do you think places like Canada, Boston and New York like hockey and places like Florida don’t? The weather. I doubt many in Florida know how to skate but anyone can pick up a basketball.
Dr Black
Registered User
- Oct 31, 2015
- 482
- 368
Hockey is a very diverse sport in terms of different nationalities such as Canadians, Americans, Swedes, Fins, Russians, Slovaks, Czechs, Germans, and the Swiss. It is just not racially diverse. But that's alright. Hockey being an overwhelming White sport (95%) is very unique for a major North American team sport. It would be a shame if that was to change in a significant way.
BigEezyE22
Continuing to not support HF.
I like lower demand keeping ticket prices down. I don't like lower broadcast availability.
With regards to popularity compared to other sports, baseball and football have been so deeply entrenched in the US culture for so long, it'd be damn near impossible to shake them.
With regards to popularity compared to other sports, baseball and football have been so deeply entrenched in the US culture for so long, it'd be damn near impossible to shake them.
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