This end up - Ice Hockey for Dummies
Elite (also spelled Élite) is taken originally from the Latin, eligere, "to elect". In sociology as in general usage, the élite is a relatively small dominant group within a large society, which enjoys a privileged status envied by individuals of lower social status. (From Wikipedia)
You know what? Drew is 100% correct in his assessment of Hockey and it’s inability to attract a wider variety of audience. The NHL will probably always be an elite league. Now there are other hockey leagues, but I am thinking based on the other posts that we are mainly talking about North America here and how the sport of hockey fares vs. the NBA, NFL and MLB. That said, the NHL is an elite (or niche if you will) professional sports league. Drew is right. The NHL has too many ties, is hard to market to the mass, and makes for very bad TV when you compare them to NBA, NFL, and MLB.
I guess you could think of the NHL as the smart man’s game. We don’t need measurable stats to keep us interested. I for one would probably be considered an average fan. My buddies and I don’t need someone telling us what is going on every two seconds, measuring turn-overs, shots, scoring changes, etc. We know what is going on. We get it. People that don’t like to watch hockey don’t get it. They probably never will. But that is why the NHL is an elite league. They have a small number of fans (in terms of the numbers the other above mentioned sports bring in) that know the game and get the game. You can be in MSG in New York and you do not have to tell the fans after every play who has the edge in the game. They will tell you by either their cheering or their boos. They know if a player went off-side and he did because he was ahead of the play and just didn’t drag his left skate across the blue line quite enough. They know the shots on goal, they know (at least in their head) the scoring chances, they even know if their team is leading in hits. So we got shots, hits, scoring chances, faceoff wins to name a few – that is measurable right? Right. But Drew is correct, the NHL does not have a measurement system like say baseball where there “the count” is 2-0 and there is like 8 innings or whatever and you can see the progress inning by inning. Which begs the question – is there a “Hockey for Dummies” book out there? I think there is actually.
I guess that is why the “big 3” are popular. In trying to market it to the masses or the USA if you will - I guess the average American fan needs someone to tell them what is going on. I mean… they are like that in real life. America is glued to CNN because they need someone to tell them what is going on in the world. They are too ignorant to figure out the rest of the world themselves so they need to know the “count” so to speak. (By the way America you are losing – you owe China $350 Billion – ouch!)
Politics aside, I am glad that the NHL is an elite league. I like to measure my own stats and follow my own game in my head while it’s being played. I like to then go look at NHL.com later and find out all the real juicy stats (they do keep them you know) and find out how many hits my favorite player had or how many turn-overs the other team had, what % the Oilers are on face-offs and how the other teams add up in terms of power play percentage. But you can’t dummy proof that part of the game. It is learned over years of studying the game and even now I could not give you the stats during the game but I know if my team is being out face-offed or out scoring-chanced.
But then again, I can follow the fast pace of the game and I can actually follow the puck. The mass cannot which again proves Drew’s point. You remember when Fox tried to promote the game to the U.S. with “Mighty Ducks” hockey? What a crap show that was. The Americans complained that they could not follow the puck so Fox put a blue dot on the puck and red streaks on the screen when the puck was shot fast by a player. Even with Fox “pointing out” what was going and trying to “dummy proof” what was happening in the game for everyone, Fox had terrible ratings with hockey. Hockey got less ratings than professional bowing and horse jumping. The mass media and her viewers just did not get it.
Lastly, even if the NHL could make the dummies get it, they could not market the thing the way the other big sports do it. NHL players don’t want to be celebrities and when they try to be they just get flushed out eventually. Even with the instigator rule the NHL boys police themselves. Just ask Ray Emery who is playing overseas right now. You try to be a rock star and it won’t work in the NHL. The NHL has helmets (that they never take off vs. the NFL where they take off the helmets after on the sidelines so they’re fans can put a face to the name on the back) and skate too fast anyway to see the face. The NBA however can create a star anytime they want. You can see their face, they are doing all sorts of crazy publicity seeking antics after every dunk, and you can market the shoes and the jerseys at a low cost. Hey how would like to buy a $1000.00 pair of skates, a $300.00 jersey, and a $750.00 goalie helmet? No thanks…a $90.00 pair of shoes and a $75.00 jersey is better. They know what their sports star looks like, he is on every TV channel, and they play his game every day after school. This is what the NHL is up against.
I say we cut our losses and just feel proud about our elite hockey league. Let’s not try to force it to being something it is not. The league will gain some new fans down there in America thanks to what Gretzky started but it will always be #4 or even #5 but who cares. The games sell out every night here in Canada and there is even talk about another team in Toronto who will also sell out if they get in. The ratings in Canada are good because the people watching it get it. They know the score and don’t need a measuring tape. The league also has some great cities America too. The Rangers sell out every night, the Wings are the most elite franchise there is, and St. Paul has a great team and following with the Wild. They get it there too.
I just wish more people in America “got it” as they are missing out on a great game. In the meantime I will enjoy my privileged status.
You know what? Drew is 100% correct in his assessment of Hockey and it’s inability to attract a wider variety of audience. The NHL will probably always be an elite league. Now there are other hockey leagues, but I am thinking based on the other posts that we are mainly talking about North America here and how the sport of hockey fares vs. the NBA, NFL and MLB. That said, the NHL is an elite (or niche if you will) professional sports league. Drew is right. The NHL has too many ties, is hard to market to the mass, and makes for very bad TV when you compare them to NBA, NFL, and MLB.
I guess you could think of the NHL as the smart man’s game. We don’t need measurable stats to keep us interested. I for one would probably be considered an average fan. My buddies and I don’t need someone telling us what is going on every two seconds, measuring turn-overs, shots, scoring changes, etc. We know what is going on. We get it. People that don’t like to watch hockey don’t get it. They probably never will. But that is why the NHL is an elite league. They have a small number of fans (in terms of the numbers the other above mentioned sports bring in) that know the game and get the game. You can be in MSG in New York and you do not have to tell the fans after every play who has the edge in the game. They will tell you by either their cheering or their boos. They know if a player went off-side and he did because he was ahead of the play and just didn’t drag his left skate across the blue line quite enough. They know the shots on goal, they know (at least in their head) the scoring chances, they even know if their team is leading in hits. So we got shots, hits, scoring chances, faceoff wins to name a few – that is measurable right? Right. But Drew is correct, the NHL does not have a measurement system like say baseball where there “the count” is 2-0 and there is like 8 innings or whatever and you can see the progress inning by inning. Which begs the question – is there a “Hockey for Dummies” book out there? I think there is actually.
I guess that is why the “big 3” are popular. In trying to market it to the masses or the USA if you will - I guess the average American fan needs someone to tell them what is going on. I mean… they are like that in real life. America is glued to CNN because they need someone to tell them what is going on in the world. They are too ignorant to figure out the rest of the world themselves so they need to know the “count” so to speak. (By the way America you are losing – you owe China $350 Billion – ouch!)
Politics aside, I am glad that the NHL is an elite league. I like to measure my own stats and follow my own game in my head while it’s being played. I like to then go look at NHL.com later and find out all the real juicy stats (they do keep them you know) and find out how many hits my favorite player had or how many turn-overs the other team had, what % the Oilers are on face-offs and how the other teams add up in terms of power play percentage. But you can’t dummy proof that part of the game. It is learned over years of studying the game and even now I could not give you the stats during the game but I know if my team is being out face-offed or out scoring-chanced.
But then again, I can follow the fast pace of the game and I can actually follow the puck. The mass cannot which again proves Drew’s point. You remember when Fox tried to promote the game to the U.S. with “Mighty Ducks” hockey? What a crap show that was. The Americans complained that they could not follow the puck so Fox put a blue dot on the puck and red streaks on the screen when the puck was shot fast by a player. Even with Fox “pointing out” what was going and trying to “dummy proof” what was happening in the game for everyone, Fox had terrible ratings with hockey. Hockey got less ratings than professional bowing and horse jumping. The mass media and her viewers just did not get it.
Lastly, even if the NHL could make the dummies get it, they could not market the thing the way the other big sports do it. NHL players don’t want to be celebrities and when they try to be they just get flushed out eventually. Even with the instigator rule the NHL boys police themselves. Just ask Ray Emery who is playing overseas right now. You try to be a rock star and it won’t work in the NHL. The NHL has helmets (that they never take off vs. the NFL where they take off the helmets after on the sidelines so they’re fans can put a face to the name on the back) and skate too fast anyway to see the face. The NBA however can create a star anytime they want. You can see their face, they are doing all sorts of crazy publicity seeking antics after every dunk, and you can market the shoes and the jerseys at a low cost. Hey how would like to buy a $1000.00 pair of skates, a $300.00 jersey, and a $750.00 goalie helmet? No thanks…a $90.00 pair of shoes and a $75.00 jersey is better. They know what their sports star looks like, he is on every TV channel, and they play his game every day after school. This is what the NHL is up against.
I say we cut our losses and just feel proud about our elite hockey league. Let’s not try to force it to being something it is not. The league will gain some new fans down there in America thanks to what Gretzky started but it will always be #4 or even #5 but who cares. The games sell out every night here in Canada and there is even talk about another team in Toronto who will also sell out if they get in. The ratings in Canada are good because the people watching it get it. They know the score and don’t need a measuring tape. The league also has some great cities America too. The Rangers sell out every night, the Wings are the most elite franchise there is, and St. Paul has a great team and following with the Wild. They get it there too.
I just wish more people in America “got it” as they are missing out on a great game. In the meantime I will enjoy my privileged status.
posted by Pete at
3:09 PM
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