Do Canucks and Yankees view sports differently?

[Alpine]

This has been probably been brought up many times..but what the hey?
I've been on this board for about a year now. Yeah, mostly in the Junior or University boards as they are mostly my main area of interest.
Maybe it's my outlook but I've noticed a difference on how we comment on hockey.
Americans speak very intelligentlly on game re-caps and seem to speak intelligentlly on star players.
Canadians seem to have a more team approach.....although follow star players preformance.......but not to the same degree. Almost a players come and go but the team remains outlook. As well as looking at the game played as a whole entity.
I'm not expressing myself properlly, but has anyone else noticed a difference on how posters from both sides of the border express themselves on the game. Besides the sky is falling, hockey doesn't sell, and the hockey is great and will last forever attitudes.
This has gotta be a major problem for those trying to market the game? Or maybe I read too much into what I read?

Click to read more...

 

[Sotnos]

Or maybe I read too much into what I read?

I think you hit the nail on the head here. What people look for, discuss or point out is more indicative of their own background and experiences than some great cultural divide on how Canadians vs. Americans view team sports IMO.

 

[OG6ix]

yeah I'd say there are different views in sports between the country. In Canada you guys put hockey on a very very high pedistol, but the casual sports fan here think it's a niche sport (not so much like soccer because of the european influence), but it's not a universally played sport.

 

[19nazzy]

Americans love to follow what they're good at.

 

[dru]

Americans love to follow what they're good at.

Doesn't everyone? Couldn't you say the same things about Canadians and hockey?

 

[pld459666]

.

I think that some of it has to do with the age of the poster as well, although not in a negative way.

I for one am American but I'm also pushing 40 and my whole focus when watching any sport is how the team does and not so much the individual. I could care less who is on the team as long as they are winning.

I also think that because I'm a bit older, I also have more of a team first attitude as opposed to alot of todays views of "look at what Ican do, just did, will do"

I've never been a fan of the individual, I have some favorite players, most not the Rangers right now, but I root for the Rangers above everyone else.

Sports Center and the marketing machine for a sport like the NBA have really changed the way some of the youngsters think in terms of how they approach the game using some lame *** excuse of "individual expression" That's all fine and good when you are NOT playing a TEAM sport, sport.

 

[Injektilo]

I don't want to generalize too much, but it's always been my impression that the NBA is constantly marketed with individuals, the focus really seems to be on the star players, the teams less so.

The NFL is similar, though less so that basketball, while I don't see too much of it from the MLB.

 

[Ogopogo*]

This has been probably been brought up many times..but what the hey?
I've been on this board for about a year now. Yeah, mostly in the Junior or University boards as they are mostly my main area of interest.
Maybe it's my outlook but I've noticed a difference on how we comment on hockey.
Americans speak very intelligentlly on game re-caps and seem to speak intelligentlly on star players.
Canadians seem to have a more team approach.....although follow star players preformance.......but not to the same degree. Almost a players come and go but the team remains outlook. As well as looking at the game played as a whole entity.
I'm not expressing myself properlly, but has anyone else noticed a difference on how posters from both sides of the border express themselves on the game. Besides the sky is falling, hockey doesn't sell, and the hockey is great and will last forever attitudes.
This has gotta be a major problem for those trying to market the game? Or maybe I read too much into what I read?

Hockey to Canadians is like football, baseball and basketball combined to Americans. We focus our passion on one sport while the US is divided into three.

That is the big difference.

 

[Transported Upstater]

I don't want to generalize too much, but it's always been my impression that the NBA is constantly marketed with individuals, the focus really seems to be on the star players, the teams less so.

The NFL is similar, though less so that basketball, while I don't see too much of it from the MLB.

I feel the exact same way, and I'm an American, so don't worry.

 

[19nazzy]

Doesn't everyone? Couldn't you say the same things about Canadians and hockey?

We follow more than just hockey though.

Surprise, surprise I know.

 

[Sotnos]

I don't want to generalize too much, but it's always been my impression that the NBA is constantly marketed with individuals, the focus really seems to be on the star players, the teams less so.

The NFL is similar, though less so that basketball, while I don't see too much of it from the MLB.

Speaking as a non-MLB fan, to me a lot of the marketing also revolves around the star players. I almost never watch baseball, but I still know who some of the bigger names are, more so than I have much of a clue as to which teams are doing well without looking it up. The people who know me from the chat room here will verify to my MLB ignorance.

To me that's not what the thread starter was asking, but it seems like only me and pld-bunchofnumbers are the only ones thinking alike here. Maybe some clarification would help.

 

[Haute Couture]

I think the whole marketing and sale of sports is done most effectively with an emphasis on star players. Doesn't mean it's necessarily all good for the sport itself, but it does help sell it by making star players sort of the messengers. If you look at soccer, for instance, the World Cup is all fine and good and a reflection of a "team", but it comes and goes every four years. On a more annual basis, soccer is all about personalities. It's all about Zidane, Ronaldo, Henry, and, really, less about the teams they play for since the whole competition process in European soccer is confusing to a 10-year old who wants somebody to emulate.

The same with many American sports, such as NBA and NFL. However, this is the problem many marketeers have with hockey - that oftentimes it is hard to gauge who is really good and who isn't. A washed-up goalie like Roloson or a rookie like Bryzgalov or Ward may come out of nowhere and dominate the play-offs. Right - a star player with absolutely no name, whereas in the past guys like Bure and Yashin, or nowadays Datsyuk and Thornton disappeared at the start of postseason. This makes hockey so hard to market, because winning is such a team effort. Hockey players are streaky species, and thus a lot of people get easily confused.

To think of it, individual triumph in hockey is also a matter of teamwork. No-namers like Cheechoo can lead the NHL in scoring with the help of teammates, mostly. A guy like Marc Savard, who was basically kicked out (and with no later regrets, I might add) of Calgary went on to score 100 points. Martin St. Louis, Daniel Briere, Craig Conroy, JS Giguere did the same.. While in NBA you can always expect a guy like Lebron to lead the way, in hockey guys like Ovechkin won't be able to shine in the postseason. And this is the biggest difference between hockey and other sports in the US, and this is exactly what makes hockey so unmarketable. That - and also the fact that most hockey players are introverts with nothing substantial to say (I don't know if you noticed it, but it's true.. The most expressive hockey players are indeed Americans - Roenick, Chelios, etc., but there aren't that many American stars lately. For Europeans Ovechkin seems to be the only exception, while Canadians revere the classy-types like Sakic and Yzerman who usually say the same things), while guys from the NFL and NBA are always enthusiastic to get in front of the mic..

Anyway, if you disagree with me - go talk to all those Jose Theodore fans who bought his jersey in his Hart-trophy winning year .

 

[ArchieIsGod]

I don't want to generalize too much, but it's always been my impression that the NBA is constantly marketed with individuals, the focus really seems to be on the star players, the teams less so.

The NFL is similar, though less so that basketball, while I don't see too much of it from the MLB.

to keep on this theory, has anyone seen the basketball comercial with all of the players wade, garnett etc. where they are talking about what they play for? they are saying all the things they dont do it for like the money, fame, girls and then they say its all about the team or some crap like that. it is the most unbelievable comercial ive seen, no one in their right mind believes them

its all about the player and the big slam, deke, touchdown...thats why there is such a difference in fans comments but i think it is more of an age difference than country. younger fans(and im a younger fan 23) have been growing up in an era where there is no concept of team its all about big plays and making money. Sportscenter is the prime example of how things went wrong.

 

[OG6ix]

I handed in an Essay about lack of acknowledgement, by Americans, of other nations in which I added hockey as an example. I'm going to ask you guys what my prof asked me as he butchered that section, and tell me if you guys can answer this all bias and hope aside.

How popular can a sport, that is played on ice, be?

 

[Haute Couture]

I handed in an Essay about lack of acknowledgement, by Americans, of other nations in which I added hockey as an example. I'm going to ask you guys what my prof asked me as he butchered that section, and tell me if you guys can answer this all bias and hope aside.

How popular can a sport, that is played on ice, be?

Not very. . The colder regions of the U.S. appreciate the sport and have a sort of tradition, but the rest of the country doesn't care - and that's okay, since the warmer parts of Europe and Russia don't care either. Hockey is limited by definition, and I find it to be a miracle that it has got the popularity it has now. That's why Bettman's "Manifest Destiny" was initially doomed and turned out to do more harm than good.

 

[donelikedinner]

...the fact that most hockey players are introverts with nothing substantial to say (I don't know if you noticed it, but it's true.. The most expressive hockey players are indeed Americans - Roenick, Chelios, etc., but there aren't that many American stars lately. For Europeans Ovechkin seems to be the only exception, while Canadians revere the classy-types like Sakic and Yzerman who usually say the same things), while guys from the NFL and NBA are always enthusiastic to get in front of the mic..

just beacuase most hockey players have enough common sense to keep their mouths shut, doesn't mean they are introverted. the problem with the nba and nfl is that the biggest Pejorative Slured gas bags are given way too much air time. does the public need to see another nba moron spewing some pointless tirade about his rap skills or his street cred? where have all the gentlemen athletes gone? i'd bet almost every 'oldtimer' is rolling over in their grave or retirement home to see the classless act their repsective league's have turned into.

pro sports no longer has real heroes, just egocentric infants whose only satisfaction come from having their face plastered across any type of media at any cost. where are the gordie howe's, lou gehrig's, larry bird's and walter payton's of today??? there might be a few, but they are truly the exception

 

[TheDanceOfMaternity]

Americans (and I think this is unique) only follow the sports that they have invented. Namely Baseball, NFL style football, and basketball.

The fact that hockey is more popular viewer-wise than soccer in this country may very well be a fluke.

 

[SPARTAKUS*]

That's just it hockey is a winter sport. The NHL made a huge mistake putting teams in summer only cities. Look at the state of Minnesota where hockey is a way of live why? Because it is a winter state. Michigan also is a great hockey state. I know this is off topic but what would be your top 5 States for hockey. 1) Minnesota 2) Denver 3) Michigan 4) Massachusett 5) Alaska.

 

[Chaos Giraffe]

Americans (and I think this is unique) only follow the sports that they have invented. Namely Baseball, NFL style football, and basketball.

The fact that hockey is more popular viewer-wise than soccer in this country may very well be a fluke.

Well, invented by a Canadian while employed in the USA.

James Naismith in 1891 while working at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts.

 

[OG6ix]

That's just it hockey is a winter sport. The NHL made a huge mistake putting teams in summer only cities. Look at the state of Minnesota where hockey is a way of live why? Because it is a winter state. Michigan also is a great hockey state. I know this is off topic but what would be your top 5 States for hockey. 1) Minnesota 2) Denver 3) Michigan 4) Massachusett 5) Alaska.

Basketball, ironically, is also a winter sport. I believe a fellow canadian invented it? I forgot his name though....

It's the condition in which the sport is played, believe it or not.

 

[Bobby Orr]

Basketball, ironically, is also a winter sport. I believe a fellow canadian invented it? I forgot his name though....

It's the condition in which the sport is played, believe it or not.

Ice sports can be popular, you just need some ice follies to get things going...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Time_Magazine_January_24_1994.jpg

This topic brings up the million dollar question:

How much more popular would the NHL be if they decided to change from ice surface/ice skates to standard surface/roller blades?

 

[TheDanceOfMaternity]

Well, invented by a Canadian while employed in the USA.

James Naismith in 1891 while working at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Whatever. Heck you can have it.

 

[Jumptheshark]

This has been probably been brought up many times..but what the hey?
I've been on this board for about a year now. Yeah, mostly in the Junior or University boards as they are mostly my main area of interest.
Maybe it's my outlook but I've noticed a difference on how we comment on hockey.
Americans speak very intelligentlly on game re-caps and seem to speak intelligentlly on star players.
Canadians seem to have a more team approach.....although follow star players preformance.......but not to the same degree. Almost a players come and go but the team remains outlook. As well as looking at the game played as a whole entity.
I'm not expressing myself properlly, but has anyone else noticed a difference on how posters from both sides of the border express themselves on the game. Besides the sky is falling, hockey doesn't sell, and the hockey is great and will last forever attitudes.
This has gotta be a major problem for those trying to market the game? Or maybe I read too much into what I read?

If you had the two best hockey teams on the ice and if both happened to be Canadian based--hardly any Americans would watch

if they were from the stats--they might watch

Canadians will watch a good game, regardless of who is in it and TV ratings have proven that

 

[GSC2k2*]

Americans (and I think this is unique) only follow the sports that they have invented. Namely Baseball, NFL style football, and basketball.

The fact that hockey is more popular viewer-wise than soccer in this country may very well be a fluke.

In addition to your mistaken assumption about basketball, as outlined above, the north american style of football also originated in Canada.

As well, the first recorded game of baseball took place in Ontario.

Other than that, great point.

 

[OG6ix]

In addition to your mistaken assumption about basketball, as outlined above, the north american style of football also originated in Canada.

As well, the first recorded game of baseball took place in Ontario.

Other than that, great point.

The baseball game is false. It was like baseball, but with four bases (no home plate) and the bat was a stick.