Sports Euphoria

Homercles · Post by **Homercles** » September 16, 2004, 4:54 pm

No NHL.

No NHL Tonight.

No Barry Melrose.

No hockey games on ESPN.

No hockey highlights on Sportscenter.

This is a glorious time to be a sports fan! No hockey to interrupt the NFL or the MLB Playoff Races or College football or College Basketball.

The airwaves are Hockey Free!!! HALLELUJAH!!

masteen · Post by **masteen** » September 16, 2004, 5:22 pm

I can't say I'll miss hockey, as the NHL product has mostly sucked ass the past decade. Whoever decided that the North American audience wanted slower, defensive struggles was fucking smoking crack, and killed the gains made during the Wayne Gretsky/Mario Lemieux era.

Lynks · Post by **Lynks** » September 16, 2004, 5:25 pm

I think most Americans decided they wanted slower hockey. Maybe its the media infulencing me, but it seems that the average American hockey fan wants to see hard hits and fights.

Hopefully, they fix it, I don't care if it takes a year. Anything to make the NHL like the World Cup of Hockey, now thats how to play.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » September 16, 2004, 6:14 pm

The "instigator penalties" they implemented a couple years ago tell me that the NHL DOESN'T want fights in their defensive clusterfucks. I personally LOVED it when guys would drop the gloves and have at it. Basically, I think that the NHL doesn't have a fucking clue what sports fans want.

Here's the pulse of America. Here's your finger, far from the pulse, jammed straight up your ass.

miir · Post by **miir** » September 17, 2004, 4:16 pm

Yeah, no shit.

The dominant team of the 90s rarely sold out home dates unless the Rangers were in town. Couldn't sell out their playoff home dates unless it was the finals.. and played the most incredibly boring and frustrating to watch hockey in history.
Who cares if you put a successful and effective product on the ice if nobody will buy it?

The root of the problem was fucked up rapid expansion and the subsequent watering down of the talent pool.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » September 17, 2004, 6:27 pm

i disagree Miir. i think the root of the problem is that the NHL knew they had to grow out into the media markets in the central and southern lattitudes of the United States to be able to get a national television contract and be competitive in a very competitive sports/entertainment media marketplace.

so expansion was the right course, and it had to go into Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, etc. Maybe they went to fast, that is a possibility, but the expansion (or at least relocation) had to happen.

i think the big problem is hockey is more of a niche sport in most of the major media markets. I have really enjoyed the expansion of the NHL to Atlanta, but it will probably always be at best the #5 if not #6 sport in this market (College FB > NFL > MLB > NBA > College hoops or NASCAR > NHL).

NASCAR really jumped in for the TV dollars at the right time and their growth was better (they expanded to Vegas, LA, other non-traditional markets). they have a totally different business structure than a "team sport", and that may have helped their success. The have a much smaller "player" pool (50-75 drivers v. 500+ players) and those guys are all very good at working with their sponsors and staying on message as 24/7 promoters of the sport.

another thing going against the NHL, is even though networks have dropped huge amounts of money on properties like the NFL, etc, they are becoming increasingly reluctant to do so. There is talk that ABC may not re-up on Monday Night Football. Which would officially reduce their telecasts worth watching to zero - but that is a property that routinely delivers a ratings number that probably bests all 7 games of the Stanley Cup finals combined.

THe NHL business model i guess is just flawed. They tried to operate on the same premise as the "big boys" and they proved that they are not one of them. And that is too bad.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » September 17, 2004, 7:14 pm

They also took a product that people LIKED (fast games with 6-7 scores per) and changed the formula. Hello, New Coke anyone? Perhaps you'd like some C2 instead?