Why are hockey players boring?

[HeScores27]

It's ingrained in the system. Coaches reprimand kids who talk about themselves ahead of their team mates... as do many parents. Hockey has a very team orientated mind set. Parents who talk highly about their kids are disliked or frowned upon at the very least. It is white collar, though some middle class can make with a lot of sacrifices. It's ingrained to not talk about yourself at a young age and that idea is repeated all the up to pro. Humility is also more applauded by coaches, gm's and even media than in other sports. Many hockey analysts and commentators are former hockey players who value those same attributes.

So if you're a hockey player and you get praised to be humble, and criticized when you're arrogant (colorful) over and over again, how are you going to behave in the spotlight?

 

[JianYang]

Some of the most interesting people were enforcers. There's still other interesting people out there in the hockey world, but for a league that struggles for spotlight, we might not see it as much.

But it general, I agree. Hockey players are kind of plain. When I watch NFL or NBA players talking with the media or using social media, it just seems alot more unfiltered.

 

[TheSituation]

Hockey players tend to be reserved and humble, unlike some other sports.

A politically correct way of saying boring. Eli Manning has more charisma than the entire league combined, and that says a lot.

 

[rent free]

Blacks, Hispanics and other non-whites have no idea what professionalism is, right?

they do. i'm not saying all white people are professional, i'm saying the whites in the nhl are professional

 

[Varan]

NBA and NFL (half the players) come different cultures, which is pretty obvious (if you didn’t already notice). You asking the NHL to be more liberal in their personalities or celebrations is like someone else asking the NBA to be more conservative. Neither should change, and both have their respective place in North American sports. Personally, I think hockey players have a more collective mindset, which I believe to be more admirable than an individual approach, since after all it is a teamsport. However, if someone (like you), prefers the attitudes of NBA players, then that’s your right, but don’t impose it elsewhere.

It doesn't hurt to show a little emotion. The most marketable stars (which are the top players of course) drive the ratings/interest level of the league. I'm not saying that every NBA player dances after a layup, or a steal, block etc. But when you accomplish something special (other than winning a title), it makes you look a bit human. The top players of the NHL, in my opinion, are pretty boring. Being conservative is great and all, but 100% of the time? It is not a law, that winning SC titles is the only exception where your "inner-self" is allowed to be displayed.

 

[Varan]

Me first ingrates! They should be standing next to their teammates and focussing on being good little automatons.

Fire those sons of *****es. No respect. Disrespecting the game of football by having fun and showing a personality.




Do you actually know what a Broadway play entails? I doubt you've ever seen one.

And in the meantime, you may want to realize that sports are entertainment as well. Athletes don't need to conform to some antiquated notion of yours.

This. Athletes aren't slaves.

 

[Varan]

I think this Simpson's clip sums it up

LMAOOO

 

[Bladerunner]

You should save your grandstanding crusader type comments for real racism instead of twisting someone's words to misrepresent what they said. If he had said white garbage men when you chimed in would you have said "and minorities don't know what garbage is?" That's how stupid your comment is.

He did not say there were not professionals of color, he simply pointed out a high percentage of the players parents profiles (though I would argue it is more about income than specific job type, mechanics, plumbers, welders etc all bring home good money). Are you going to try and tell me there are equal amounts of hockey players of all ethnic groups in Canada? Probably not.

The reality is certain demographics gravitate toward the sport, that does not make it their exclusive domain but it is not a crime to point it out. When I watch hockey I have to admit black players stand out, just as when I watch basketball white and Asian ones do.

Let's try it in reverse. If I said most basketball players have black middle class parents am I saying white people don't know what middle class is?

You might want to examine your motives here. Are you trying to look especially righteous? You failed.

He's just a SJW, and for them it is a "crime".
They like to twist obvious comments into something "bigoted" projecting their own sense of superiority. What a crock.

He also made the mistake that many make - using Hispanic as some sort of race. Hispanics can be nearly 100% Caucasian, African/Negro, Native American, or various mixtures, e.g. mestizo is Spanish, originally and even today, for a person of European (usually Spanish or Portuguese) and Native American heritage (there are broader definitions).

Anyways as I stated above. There's a middle ground between the buffoonish behavior many exhibit in the NBA/NFL and the low key NHL.

 

[IamNotADancer]

they do. i'm not saying all white people are professional, i'm saying the whites in the nhl are professional

Grant Fuhr, Anson Carter, Scott Gomez,Johnny Oduya, Georges Laraque etc. etc. etc. were/are all unprofessional?

Dude, you aren't doing yourself any favors.

 

[BigEezyE22]

The real question is why does anybody care about an athlete's personality?

 

[Incarnadine Sea]

Apparently having a personality is being an "attention ****e" these days.

Or maybe other leagues aren't uptight and stuck in the past when it comes to keeping their players tightly leashed in an attempt to promote an, as pointed out by @Eazy for Kuzy, antiquated and outdated facade that is designed to make its players eschew every single shred or personality and individuality in order to conform to some ridiculous notion of hockey being idealistically sportsmanlike.

The few players that dare try and break the mold in an attempt to bring the sport into the 21st century are immediately admonished, repudiated and brought to heel as evidenced by the furor that surrounds PK Subban or Alex Ovechkin any time either does anything that doesn't conform to the old boy's club mentality.

Sports are entertainment. Hockey already has a demographics problem and a tiny segment of the population it appeals to compared to every other professional sports league on Earth. If the game is ever going to be grown beyond being a fringe sport and appeal to non traditional demographics, the dinosaurs are going to have to realize that personalities draw eyeballs to the game as much as the on ice/field/court product does. That's the reality.

This is complete BS.

First of all, the NHL is no more uptight than other sports which have much higher viewership. Take MLB for example, which has players with no more personality than in the NHL. Players celebrate home runs in the MLB, and players celebrate goals in NHL. In both leagues, players rarely trash talk the other team. And in both leagues, if a player has an over-the-top celebration or does something that would be considered unsportsmanlike, it will light a fire on the other team. And this is the same in all sports. Each team also has there own club policy in baseball, and likely in hockey too. As recently as last season, there were teams with policies such as no facial hair. Based on your argument, I would imagine you would think that was "antiquated and outdated". Yet, this was implemented in the MLB which has far greater viewership than the NHL.

Calling sportsmanship and professionalism outdated and calling anyone who watches hockey for the excitement of the sport a dinosaur is offensive.

Hockey has always reached a smaller demographic and it always will (unfortunately). For the league to try and add personalities to the sport is not going to change that.

The only sport I know where the personalities are very noticeable is the NFL. But most people I know watch the NFL because they have always watched it and like the game. They don't watch it because a player has a ridiculous touchdown celebration. In fact, many people dislike the over-the-top celebrations. And I'm talking about all ages (I'm 25).

 

[BM14]

Why do new hockey fans suffer from ADD and social media addictions?

 

[ForumNamePending]

read a thread on Ho-Sang if you want to know why they all act boring

BUT HIS SKATES!!!

There's truth in "hockey players are boring", there's certainly people in the sport who frown upon personality and self promotion (even when it is a way from the rink), but I also think it gets overplayed a bit. There are some interesting guys in hockey, and like hockey, a ton of boring guys in other sports.

 

[Spartachat]

For me, I do like positive personalities like Subban, Burns, Olivie and I wish there were more of them in the NHL. However, I do not like negative ***hole personalities like Avery or even Evander Kane.

 

[rent free]

Grant Fuhr, Anson Carter, Scott Gomez,Johnny Oduya, Georges Laraque etc. etc. etc. were/are all unprofessional?

Dude, you aren't doing yourself any favors.

None of those are whites. Ur not doing urself any favours by not properly responding to what I said.

 

[MisterNoItAll]

It doesn't hurt to show a little emotion. The most marketable stars (which are the top players of course) drive the ratings/interest level of the league. I'm not saying that every NBA player dances after a layup, or a steal, block etc. But when you accomplish something special (other than winning a title), it makes you look a bit human. The top players of the NHL, in my opinion, are pretty boring. Being conservative is great and all, but 100% of the time? It is not a law, that winning SC titles is the only exception where your "inner-self" is allowed to be displayed.

First, in the NHL, fans follow teams more than they do players. This will always be the case. Hockey fans, like its sport, are usually people of a conservative/collective nature.

In general, across all sports, individual players are less noticeable than one time, due to the parity within sports today. Wayne Gretzky was in commercials all the time, because he stood out that much more than his opponents not the ice. The same can be said for Michael Jordan, he like Gretzky stood out much more than their competition, and successfully launched his shoe line, the Jordans.

You've mistaken eras for sports. Everything today has become less marketable, because people are less interested celebrities compared to past times. Selfies, instagram, live streaming, etc. iPhone. Technology today, makes it so that everyone can market themselves for free.

Firstly, boring is a subjective term. For you they are boring, for others they are not boring. What makes a guy like LeBron James more interesting than a guy like Sidney Crosby, both the faces of their sports. Objectively I don't see LeBron standing out more than Sid.

 

[Nalens Oga]

They are boring but I don't know if anyone else mentioned this....one of the reasons is the media. Hockey media is SO bad. And I'm not talking about the alternative guys like Wyshynski or Filipovic but your standard on air talent or beat reporter. Give shitty questions and you'll get shitty answers. They're so generic it hurts, I try to think of a good response to the questions they ask and I struggle so I'm not surprised these guys just give generic answers and can't be bothered to think of a proper one.

 

[habdynasty]

There are a lot of them , are they all boring ??? how would anyone know every one of them?

 

[Varan]

First, in the NHL, fans follow teams more than they do players. This will always be the case. Hockey fans, like its sport, are usually people of a conservative/collective nature.

In general, across all sports, individual players are less noticeable than one time, due to the parity within sports today. Wayne Gretzky was in commercials all the time, because he stood out that much more than his opponents not the ice. The same can be said for Michael Jordan, he like Gretzky stood out much more than their competition, and successfully launched his shoe line, the Jordans.

You've mistaken eras for sports. Everything today has become less marketable, because people are less interested celebrities compared to past times. Selfies, instagram, live streaming, etc. iPhone. Technology today, makes it so that everyone can market themselves for free.

Firstly, boring is a subjective term. For you they are boring, for others they are not boring. What makes a guy like LeBron James more interesting than a guy like Sidney Crosby, both the faces of their sports. Objectively I don't see LeBron standing out more than Sid.

like you said, Sid is conservative, whereas LeBron puts himself out there more

 

[Belial]

I didn't knew being well mannered and humble = boring...

 

[IamNotADancer]

None of those are whites. Ur not doing urself any favours by not properly responding to what I said.

You are implying that only one race in hockey is professional. While it's other races that display unprofessional behavior.

 

[Ceremony]

The first reply to this thread is all the answer you need.

 

[MisterNoItAll]

like you said, Sid is conservative, whereas LeBron puts himself out there more

What makes LeBron more interesting than Sid?
Outside of Basketball, what else is LeBron known for?

 

[PG Canuck]

Why? Because they get criticized and judged when they do show some personality. Milbury ripped on Subban once because he was dancing in the warmups.

The media has ruined hockey players showing their personalities and it’s a shame because so many guys are hilarious.

 

[Aggie204]

Chia