Have fans lost their love for hockey?

[Injektilo]

Right about now is when I start to watch hockey because it's fun to watch rather than "hey, it's hockey, it's better than 99% of the rest of what's on TV". When the playoff races start heating up, that's when hockey becomes more than a habit.

 

[FLYLine27*]

I will never loose my love for hockey...never NEVER. When the NHL resumes it will take the spot as the best day of my life. This is the worst year of my life.

 

[CharlieGirl]

I've lost my passion for the NHL, but not for hockey.

I agree..... I absolutely love the game, but pretty much don't give a damn about the NHL.

 

[Lanny MacDonald*]

When the NHL resumes it will take the spot as the best day of my life. This is the worst year of my life.

I think you should check into getting a life! :lol

Seriously, if the NHL lockout is the worst year of your life, and when the NHL resumes will be the best day of your life, you're either really young, don't have a life, or don't have your priorities straight. I love hockey, I east sleep and breathe hockey, but the high spots in my life have absolutely nothing to do with the NHL or hockey. I hope that upon reflection you were just blowing hyperbole?

 

[NewBreed19]

There is so much wrong with the NHL . Canadian teams that are having trouble, American teams that aren't doing well. We have people trying to suggest moving teams back to where there were problems in the first place. Everyone has their answers to the problems, but most opinions fall without a thought. The NHL is trying to fix this , but we have a$$nine NHLPA that refuses admitt to it. The way the league is going currently, we might not have hockey ever. They might need to start over and reinvent itself. There is no quick fix!!

 

[Luc Labelle]

I discovered the joys of NHL hockey over 30 years ago. It quickly became a passion for me. Whenever I suffered a cut I bled NHL it was so much a part of my fabric.

Unfortunately in 1993 the NHL hired Gary Bettman as commissioner and under his stewardship the on-ice product became a horribly unwatchable spectacle. Bettman killed my passion years ago and I only watched the occasional game out of habit.

Now it is 2005 and Bob Goodenough is faithfully leading his lemmings into the abyss. And yes, he has succeeded in breaking my habit.

I am still passionate about hockey, it is part of my soul. The NHL and its continued support of obstruction and the trapping systems that flourish because of it will never entertain me.

Just like I was suffocatingly bored watching games where both teams waited for the other team to make a mistake, I now find myself equally bored watching the same system taking place in the boardrooms. Back in the day that the NHL was played on the ice I recall too many teams only attempting to score one or twice a period. Games that went into overtime would often go into 2, 3 or 4 periods since neither side ever really took a chance on winning.

Similarly, negotiations for the current CBA have gone into overtime yet we only see either side meeting 2 or 3 days a week. Just like the trap system, where if there is any resistance at the blueline the other side just dumps it in and sits back; we see each side sit back when cost certainty, no cost certainty gets mentioned. Lets get back to creativity where one side actually tries to gain the blueline. Let us hope either the NHL or NHLPA steps forward with a creative proposal that will entertain the owners and players. Then they can apply the same creativity on the ice and entertain the fans and grow their business. Everyone wins.

 

[Greschner4]

Link

This is an interesting question. How do you know you're watching the game because you actually love it or just out of habit?

I still love it and with a few tweaks to help the offense and a salary cap, it can be the best sport around.