varsaku
Registered User
Hockey in countries like Sweden and Finland are mainly big only outside their big cities. Soccer is still the number one sport in the big cities.
World Cup TV ratings
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Hockey in countries like Sweden and Finland are mainly big only outside their big cities. Soccer is still the number one sport in the big cities.
Just can't get too worked about this gimmicky tournament.....what reputable so-called 'World Cup' in any sport has one team comprised of under-23 players and another team made up of a flotsam and jetsam of players from every country in Europe without much a hockey program?....this tournament strikes me as little more than a money-grab and no matter how much Rogers and Sportsnet might try, I'd surprised if they're able to drum up much interest in it....most of the players probably wish they were training and getting ready for their NHL seasons instead.
You can think it's a gimmick all you like but the players are definitely taking it seriously, this isn't the play you see in an all star game. The exhibition games even between Canada and the US were hard fought matches, the matches today were fast paced and intense.
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zeke
The Dube Abides
- Mar 14, 2005
- 66,937
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Cricket world cup features the great flotsam and jetsam West Indies team.
Golf's Ryder Cup features the great flotsam and jetsam Team Europe.
That's not the same.
The West Indies team has its roots in an actual administrative entity.
The European Ryder Cup team is a true continental team.
Team Europe in the WCH is neither a continental team in the geographic sense, nor an emanation from an administrative entity (ie the European Union).
Actually the closest equivalent to me is the New Zealand native team they had at one point in the Rugby League World Cup.
It was pretty embarrassing because it spoke first and foremost of how few competitive teams rugby league has, for them to add a second NZ squad.
At least the NZ ethnic squad did not preempt any players from the real NZ team.
Natives that were wanted by the main NZ team reported to the main NZ team.
Only castoffs of native heritage reported to the ethnic NZ team.
It was still a lame gimmick that exposed the lack of parity in the sport and it was soon abandoned.
The West Indies team has its roots in an actual administrative entity.
The European Ryder Cup team is a true continental team.
Team Europe in the WCH is neither a continental team in the geographic sense, nor an emanation from an administrative entity (ie the European Union).
Actually the closest equivalent to me is the New Zealand native team they had at one point in the Rugby League World Cup.
It was pretty embarrassing because it spoke first and foremost of how few competitive teams rugby league has, for them to add a second NZ squad.
At least the NZ ethnic squad did not preempt any players from the real NZ team.
Natives that were wanted by the main NZ team reported to the main NZ team.
Only castoffs of native heritage reported to the ethnic NZ team.
It was still a lame gimmick that exposed the lack of parity in the sport and it was soon abandoned.
Not in Finland. Hockey is by far the biggest sport anywhere. Finland is a hockey country like Canada is and I think they are the only ones.
Jussi
Registered User
Not in Finland. Football clubs can't come even close to the popularity of e.g. HIFK, TPS or Tappara/Ilves.
zeke
The Dube Abides
- Mar 14, 2005
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SotasicA
Registered User
- Aug 25, 2014
- 8,489
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No.
Sweden maybe, but in Finland hockey > soccer. And it goes especially for the bigger cities. In the smaller towns, maybe Finnish rules baseball is more popular.
Hockey is very small in the big cities in Sweden correct, and generally only popular in the northern small cities. But what you wrote is not true for Finland.
Clearly never been to Finland, the only country that rivals Canada in national hockey passion.
awfulwaffle
Registered User
snipes
How cold? I’m ice cold.
- Dec 28, 2015
- 56,205
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This.
The Finns are about as fanatical about hockey as we are. They have the closest love for hockey to Canada, look at how many Finns will be pulling an all-nighter to watch this game tonight.
Canada and Finland are definitely the most passionate hockey nations.
KingsFan7824
Registered User
- Dec 4, 2003
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It can be both a money grab, and something the players take at least somewhat seriously and try to win. The NHL season is a money grab. Somebody makes money from the Olympics too. The world is a business Mr. Beale.
DoyleG
Reality sucks, Princesses!
"Very Small"??? It may be small to certain etnical groups that tends to be growing by the day in Sweden. But I would say that hockey was pretty big in Swedens second largest city last season...
Ice Hockey is by a large margin (to the third place) the second most viewed team sport, and while of course it is kind of a small town sport in many places, there is of course plenty of hockey fans in bigger town and cities. Stockholm got Djurgården and AIK, Göteborg Frölunda, Malmö got Redhawks, Linköping got LHC, Jönköping got HV71, Örebro got well Örebro, Karlstad got Färjestad, Gävle got Brynäs...
20 largest cities/Towns (per 2010):
1 Stockholm Hockey clubs: Djurgården SHL, AIK allsvenskan
2 Göteborg Frölunda SHL
3 Malmö Redhawks SHL, Pantern Allsvenskan
4 Uppsala Almtuna Allsvenskan (They kind of have no interest in sports in general...except I guess for Caps and binge drinking)
5 Västerås VIK Allsvenskan
6 Örebro Örebro Hockey SHL
7 Linköping LHC SHL
8 Helsingborg ????????? not much to speak about...
9 Jönköping HV71 SHL
10 Norrköping Vita Hästen Allsvenskan
11 Lund See Uppsala
12 Umeå Björklöven Allsvenskan
13 Gävle Brynäs SHL
14 Borås Typical Soccer Town...they got some lower level club, but...
15 Eskilstuna Not a hockey town.
16 Södertälje SSK Allsvenskan
17 Karlstad Färjestad SHL
18 Täby A Stockholm suburb
19 Växjö Växjö Lakers SHL
20 Halmstad Hammers...in some low level division...
...plus Sundsvall/Timrå that doesnt qualify for the biggest 20 Towns (in 2010 ), as actual city limits population, but together have a pretty (for Swedish standards) populated municipalies got the Allsvenskan club Timrå, which have had several years in the SHL too.
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So they showed some empty seats last night especially during the Sweden-Russia game and even, though a lot less, at the Kiddies v Finland game. WTF??? With Matthews and Rielly and old fan fave Komarov played on a sunday evening, this just seem bizarre to me. 
(couldn't find any stills of the Kiddies game)
Compare that to the sold out seats at the Vancouver olympics, even when minnows were playing. Of course, this could be because Vancouver is a better hockey town than Toronto
(couldn't find any stills of the Kiddies game)
Compare that to the sold out seats at the Vancouver olympics, even when minnows were playing. Of course, this could be because Vancouver is a better hockey town than Toronto
So they showed some empty seats last night especially during the Sweden-Russia game and even, though a lot less, at the Kiddies v Finland game. WTF??? With Matthews and Rielly and old fan fave Komarov played on a sunday evening, this just seem bizarre to me.
Compare that to the sold out seats at the Vancouver olympics, even when minnows were playing. Of course, this could be because Vancouver is a better hockey town than Toronto
It seems a lot of tickets were bought by brokers either thinking the tournament would be profitable, or maybe banking on a USA-Canada final. As it is a lot of tickets on the secondary market seem to be going unsold. Basically any game not involving Canada or North America is selling for about $6. Even the North America tickets are selling for like $30 on $130 tickets.
TheBeastCoast
Registered User
So they showed some empty seats last night especially during the Sweden-Russia game and even, though a lot less, at the Kiddies v Finland game. WTF??? With Matthews and Rielly and old fan fave Komarov played on a sunday evening, this just seem bizarre to me.
Compare that to the sold out seats at the Vancouver olympics, even when minnows were playing. Of course, this could be because Vancouver is a better hockey town than Toronto
That feeling when Toronto sold out every game of the world juniors like a year and a half ago.
Sorta the point, Toronto sold out a junior tournament (IIHF) and can't manage to do the same for the WHC showing just how little emphasis even the hockey mad Canadian fans place on the tournament.
