Philly not as big a hockey town as it is thought to be?

Lou's Koolaid

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Jan 12, 2007
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The hockey news I think last year ranked Philadelphia as the top U.S hockey city/market. Living between both Phily and Newyork I see no difference in general hockey intrest. Though the Flyers get great support from their regional fan base there doesn't seem to be much intrest in the NHL like U.S markets such as Buffalo Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston. I would be shocked to see Philly ratings for the playoffs higher than any of the above mentioned cities.
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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Wanna know how big the "#1 hockey town" is?


Hockey is far from being the #1 sport. They'll never surpass the Eagles unless the Eagles move. Might not even be #2 now that all of a sudden the Phillies have fans again, although they usually disappear by Memorial Day after the team begins 10-25. Sometimes I laugh when I hear this because its so far from the truth. There's a lot of Eagles fans who pretend to be Flyers fans and then become so cynical and point and laugh when the Flyers lose yet the Eagles people whine and cry but no one ever labels them as chokers or any of the sort. I support the other 3 teams in this town to an extent, but life goes on for me when the Eagles season ends. I don't know how it happened, but I'm the only one in my family who is a Flyers fan, let alone a hockey fan. My brother went with me to about 15 games but no one I know really follows the Flyers consistently other than maybe three of my other friends, one who went with me to a bunch of Flyers games.

Hockey season in Philadelphia does start until about late January-early February, whenever all the Eagles fans stop jumping off the bridge. Usually in March people come to me in droves wanting a crash course in what exactly has been going on all season and then when the season is over "well Bobby Clarke..." like they know everything about him.

Don't get me wrong, the Flyers do have their share of fans who treat them #1 like I do and many other people, and they've had great attendance all things considered, but in the big picture the Flyers are a blip on the radar aside from 4 months a year - the 2 months before and after the NFL Draft (let me tell you, there's A LOT of Eagles fans who all of a sudden become draft experts come April).
 
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Lou is God

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Nov 10, 2003
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The hockey news I think last year ranked Philadelphia as the top U.S hockey city/market. Living between both Phily and Newyork I see no difference in general hockey intrest. Though the Flyers get great support from their regional fan base there doesn't seem to be much intrest in the NHL like U.S markets such as Buffalo Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston. I would be shocked to see Philly ratings for the playoffs higher than any of the above mentioned cities.

Philly is a super hockey town, hell, their minor league team gets better crowds then the Devils do.

Your definitely barking up the wrong tree dude.
 

jerseydevil

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Philly is a super hockey town, hell, their minor league team gets better crowds then the Devils do.

Your definitely barking up the wrong tree dude.

True..I went to the Devs-Philly game last week...not too many empty seats considering they are dead last in the standings..If we reversed this and put the game in NJ and the Devils are in last place..maybe we get 11,000..maybe.
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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Philly is a super hockey town, hell, their minor league team gets better crowds then the Devils do.

Your definitely barking up the wrong tree dude.

I wouldn't be so sure, I don't have number in front of me for the Phantoms, but they're not supergood. It's not over 10,000. They had great trouble drawing during the lockout. I'm not sure what the Devils draw either but I'm sure it's better than the Phantoms. The Phantoms can't even get on radio here.


But as someone who lives in this town, I sometimes get insulted by some of the people in this town who act like they're Flyers fans when it's convenient (you'll see me on the Flyers board call them Eagles fans because that's what they are).
 

jerseydevil

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I wouldn't be so sure, I don't have number in front of me for the Phantoms, but they're not supergood. It's not over 10,000. They had great trouble drawing during the lockout. I'm not sure what the Devils draw either but I'm sure it's better than the Phantoms. The Phantoms can't even get on radio here.


But as someone who lives in this town, I sometimes get insulted by some of the people in this town who act like they're Flyers fans when it's convenient (you'll see me on the Flyers board call them Eagles fans because that's what they are).

Ok..so the good news is we outdraw your minor league team..I know it can get frustrating dealing with other fans, but you shoudl be happy that you consistently get 19,000 + even when your team is in last place..Not many other places can say that..
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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Ok..so the good news is we outdraw your minor league team..I know it can get frustrating dealing with other fans, but you shoudl be happy that you consistently get 19,000 + even when your team is in last place..Not many other places can say that..

Meh, we didn't even get that much. That's paid attendance only. There's no telling how many people have season tickets and don't show up. The people who sit in the two seats next to me, I saw those seats used 4 times all year, the last one was in mid-January for Eric Desjardins night. Actually I sat in their seats for the leg room because my friend who sits next to me shows up to every game, good or bad.
 

fighterflea1*

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The hockey news I think last year ranked Philadelphia as the top U.S hockey city/market. Living between both Phily and Newyork I see no difference in general hockey intrest. Though the Flyers get great support from their regional fan base there doesn't seem to be much intrest in the NHL like U.S markets such as Buffalo Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston. I would be shocked to see Philly ratings for the playoffs higher than any of the above mentioned cities.

I'd say "pull back from the Koolaid, Lou, it's not doing you any good." You do know that for the first time in 12 years, the Flyers did not make the playoffs. If you compare a fan base from teams (except the Bruins) competing in the playoffs and teams that aren't, you're going to find greater interest on the part of the teams still competing for the cup.

If you go to games in Washington, New York, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh, Toronto or Vancouver for that matter, you will find a remarkable out-of-town base of supporters for the Flyers. Deserved or not, the Flyers attracted fans during their Broad St. Bully days that continue to wear the teams colors (or hand them down to their kids). You may note that transplanted Philadelphians contribute to this as well.

The fan base is not as avid or as knowledgable as in Canada for a variety of reasons that stem from the way hockey is looked at in the 2 countries.

But I think that if you did away with the NHL and started over putting franchises in N. America based strictly on the volume of fan interest and support, I think that, among U.S. cities, Philly would earn its franchise right after Detroit (Hockey Town) and New York, along with Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul and perhaps Boston. I would put Philly as a market ahead of Buffalo and way ahead of Pittsburgh.

I think that Philly fans proved themselves this year to skeptics by selling out or coming close in support of the worst Flyer team in the franchise's 40 year history.
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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There isn't a US City that boasts at least 3 major professional teams, where the hockey team would be considered #1 ... assuming that all the sports teams in the area were playing at an even level.

I'm sure some of them are better than Philly. Although it sucks you and I may get a bad rep because of the drunks at the Eagles games and the idiots who throw batteries ad J.D. Drew. I'd say Detroit would though, they're a given that they could, I haven't lived in another city. Although the interest in the Flyers, it is non existant other than the time frame I mentioned. I don't know how it is in other towns, I can't speak for them. 90% of the people who call up WIP to talk Flyers it's about Bobby Clarke and how he should go kill himself.
 

Danko

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Jul 28, 2004
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Here is the thing about Philly....

The Eagles are always going to be number 1....HOWEVER, despite that...the city is pretty much all about every single sport. The Eagles attendance is always going to be sold out because its a short season and it is the number 1 sport in the country.

The Phillies and Sixers both draw dependant on how they are doing on a month to month basis....I remember games where the sixers played to a near empty building in the last 2 years.

Our Indoor Soccer Team, AFL team, and Lacrosse team all draw pretty outstanding also considering the popularity of those sports in this country.

The Flyers are without a doubt the number 2 team in the city, however the fans in the building do not show the passion that most flyers fans in the area have for the sport....the reason? Ticket Prices.

Ever since the flyers left the spectrum I have been feeling as if the passion in the arenas has died down and that INTENSITY that is so storied is dwindeling. Though at almost every game you can see a fight in the crowds, there really isn't that aura that there was in the Spectrum. Most of the passionate more blue collar hockey fans are at home watching it on their tvs.

Living in Delaware (10 minutes from philly) I know for a fact that the Flyers benefit greatly from having the tv market broadcast in Delaware, thats like having a team in two cities.


So basically in short (cause im rambling now and have no idea what im even saying) The Flyers are the number 2 team in the city, however thats still probably among the top 5 markets in the country...the fans are still their and are extremely passionate, as are all philly area teams fans.

AND GKJ you need to not focus on the coverage by the media, because none of these guys are hockey guys, there all football guys and in the off season whatever other sport is around.
 

Transported Upstater

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Probably Buffalo..........

Not even close. The Bills RULE Western New York.

In America, Football is a much, much more popular sport than hockey. Easily. That doesn't mean those fans aren't hockey fans, and that they don't support the team. It just means that hockey isn't #1.

Football = #1 in America. More than baseball. More than basketball. And certainly much mroe than hockey. That will never change.
 

TheMoose

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Jun 23, 2005
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Though the Flyers get great support from their regional fan base there doesn't seem to be much intrest in the NHL like U.S markets such as Buffalo Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston.


Might want to re-think Boston. They haven't shown much interest in the Bruins. Can't blame them though.
 

ColoradoHockeyFan

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Feb 17, 2005
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Care to expand on that besides just a "no"?
Sure. Check the TV ratings as just one example. A crappy Vikings team will draw ratings that are 20 times higher than what a very good Wild team will draw. The NFL >> the NHL in every US market. I'm not sure why anyone would even question this.
 

MetalMilitia

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Jan 8, 2005
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There isn't a US City that boasts at least 3 major professional teams, where the hockey team would be considered #1 ... assuming that all the sports teams in the area were playing at an even level.
Detroit? I guess the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings aren't playing evenly, but I'm sure that if they were, the Wings would be #1 in Detroit. Is that safe to say?
 

Lou is God

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Sure. Check the TV ratings as just one example. A crappy Vikings team will draw ratings that are 20 times higher than what a very good Wild team will draw. The NFL >> the NHL in every US market. I'm not sure why anyone would even question this.

I don't know if you can compare football ratings to hockey rating for a couple reasons, one there is only 16 games a season compared to 80 in hockey and football for the most part is on a Sunday and at a pretty consistent time while a hockey game can be on at any time of the week.
 

OG6ix

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Apr 11, 2006
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Detroit? I guess the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings aren't playing evenly, but I'm sure that if they were, the Wings would be #1 in Detroit. Is that safe to say?

Detroit is not hockey town. It probably was when they were the only team winning, but since then the Pistons and Tigers have been the talk of the town. Pistons have beaten them in TV Ratings locally many times and the Tigers have had a huge resurgence. If the Lions ever had a decent season they would be #1.
 

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