Post-Game Talk: All-Star Weekend
- Thread starter smithformeragent
- Start date
Lord Bettman springs for crew steak dinner
Bruinaura
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- Mar 29, 2014
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At first glance it did not look like.... steak....
Bruinaura
Resident Cookie Monster
- Mar 29, 2014
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Trashpass
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Sheppy
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If it’s shown me anything this year, it’s how much I miss that jersey Pasta was rocking for Happy Gilmore.
Perfect jersey. Absolutely perfect. My favourite version of all time…
Perfect jersey. Absolutely perfect. My favourite version of all time…
Aeroforce
Registered User
I'm fine with this event not being geared toward hardcore fans; I didn't even watch, figuring I, too, could use a break.
The reactions online seemed hyperbolic, so I checked a few highlights.
They were appalling. I love David Pastrnak but was embarrassed for him. Are kids really going to get a joke based on a nearly thirty year old movie, or the even older (and almost as dumb) Miami Vice reference with Mitch Marner?
I think this was geared more toward creating as many TikTok/YouTube Shorts clips in hopes a few go viral.
But it begs the question - is the league pandering to the younger crowd worthwhile? I heard pundits raving that the Zegras/Milano goal got 50 million views.
Great - but anyone that might've been interested in the NHL because of that quickly realized that almost never happens. The new television numbers suggest this is not growing the game.
I know the owners are obsessed with growth, but the better strategy is to play the long game. Realize the league will never be the NFL or NBA, and play to their strengths.
At a girl-friend's suggestion, I dabbled with YouTube Shorts (YT's answer to TikTok). I did manage to get some traction with a couple of videos, one with jump rope and one with guitar. And as a hockey fan, NHL videos routinely popped up in my feed.
But it taught me the 15-second clips for the attention-span-challenged are ultimately futile. I can't see a fan whose interest is sparked by a brief TikTok clip appreciating the grind of three periods of hockey. (And no I'm not just bashing TikTok because they sponsor the Leafs.
)Blades was definitely the MVP, and probably the only one, other than the San Jose Shark, and Toronto Polar Bear that wouldn't have given me nightmares as a kid.
Carl Hungus
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- Apr 20, 2022
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Fenian24
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- Jun 14, 2010
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So ratings are down for the NHL and this is how they counter it? If the league doesn't wake up they are going to be looking up in the ratings at Slapfight pretty soon. The very little I saw when i was out for dinner last night was embarrassing
NOPE... although Ullmark got more interviews from ESPN THAN Sophia/Raycroft did combined on NESN
Bruinaura
Resident Cookie Monster
- Mar 29, 2014
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I don't know how most of those guys skate in those outfits. The vision must be terrible. And they probably lose ten pounds just from sweating
The NHL will nationally (US) rank as the #4 pro sport with little hope of moving up. To become a hardcore hockey fan you need to have either played the game or seen one in person.
The NFL is so far ahead as #1 they will never be caught. MLB is #2 but fading badly. The NBA is a solid #3 because of star power.
Yet the NHL has driven several NBA teams to move most notably in St. Louis, Buffalo, and Vancouver. In Pittsburgh, the NBA never tried to compete with the Pens.
Boston? The town is evenly split between the Bruins and Celtics but the B's do better with blue-collar fans.
Right. Becoming a hard-core hockey fan is more difficult for obvious reasons.
Cost.
Climate.
Availability.
The other 3 major sports require minimal material.
Cost.
Climate.
Availability.
The other 3 major sports require minimal material.
I'm fine with this event not being geared toward hardcore fans; I didn't even watch, figuring I, too, could use a break.
The reactions online seemed hyperbolic, so I checked a few highlights.
They were appalling. I love David Pastrnak but was embarrassed for him. Are kids really going to get a joke based on a nearly thirty year old movie, or the even older (and almost as dumb) Miami Vice reference with Mitch Marner?
I think this was geared more toward creating as many TikTok/YouTube Shorts clips in hopes a few go viral.
But it begs the question - is the league pandering to the younger crowd worthwhile? I heard pundits raving that the Zegras/Milano goal got 50 million views.
Great - but anyone that might've been interested in the NHL because of that quickly realized that almost never happens. The new television numbers suggest this is not growing the game.
I know the owners are obsessed with growth, but the better strategy is to play the long game. Realize the league will never be the NFL or NBA, and play to their strengths.
At a girl-friend's suggestion, I dabbled with YouTube Shorts (YT's answer to TikTok). I did manage to get some traction with a couple of videos, one with jump rope and one with guitar. And as a hockey fan, NHL videos routinely popped up in my feed.
But it taught me the 15-second clips for the attention-span-challenged are ultimately futile. I can't see a fan whose interest is sparked by a brief TikTok clip appreciating the grind of three periods of hockey. (And no I'm not just bashing TikTok because they sponsor the Leafs.
I think you're right about the social media angle. Definitely something the league is going for. Does it work at all? Yeah probably not. I'm not sure much of anything at the all-star weekend really can. I find the all-star games unwatchable, but I think in an age when teams are not going to allow their stars to play hard (and fair enough) they're inevitably going to be dull - take the physical out of hockey and it simply loses its soul. So really it's a bit of fun for families and casual fans and something to give the league's broadcaster partners more content they can promote as 'special', and that's about it.
I'd say that hockey is mostly a sport that grows from the grass roots and particularly through families. It's in the blood or it grabs you through a shared social circle or the love of the game is learned through playing it. What can be done beyond that? Seattle is an interesting case study. The team's playing well, the game attendances are very good and the fans attending seem to be really getting into supporting their team, but the TV ratings continue to be poor. So it seems that the team is building a good, passionate core of fans, but struggling to attract that next level - the more casual fans who will help take the franchise beyond a niche and into the wider consciousness of the area in which it is based.
My sense, obviously as an outsider, is that's largely how it is in the US more generally - hockey is a sport for the hardcore. You either get it and it really takes hold of you and becomes a deep love, or it just does nothing for you. Almost by definition the number of hardcore fans is rarely going to be very large, and if you take that fact and the reality that the number of casual hockey fans is often also going to be quite small, then hockey in America is bound to usually have a ceiling that it can't break. For the most part I think that means the game in its regular form will either sell itself or it won't. All the other promotion and events are largely just window-dressing.
quietbruinfan
Salt and light
I am putting on my grumpy old man hat. I did not watch one second of it. ( I did watch most of a six-minute highlight.) I can't stand it. It is somewhere between a parody and a mockery of the game. For goodness sake, either change it back to more normal formats or do away with it!
MAINE-IAC
Registered User
PatriceBergeronFan
Registered User
Beyond cheap entertainment I would think the NHL would want the kids to see hockey skills on display if the goal is to build a generation of hockey fans.
A one day gimmick is out of mind the next day for most I'd imagine. Vegas and this one shifted away from hockey and towards gimmick to a ridiculous level.
Breakaway challenges, true hardest shots, stick handling etc. should be the focus. Having kids decide they want to try it themselves. The nonsense the NHL is doing lately would be a tough sell towards that goal.
Over the volcano
Registered User
Complaining about the quality of something you didn't watch is peak New England February mindset
The show was stupid, but I am proud of the 3 that represented the Bs
The don godfather
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- Apr 12, 2011
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I don't know why the NHL takes the all-star break at the same time there's no NFL for two weeks
Maybe that's WHY they do it so the all-star game won't have much TV competition, but don't they realize that some fans go through 'no sports withdrawal'
..and no, the NBA doesn't fill the void for me, but I'll watch the occasional college BB game
Maybe that's WHY they do it so the all-star game won't have much TV competition, but don't they realize that some fans go through 'no sports withdrawal'
..and no, the NBA doesn't fill the void for me, but I'll watch the occasional college BB game
