Toggle sidebar

Why is international hockey not popular?

  • Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
I'd watch it more if it wasn't on big ice, but even then only to see how players from the NHL team I cheer for do. With big ice there's nothing really to gleam from it; it's not entertaining and it doesn't offer any insight into player performance because the game is so different. Like, I don't care how good Adam Larsson looks every year. I know he's still going to be bad once the game speeds back up in the NHL.

It not being "best on best" matters a bit, but I've skipped the Olympics as well outside of Salt Lake and Vancouver.
 
Not being a best on best tournament is a huge, legitimate reason.

Do you think people would care about World Cup, Euro, etc soccer tournaments if those teams weren't sending their best players? Not every soccer fan cares about every international tournament. You can see this with Olympics, no one gives a shit about Olympic soccer at least compared to the amount of people who care about the World Cup.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Calgarybrutalist and Edenjung
Champions League is basically an All-Season best-of-europe (which is basically also best of the world) club tournament. Not really a „league“ I would say as it has a knock-out format. But yea, the prestige is probably higher than the Stanley Cup.
 
CanesInducedComa said:
Not being a best on best tournament is a huge, legitimate reason.

Do you think people would care about World Cup, Euro, etc soccer tournaments if those teams weren't sending their best players? Not every soccer fan cares about every international tournament. You can see this with Olympics, no one gives a **** about Olympic soccer at least compared to the amount of people who care about the World Cup.
Click to expand...

The Olympics is a bit of a bad example.
First it's a U24 Tournament, people in Europe don't care as much as North Americans about Juniors/Prospects sports.
It also only features like 4 European teams, so you'll have a lot of countries without a team to cheer for.
Despite all of that, if France were to play in the olympics for example, people would watch and care, they wouldn't make any excuses if we were to lose. Last olympics the women team was there, and people watched.

I think it's just a cultural difference, in NA people would prefer to see a patchwork of Europe all stars vs best of U21 Prospects, and in Europe we would rather watch our national team filled with fringe professional players.
Now I enjoy the tournament for what it is, and I think it is quite popular amongst players anyway (Kane,Gaudreau,Kucherov,Ovechkin etc this year). In the end it doesn't matter so much that it's not "best on best", no one is going to add to the scoresheet : Canada 2 - 4 Russia* (*But it was not best on best dude, everyone know, you know)
 
  • Like
Reactions: slicedbread and Edenjung
Its hard to get exited when most of the top teams don't have even half of their best players playing.

Right now Finland has 2 players who played in the NHL this year on the roster, Henri Jokiharju + Juho Lammikko, that is laughable.
 
In NA there are 3 reasons.

1. It isnt the best on best.
2. It is never hosted here.
3. Its run during the end if the Stanley Cup Playoffs

I still watch, and will cheer for Canada, but winning is an "oh that nice moment". I dont feel emotionally invested like I did the Olympics (when the NHL went)
 
I will be suppporting Finland from Friday here in Boston where I now live albeit at home since it’s Bruins fever right now along with the Red Sox so I doubt I will find the game in a bar near where I live.

There’s nothing much about the WHC here in the US but if Kane and co go far then interest will rise since Americans seems to love only ’best-on-best’ providing said national team at least reaches the semis IMO. In Europe a mix of NHl and KHL players with others from respective own national and Euro leagues representing the country is more interesting and acceptable I think.

Also the games are largely during working hours apart from weekends which curbs NA interest at least I assume.
 
Last edited:
Tavares the Noble said:
In NA there are 3 reasons.

1. It isnt the best on best.
2. It is never hosted here.
3. Its run during the end if the Stanley Cup Playoffs

I still watch, and will cheer for Canada, but winning is an "oh that nice moment". I dont feel emotionally invested like I did the Olympics (when the NHL went)
Click to expand...

I am not the type of fan who participates on the celebration at the squares when the national team wins, neither do I cry when it loses, so I probably have the attitude you described too. For me it is not about caring too much about the participation of the best players. Of course it would be much better if all or the large majority of the stars participated, and not just a part of them. I always cheer for every team to be able to bring a strong roster. But the NHL's reluctant attitude towards international hockey is a thing we cannot influence anyways. So I enjoy the tournament as it is; I perceive it simply as an international hockey tournament, it is hockey, it is fun, one can cheer for his or her country, one can also discover some new favourite players from Europe who are not Czechs/Russians/Swedes/Finns. It is not a matter of life and death, it's just fun and entertainment.
 
CanesInducedComa said:
Not being a best on best tournament is a huge, legitimate reason.

Do you think people would care about World Cup, Euro, etc soccer tournaments if those teams weren't sending their best players? Not every soccer fan cares about every international tournament. You can see this with Olympics, no one gives a **** about Olympic soccer at least compared to the amount of people who care about the World Cup.
Click to expand...
the argument there is similar to the "best on best" argument. Only young players and players that did not play a certain number of games of the national team are aliged to play in the olympian soccer tournament.
And also the World cup and the Champions League are more important.

What i like is that the World cup plays on the big ice.
This year i was watching the play offs live with my father and my brother (they both watched it for the first time) and during the breaks we watched the finals of the DEL Playoffs and you see more fancy passes and not that much hitting. it was smoother.
i really like that.

but the small ice has advantages too.
 
just posting here for my own edification to test a theory I have.

to keep it on topic

Because it lacks the best players.
 
In terms of the comparison to football/soccer, national team breaks are built into the schedules of European leagues so that players can play international games. Even just in terms of different Cup competitions it is normal for games to be rescheduled to make room for all matches. In short the whole process is organised by the competent international authority UEFA to work. In North America the sports world is much more commercialised and monetised and in many ways it is in the interest of the very strong league organisations to downplay the prestige of international tournaments.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tmu84
letsgocaps said:
The Olympics is a bit of a bad example.
First it's a U24 Tournament, people in Europe don't care as much as North Americans about Juniors/Prospects sports.
It also only features like 4 European teams, so you'll have a lot of countries without a team to cheer for.
Despite all of that, if France were to play in the olympics for example, people would watch and care, they wouldn't make any excuses if we were to lose. Last olympics the women team was there, and people watched.

I think it's just a cultural difference, in NA people would prefer to see a patchwork of Europe all stars vs best of U21 Prospects, and in Europe we would rather watch our national team filled with fringe professional players.
Now I enjoy the tournament for what it is, and I think it is quite popular amongst players anyway (Kane,Gaudreau,Kucherov,Ovechkin etc this year). In the end it doesn't matter so much that it's not "best on best", no one is going to add to the scoresheet : Canada 2 - 4 Russia* (*But it was not best on best dude, everyone know, you know)
Click to expand...
I realize the Olympics have restrictions on their rosters, but whether it's imposed by the tournament or not is not my point. My point is that people find reasons not to watch certain tournaments, and those reasons are just as legit as any other reason. Why is a European not watching Olympic soccer because of the limited rosters any better than a North American not wanting to watch IIHF World Championship hockey for similar reasons?
 
It is like with any other sport; what you grow up watching as a kid you also watch as an adult. The same applies to sport events as well.

In countries like Finland, Sweden and probably Russia too the IIHF worlds every spring has been a big deal for decades. In North-America it hasnt.
 
Why fault the NHL or North Americain watchers as some here do?

I think it falls on convenience and league/players attachment. As a North American, I'm invested in the NHL all year and follow a bunch of teams and love to see the chemistry building on some of these teams (egThe Habs from my home town, the Sharks seems to have wonderful camaraderie and are exciting to watch, Ovechkin and his Capitals can put on a good show, the Hurricanes and their post games antics, etc.)
So I lean to follow the NHL playoffs. Plus, it's during the evening/night while the WHC ... is during work. Also, I'd be rooting for team Canada and even if they have good names, I would not get to see Crosby, McDavid, Stamkos playing together which draws me to the Olympics (before). Instead, I'll watch Jared McCann, Mathieu Joseph, Troy Stetcher in a last-minute made up team??

I can see why Europeans like it though, because European leagues are splitted across countries, they are done (I believe) and their hometown players get to play in the tournament against the other bests in the world! They also get to see players they never get to see live since they are in the NHL all year long.

Nothing wrong with the WHC, but it's at the same time as an even I much rather watch
 
But one thing is for me a little bit absurd. Why "triple gold club"? In NA you count Stanley Cup(Okay),Olympics(Okay) and WHC(???). If you don t care WHC,why is this a part of this? Maybe it is better a WJC Title instead WHC?
 
Kalzu said:
On the other hand, Europe lacks the kind of undisputed top league in almost every team sport which all have domestic leagues. National team competitions are the best chance to see almost all the best players (at least from European leagues).
Click to expand...

Football has Champions League, basketball has Euroleague, handball has Champions League so... what?
 
Lambo said:
But one thing is for me a little bit absurd. Why "triple gold club"? In NA you count Stanley Cup(Okay),Olympics(Okay) and WHC(???). If you don t care WHC,why is this a part of this? Maybe it is better a WJC Title instead WHC?
Click to expand...

It's a creation of the IIHF, pretty clearly designed to elevate the IIHF world championship. It would make far more sense if it was Olympics, IIhf world championship, world juniors. Or even IIHF world championships, world juniors, u18s.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uncle Rotter
JackSlater said:
It's a creation of the IIHF, pretty clearly designed to elevate the IIHF world championship. It would make far more sense if it was Olympics, IIhf world championship, world juniors. Or even IIHF world championships, world juniors, u18s.
Click to expand...
Okay! Thanks then i understand.
 
Zero interest in watching the Olympics since NHL players stopped going.

Watching two superpowers ice their F teams is boring and attaching any meaning/emotion to the end result is straight up stupid.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Leafidelity
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom