For Hockey, a Landscape That Now Includes Palm Trees

[tarheelhockey]

Edit: seems Shaun White Night was the first time in over half a decade anyone beat American Idol's ratings. From which I conclude the ratings for the gold medal game had far more to do with US competing for gold than with hockey itself.

So if the home team is playing, these cities light up with excitement?

Sounds like a case for parity.

 

[KevFu]

Wake me when it translates to people attending NHL games, or heck, even flipping on the TV to watch hockey.

Youth soccer is massively popular, too. How has that translated to the success of soccer as a spectator sport in the States?

Considering that the World Cup broke the US record for "most watched soccer match" three different times in 2010, I'd say it's helping.

In a non-scientific test, I've gone to NYC for a weekend during the World Cup every for years to reunite with my college buddies and be drunk watching soccer.
In 2002, people looked at us walking around the city and paid no attention.
In 2006, a few people in random soccer apparel gave us the head nod, or started a conversation.
In 2010, roughly half the people we saw noticed our USA shirts and talked to us about the game.

OK, let's look at soccer.

In 1994 the United States hosted the World Cup for the first time, and as part of their bid to host, launched MLS in 1996. The league does not compete with European leagues for top level talent, so for the time being, its popularity will be limited.

But it has absolutely developed the game. Tim Howard, Damarcus Beasly, Landon Donovan, Joze Altidore and many others have used the league as a springboard to successful European careers.

I know people like to point to soccer as a metaphor for youth participation not correlating with professional level competitiveness, but they really need to stop because the truth is actually the opposite.

Exactly. And, the record for most attended World Cup in history is STILL USA 1994, despite having nine fewer matches in 1994 than 1998-2010.

I conclude the ratings for the gold medal game had far more to do with US competing for gold than with hockey itself.

Yes, but duh.

 

[Crazy_Ike]

People have been and will consistently continue to overestimate how much the US will embrace soccer. Its popularity is a function of the true options most of the rest of the world actually has available to it. It's a far different story in the US, and its growth there is probably mostly attributable to immigration patterns.

It takes a very long time for ingrained loyalty to a sport to change for a population, but IMO soccer has probably peaked. A sport that only takes a ball and a couple goal posts to play will always be popular, but there's nothing otherwise inherent to soccer to make it more appealing than what countries already have, and from now on the viewing options only grow, not decrease, and countries that have already embraced soccer will see other options growing.

 

[Dado]

Yes, but duh.

What's the "duh" for? It appears you're agreeing with me, but there's an argumentative "but" followed by a term that is generally used in derogatory fashion.

So I no longer have any idea what you're actually trying to say.

Would you be so kind as to clarify your message, please?

 

[KevFu]

What's the "duh" for? It appears you're agreeing with me, but there's an argumentative "but" followed by a term that is generally used in derogatory fashion.

So I no longer have any idea what you're actually trying to say.

Would you be so kind as to clarify your message, please?

I agree with you that a large number of viewers tuned in to see USA-Canada's gold medal match because it was an EVENT, as opposed to tuning in solely for their "love of hockey."

While there's certainly a mixture of both for a large number of people (such as myself, and I assume you), I don't think that the idea that "more people tuned in because it was an event" is somehow bad in any way shape or form.

I'd love for it to reach a point where in the United States, businesses closed, and the entire nation stopped to watch the USA hockey and soccer teams in the Olympics and World Cup, it's not quite realistic to expect that ratings for USA-Kazakhstan in the opening round are no different than USA-Canada in the gold medal game.

So, the "but duh" was based less on disagreement and merely as a "that's stating the obvious." People watch big events. More people watch big events than watch ordinary events. The World Cup, the Super Bowl, the gold medal game -- heck, virtually all of the Olympics (although I watch curling online whenever I see its online), etc.

It's never a bad thing to have more people watching a big event.

The real question is: "What measures are being taken to make casual viewers return as fans?"

The US & ESPN/ABC did an excellent job of turning the England-USA world cup match into the first of TWO TIMES they set the record for most-watched soccer match. Virtually everyone who watched USA-England, AND MORE, watched USA-Ghana.

It's been my long-standing belief that the NHL needs to capitalize better on events that draw casual viewers and try to make them repeat customers.

Promotion works. The fact that ESPN has turned in record-setting ratings for the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament the last few years illustrates that: They heavily promote it all year during the men's games. and people follow.

The NHL needs a Super Bowl commercial to target football fans who suddenly have a Sunday without hard-hitting sports. Show football fans that their love of football would carry over to hockey pretty well if they just give it a chance (and oh by the way, we have Pittsburgh at Los Angeles/Anaheim starting at 10 p.m. ET after the Super Bowl!). Same with the Olympics.

 

[tarheelhockey]

A few tidbits that seem to fit the gist of this thread:

• The Daily Tar Heel is the campus newspaper of UNC-Chapel Hill. This article talks about their club ice hockey team's effort to raise its profile:http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.p...lub_ice_hockey_raises_profile_with_tournament
  
• 10 miles away, NC State won the ACC tournament championship over Maryland: http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/state-trips-terps-captures-acchl-championship-crown-1.2476495
  
• The Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Pee Wee team won the B-bracket of the Quebec International tournament. Assistant coaches on that team include former pros Rod Brind'Amour, Steven Halko and Lyle Wildgoose.
  
• Also at NC State, researchers are designing a "perfect puck" for visually impaired hockey players. http://www.technicianonline.com/news/n-c-state-pursuing-the-perfect-puck-1.2448533
  
• A Jr. Hurricanes U18 goalie was just signed in the USHL, making as far as I know 5 current Raleigh-based players in the top American junior league (as well as one from Charlotte).

The sport continues to get traction among young people who have now grown up with the Hurricanes in town. It's really interesting to see the activity at NC State, which is the closest university to the team and shares the RBC Center with the Hurricanes.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

What's the deal with Oregon? In terms of hockey players per 10 000 they rank 47th!

47 Oregon 804 3,790,060 2.1
48 Louisiana 466 4,410,796 1.1
49 Mississippi 259 2,938,618 0.9
50 Arkansas 216 2,855,390 0.8
51 Hawaii 11 1,288,198 0.1

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/hockeys-heartland-state-by-state/#more-35480

And they've got history-Portland Buckaroos, 2 Memorial Cups, 1st American team to play for the Stanley Cup (the Rosebuds in 1916)

 

[Kritter471]

No current NHL team in Portland or Seattle = very littler regional interest in the NHL in Oregon (and in the U.S., youth leagues like major junior don't generate near the interest they do in smaller Canadian towns, so the WinterHawks don't count).

I also assume they lack the rink infrastructure without a huge metro area like Seattle to drive numbers up.

 

[HabsByTheBay]

Wake me when it translates to people attending NHL games, or heck, even flipping on the TV to watch hockey.

Youth soccer is massively popular, too. How has that translated to the success of soccer as a spectator sport in the States?

You have the chutzpah to ask that question being from British Columbia? Go ask the Whitecaps, it's only the entire reason they exist.

 

[Brodie]

I think Oregon is a state where having an NHL franchise would change things dramatically in a very short period of time

 

[EbencoyE]

Wake me when it translates to people attending NHL games, or heck, even flipping on the TV to watch hockey.

Youth soccer is massively popular, too. How has that translated to the success of soccer as a spectator sport in the States?

Mod delete. Do you have any idea how popular watching soccer in the U.S. is? I think you are confusing the MLS with a sport that has a league in EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY.

The top football clubs in the world have a large portion of their fanbases in the U.S. For example, the MAJORITY of Manchester United fans are American.

 

[EbencoyE]

For comparison, Florida also has over 100,000 registered soccer players.

So I guess after another 50 years of youth player growth, the NHL down there can look forward to MLS level of support.

See above ^

How oblivious are these people who think the MLS speaks for all of soccer?

Same goes for hockey too. This forum is called "The Business of HOCKEY" not "The Business of the NHL". Take your complain trains somewhere else.

 

[KevFu]

Mod delete. Do you have any idea how popular watching soccer in the U.S. is? I think you are confusing the MLS with a sport that has a league in EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY.

The top football clubs in the world have a large portion of their fanbases in the U.S. For example, the MAJORITY of Manchester United fans are American.

USA has more EPL fans than MLS fans. I've never watched an MLS game where I didn't know one of the players on the field. But I woke up every Saturday and went to the pub to watch Manchester City.

 

[DaleCooper]

For example, the MAJORITY of Manchester United fans are American.

While I agree with the rest of your post, there is no way this part can be true.

 

[Brodie]

Yeah, especially when one considers how popular Man U and Liverpool are in Asia.

 

[Moobles]

No they're not, not even close sir. You pulled that out of your ass. Here's a very dated article from 2005 with some very conservative estimates on their fanbase. I'm sure U.S. numbers have increased since then but I'm laughing at the idea the "majority" (or hell even a plurality) of Man U fans are American.

Soccer's definitely popular and gaining popularity but it's not there yet .

Mod delete. Do you have any idea how popular watching soccer in the U.S. is? I think you are confusing the MLS with a sport that has a league in EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY.

The top football clubs in the world have a large portion of their fanbases in the U.S. For example, the MAJORITY of Manchester United fans are American.