Why is McDavid so little known outside of hockey?

[CantHaveTkachev]

In the US?

Bossy... and I say that as a Rangers fan.

Bossy didn't even make it until the end of the decade

let's face it, even if McDavid was on some US team like the Rangers, he'd be dwarfed by the Yankees/Mets/Giants/Jets/Knicks

glad he's on a team in a city where hockey is #1 2 and 3

 

[hangman005]

Live look at NHL head office:

 

[TheDoldrums]

McDavid is letting the league down with his milquetoast personality and lack of balls. He should demand a trade to a specific team, making himself a villain and creating the biggest hockey story in years. Instead of quietly marrying his wife in Muskoka, he should be motorboating Sydney Sweeney and dating a harem of IG hoes. It's called growing the game.

 

[Profet]

Bossy didn't even make it until the end of the decade

huh?

 

[John Mandalorian]

He’s world famous in Canada. That’s not enough?

 

[Profet]

glad he's on a team in a city where hockey is #1 2 and 3

Oh... now I understand.

Congrats! Your market is destroying the NHL.

Yey?

 

[ffh]

His winning personality

 

[Signupnow]

Because majority of the world knows about it as much as Canadians knows who's the top 10 ping-pong player is. Irrelevant sport on the big scene.

 

[GMR]

McDavid is letting the league down with his milquetoast personality and lack of balls. He should demand a trade to a specific team, making himself a villain and creating the biggest hockey story in years. Instead of quietly marrying his wife in Muskoka, he should be motorboating Sydney Sweeney and dating a harem of IG hoes. It's called growing the game.

You're right.

He's got the personality of a modern pro wrestler. No personality. But even if he was "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, playing in Edmonton wouldn't get any notoriety here in the US.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Doesn’t he have the personality like a piece of cardboard

 

[GMR]

He’s world famous in Canada. That’s not enough?

No.

Have you seen their list of 100 most influential Canadiens of the 20th century?

 

[Profet]

let's face it, even if McDavid was on some US team like the Rangers, he'd be dwarfed by the Yankees/Mets/Giants/Jets/Knicks

Funny you say that...

I'd argue that Messier in NY did more for growing the game than McDavid ever did. It's unfortunate there was a lockout in '95 otherwise the league would have had more growth.

Messier didn't do a lot for the game while in Edmonton, even though he was MORE successful in Canadian Siberia.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Oh... now I understand.

Congrats! Your market is destroying the NHL.

Yey?

wait, you think him being in another market would make a lick of difference? lol

the Oilers were shown the most on ESPN/TNT last year...the Cup Finals were the highest they've been in awhile

huh?

his career ended in 1987

 

[Golden_Jet]

uh... what?

View attachment 898009

Not getting your point, I’m showing OP what I dug up on McDavid. @Montreal Shadow

 

[TageGod]

Bettman pissed off ESPN so they haven't talked hockey in a decade.

Also no Olympics.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

The NHL couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery

It's run by people with their mindset stuck in the 80s, if you get rid of the idiots in upper management there then you'd see a lot more players having much higher profiles

This, but I also think McDavid is uniquely uncharismatic.

Crosby had the whole Mario, saving Pittsburgh angle, and his superstitious streak is fun. McD doesnt have any of that- the league needs to do better, but Conor doesn’t give ‘em much obvious stuff to work with.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Funny you say that...

I'd argue that Messier in NY did more for growing the game than McDavid ever did. It's unfortunate there was a lockout in '95 otherwise the league would have had more growth.

Messier didn't do a lot for the game while in Edmonton, even though he was MORE successful in Canadian Siberia.

the Rangers play 2nd fiddle in their own arena, despite being around for almost 100 years

hockey is a niche sport in the US...always has been, always will be

 

[TGWL]

Because Crosby's parents paid off the media when they spent 60k+ a year for him to go to private school and get the best training he could get. Unfortunately, McDavid's parents only spent the money on viral training videos and didn't pay off the press.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Awkward guy. Not that Gretzky and Crosby had dynamic personalities either but they were more polished. McDavid lets his play do the talking for him but he really comes across as an introvert not comfortable in the spotlight.
Playing in Edmonton probably doesn’t help either. Gretzky had the advantage of playing for a dynasty team which raised his profile.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Lack of personality.

 

[CascadiaPuck]

Of course being in a small Canadian market hurts McDavid’s profile. But the guy’s personality also makes hockey-bots like Gretzky and Crosby look like conversational dynamos.

 

[LivingRentFree]

Because he has the personality of a door stop.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Americans fundamentally do not care about Canada.

Sports. Politics. Business. Travel.

We don't exist for 98% of them.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

Not getting your point, I’m showing OP what I dug up on McDavid. @Montreal Shadow

The point is McDavid wasn't the most-sold jersey in 2023. It was Bedard. They got the wrong Connor.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Too much competition in the sports and entertainment space these days.

For example, how many people in here know who Jimmy Donaldson aka Mr Beast is, without googling. He’s probably the most famous social media figure out there, the guy boasts over half a billion followers across various social media and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars a year but there’s still so many people who don’t have a clue who he is.

It’s not a McDavid thing, it’s a hockey thing. I remember watching a social media video at a football training camp where they ask all the players a question as they are coming into the facility. It was during the cup final and the question was something along the lines of “the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are playing in the Stanley Cup right now, name one player from either team”. Id say 75% couldn’t name a single player, the other 25% said Connor McDavid (or some form of his name because they couldn’t remember exactly)