Why is McDavid so little known outside of hockey?
- Thread starter Montreal Shadow
- Start date
- Oct 9, 2012
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1. Plays in Canada
2. Plays for a small market in Canada
3. Quiet and reserved player who rarely makes the headlines outside of his NHL abilities
2. Plays for a small market in Canada
3. Quiet and reserved player who rarely makes the headlines outside of his NHL abilities
Kegs
Registered User
- Nov 10, 2010
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Suntouchable13
Registered User
It's funny how being a reserved, introverted guy seen as a bad thing. OH he doesn't have a personality. Some guys like to keep to themselves. Not his problem. Not like he doesn’t have other worldly hockey skills that you can market. He just does his thing, who cares if he is a quiet guy? It's an NHL problem, 100%.
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
The NHL marketing team is a farce, it’s sorta comedic that we can name a backup quarterback of an NFL team than the NHL markets Connor McDavid.
It’s embarrassing, the NHL should be ashamed.
- Oct 9, 2012
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How do you market a quiet and reserved player? Especially one who already plays in a near tapped out market. The NHL needs to market towards more US markets than they do Canadian markets.
If McDavid played for an American team you can guarantee they would market him more.
Hell my local Canadian Tire had a cut out of Connor f***ing Bedard up to promote hockey instead of McDavid last winter
So you're saying that being second fiddle in one of the most well known buildingsin North America is somehow less important than being the center of the universe in a city most people couldn't find on a map?
I'm not even sure what you are trying to argue.
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
How do you market a quiet and reserved player? Especially one who already plays in a near tapped out market. The NHL needs to market towards more US markets than they do Canadian markets.
If McDavid played for an American team you can guarantee they would market him more.
Hell my local Canadian Tire had a cut out of Connor f***ing Bedard up to promote hockey instead of McDavid last winter
Sorta like the NBA markets Kawhi Leonard, put a silly ass meme of him laughing and run with it
Nut Upstrom
You dirty dog!
It also helped that Gretzky looked like Princess/Lady Diana. That was a hell of a popular wave to be riding.
MuckOG
Registered User
- May 18, 2012
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Hockey fans have such an inferiority complex. Who cares what people who don't follow the sport think?
Many have already touched on it, but unlike other sports, the hockey "culture" seems to discourage shows of individuality or personality. Most players are robotic and answer questions using as many cliches as they can fit into a response. This does not help the NHL when it comes to marketing players to Americans, at large.
Many have already touched on it, but unlike other sports, the hockey "culture" seems to discourage shows of individuality or personality. Most players are robotic and answer questions using as many cliches as they can fit into a response. This does not help the NHL when it comes to marketing players to Americans, at large.
Kranix
Deranged Homer
- Jun 27, 2012
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All the kids wanna be like Big Papi and score #69, not be bozo degenerates like McGambler
The only reason I know who lebron James is because of his vibrant personality
Kranix
Deranged Homer
- Jun 27, 2012
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If Connor showed up to training camp with feathered bangs and tongues out, it would do a lot.
norrisnick
The best...
- Apr 14, 2005
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I mean, that's similarly true for most of the states in the US even.
CantHaveTkachev
Jealousy
I don't know where Green Bay is, hasn't hurt their popularity
my argument is that hockey is a niche sport, no matter what...the New York Rangers/Oilers winning the Cup in 1994 didn't raise their stature, they still lag behind a team they share a building that has hasn't won since the 70s
The NHL has no clue how to market their stars, therefore, the NHL is really a niche sport that isn't cared for much outside of NHL circles.
If McDavid played in a big US market (NY or L.A. in particular) maybe that would have changed things somewhat but most people don't care about the NHL, it is what it is.
If McDavid played in a big US market (NY or L.A. in particular) maybe that would have changed things somewhat but most people don't care about the NHL, it is what it is.
miscs75
Registered User
- Jul 2, 2014
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He’s about as exciting as an NPR broadcast and doesn’t have a flashy enough personality. Mcdavid’s skill with Subban’s personality in front of the camera would be a perfect combo for the league. The best combo you’ll get is Chucky honestly. Toss in the fact he plays in a borderline irrelevant city for the major 4 sports (no MLB/NBA/NFL team).
Sure. But to basketball fans his accomplishments speak for themselves. His personality just draws in a worldwide audience.
And let’s face it basketball is a much bigger sport worldwide than hockey.
It's a combo of the NHL, the market/team, plus the Player. Bedard is setup perfectly in terms of the market, in big market Chicago. Let's see in 5 years how well known he is compared to his NBA 1OA counterpart Wemby who is from Europe and plays for a smaller market in SA.
But, does Bedard have a personality that can sell? Does Cellibrini in North Cal (I doubt he'll be more popular than the 49ers top players or Curry ever was). It's just how it is.
NFL sells because it's the NFL. Can be serious like Brady and Manning were throughout their career. Now Manning leaning a bit more relaxed funny with his brother. Kelce bros have a personality and Podcast, even before Swift. But, their game lends itself to doing a weekly Pod as they can do that on a Tuesday as they don't do physical practice til Wed as Mon/Tue are rest cover and film study days.
Machinehead
HFNYR MVP
I don't buy the personality thing. Have you guys seen Lionel Messi? He has to be the most awkward person in the world.
Hockey just is what it is in terms of popularity. The only guy that "regular" people know is Gretzky. Not even Lemieux.
Hockey just is what it is in terms of popularity. The only guy that "regular" people know is Gretzky. Not even Lemieux.
He doesn't have a whole lot of charisma, but it's mainly because he's in Edmonton.
The league hasn't marketed McDavid and Matthews nearly to the level they did Crosby/Ovechkin. Hell, they've probably done more to market Trevor Zegras and Jack Hughes...
The league hasn't marketed McDavid and Matthews nearly to the level they did Crosby/Ovechkin. Hell, they've probably done more to market Trevor Zegras and Jack Hughes...
Forge
Blissfully Mediocre
Hockey is a niche sport.
He plays in Edmonton.
He doesn't pursue the off ice attention from what I can tell.
He doesn't strike me as all that outgoing ? Like, personality seems kind of dry and not enough to pull people in. The most notable thing I know about him off the ice is his propensity to take weird and awkward looking photos?
He plays in Edmonton.
He doesn't pursue the off ice attention from what I can tell.
He doesn't strike me as all that outgoing ? Like, personality seems kind of dry and not enough to pull people in. The most notable thing I know about him off the ice is his propensity to take weird and awkward looking photos?
