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SirJW

Reaction to NBC switching game to Versus

By SirJW, in NHL Discussions

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tlminh    0

tlminh
Posted

As long as Ive been a hockey fan, in the USA, this sport will always be behind baseball, football and basketball. I know more people that watch World Series of Poker than ice hockey

The state of our sport is very sad, I happen to be asian and in the league I play, of the 100 people, I am the only one.

Why? Because most people cant afford all the equipment and all the ice time to learn the game. I was lucky enough to have wonderful parents to initially buy all my equipment (my mom was like "what is ice hockey?")

Basketball, football, soccer, baseball, even poker, are all inexpensive and you dont have to rent ice to practice. Kids all over the world get into these sports much more faster and thus these become very popular.

What NBC did sucked for fans, but hockey has always been the neglected child. Current NHL fans are very die-hard since the game is so hard to find on tv and is never reported in the paper. I think the NHL needs to focus on expanding the game to those who aren't fans right now, they need to hit the streets and show people how exciting this game is.

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#96    0

#96
Posted

Very true Minh. Hockey is becoming an elitist sport. I go to my local hockey rink and the number of luxury cars really outnumbers the number of regular cars. That alone says a lot. It has been a very expensive sport for a long time. Just getting a kid to a high level of hockey costs a lot with all the ice time, transporation, camps, registration fees, etc. If a kid wants to be good at basketball, all he has to do is go down to the schoolyard and play.

I'm sure the situation is different in Canada, but what I'm talking about is what I see here in the US. Most of the American kids who make it far are from wealthy families.

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Chadd    916

Chadd
Posted

It was an opportunity to expose some casual sports fans to the wonderful sport of hockey. I was in State College PA and I had to run three blocks from my hotel to the nearest sports bar to catch OT. On the plus side, the three biggest screens were showing the game and it was the only audio playing in the bar. The Yankees - Mets was relegated to the smaller screens in the corners.

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tlminh    0

tlminh
Posted

Well, here in st louis, the game5 of Western Conference finals wasnt even on NBC, they instead showed "60th anniversary of NBC-KSDK news"

I had to hunt it down to find it on RSN alternate station that wasn't in HD!!

If I didnt have cable, I'd be SOL.

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Jim A    4

Jim A
Posted

Cost is not the end all be all for a sport to be popular or television friendly..just look at golf and tennis....both cost buckets of cash to start playing and have a very deep base of players...

you don't have to be usurp football, baseball, basketball for validation, plenty of the best things out there don't require notoriety..

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koivulchuk    1

koivulchuk
Posted

Well, here in st louis, the game5 of Western Conference finals wasnt even on NBC, they instead showed "60th anniversary of NBC-KSDK news"

I had to hunt it down to find it on RSN alternate station that wasn't in HD!!

If I didnt have cable, I'd be SOL.

I noticed that today...freakin' rediculous as I don't have cable. I was working in the yard...came inside & flipped on to see St. Louis' most famous news stories in the last 60 years.

Exactly why I am moving to Maine soon & hopefully Nova Scotia someday. Well that, & I just want a change of scenery...

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GMS-11    0

GMS-11
Posted

In my youth, it used to irritate me to all ends at the lack of coverage and respect that hockey received, with regard to the media.

Now, I could care less. I have all the necessities: Center Ice package, Versus, Hockey News, internet, etc. So what if ESPN dedicated 90 seconds? I have what I need to follow the game I love. And one more point: most people will never "get" what the game/experience is all about. They'll never appreciate the tremendous talent, grit, athleticism, dedication, etc that hockey offers. I've given up trying to let people know just how special the game is...and I'm a lot less aggravated as a result.

And my reco for the NHL's new solgan: "Hockey:an organized state of chaos...just like life."

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jmiro    55

jmiro
Posted

It was an opportunity to expose some casual sports fans to the wonderful sport of hockey. I was in State College PA and I had to run three blocks from my hotel to the nearest sports bar to catch OT. On the plus side, the three biggest screens were showing the game and it was the only audio playing in the bar. The Yankees - Mets was relegated to the smaller screens in the corners.

were you at the sports center on college ave. I love that place.

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Chadd    916

Chadd
Posted

It was an opportunity to expose some casual sports fans to the wonderful sport of hockey. I was in State College PA and I had to run three blocks from my hotel to the nearest sports bar to catch OT. On the plus side, the three biggest screens were showing the game and it was the only audio playing in the bar. The Yankees - Mets was relegated to the smaller screens in the corners.

were you at the sports center on college ave. I love that place.

I believe that was the place. It was graduation weekend, too bad I had to be at the airport at 5:15

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GSHL99    0

GSHL99
Posted

Cost is not the end all be all for a sport to be popular or television friendly..just look at golf and tennis....both cost buckets of cash to start playing and have a very deep base of players...

I have no idea where you came up with this idea, but you can start playing tennis for less than 40 bucks. A cheap racket, some balls, and virtually every park has a tennis court. Most have several courts. Golf is a little more expensive, but you can still get started with the 120 dollar Costco club and bag set. Green fees for public courses are very reasonable, and in quite a few places there are public courses that are free to use. A really expensive tennis racket still wouldn't touch top of the line skates, or even decent skates and a composite stick. Golf clubs can become pretty pricey, but end of the day a recreational player just doesn't need clubs made from some super alloy.

There's no way to do "buget hockey." Sure, you can buy cheap new gear or cut corners with used gear. That in no way affects the fact that a season of youth hockey will cost into the 4 digits for just ice time. I don't necessarily think it's a matter of parents being cheap. There's certainly a legit concern that as fickle as kids are putting them in hockey might be a big black hole for cash only for them to decide they don't like it. A kid wants to play baseball and doesn't like it, well you're out the cost of a mit and maybe 80 bucks in league fees. You can get a kid into peewee football for the cost of a helmet, shoulder pads, and some foam padding for the pants.

What hockey associations need to do is offer more "learn to play hockey" programs that offer gear rentals and short clinics. This gives parents a chance to get their kids on the ice, with some coaching, and allow them to play a little and see if they like the game. If the kids don't the parents are out a small amount of money. If the kids do then parents have that knowledge and aren't facing down hockey association fees blind.

That said, there are always going to be a lot of people that flat cannot afford to put their kids in hockey and some that simply will not pay that kind of money for a youth sport no matter how much the kid likes it. On that fact it is a pretty sure bet that hockey will remain a somewhat unknown sport outside regions where it is a historical sport.

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chippa13    1844

chippa13
Posted

Cost is not the end all be all for a sport to be popular or television friendly..just look at golf and tennis....both cost buckets of cash to start playing and have a very deep base of players...

you don't have to be usurp football, baseball, basketball for validation, plenty of the best things out there don't require notoriety..

Since when is tennis expensive? Buy a racket and some balls at your local Sports Authority on the cheap and head down to the local high school courts and away you go.

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the_game    452

the_game
Posted

just to let you guys know, Gary Bettman will be a guest on Mike and the Maddog's radio show this afternoon at 3 I think. You can stream it from WFAN websites. I am sure Mike and the Maddog will grill Gary on this and I am interested to see Mr Bettmans response.

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Chadd    916

Chadd
Posted

just to let you guys know, Gary Bettman will be a guest on Mike and the Maddog's radio show this afternoon at 3 I think. You can stream it from WFAN websites. I am sure Mike and the Maddog will grill Gary on this and I am interested to see Mr Bettmans response.

His response will be something like this:

1. Didn't like the decision

2. Understands NBC position

3. Relieved that NBC made it available on VS and it wasn't blacked out entirely

4. NHL has no authority to do anything about it

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cougarscaptain87    12

cougarscaptain87
Posted

watching it here, in DETROIT they cut to the horse race after the 3rd period, your located in texas, i assume. and they showed the whole thing all the way through?

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daca    0

daca
Posted

i was at work and enjoying the game with a coworker (devil's fan, going for buffalo), so it was fun up until they cut it out. what a joke.

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