Would the NHL benefit if Crosby was the real deal

[Shoalzie]

You want Crosby to be famous among average non-hockey fans? Put him in New York. The New York media is a monster. Crosby will be on the cover of half a dozen big newspapers, on the Today Show, etc. All he needs to do is succeed (and the Rangers succeed with him).


If theres going to be another superstar, he's going to have to come out of New York. A New York playoff team at that.

New York needs a hockey renaissance for sure...but so does Chicago for that matter. He'll be a successful player wherever he goes but the NHL can't bank on him as a savior for the sport. Unless, he puts up freakish numbers, he'll be just another star player that will be respected in hockey circles but shrugged off by the mainstream American media.

I don't mean to make this an American issue but the NHL needs a boost of interest among fans in our country. Hockey will always be healthy in Canada. Not enough people south of the border has heard of Crosby and they probably won't until he does something remarkable on the ice.

 

[Ape Clutch]

I'm sure not many non-hockey fan really gives a crap about a guy who might be a great hockey player...they just want to see someone put up gaudy numbers or do something extraordinary. If Crosby is a record-breaking player, he could become transendant among sports fans regardless of where he plays. I doubt he'll be any more marketable than Gretzky or Lemieux but atleast hockey will have a figure that draws non-fans' attention. They just don't have that guy right now.

Same could be said about Every sport I think, I was a non-soccer fan, I didn't give a damn about soccer, I grew to like soccer b-cuz of guyz like Henry and Zidane but thatz also b-cuz I have a soccer loving dad. I mena guyz who don't know ANYTHING about soccer, won't watch it until the next "Pele" Comes around, Same thing about Baseball and the next "Babe Ruth" I guess and every sport out there. For a sport to gain Fans out of the blue, They need to have an UNbelievable player playing in the leauge. Much like the non-hockey fan as a non-baseball fan I'd pay attention if someone was breaking records left and right.

Ex:Eric Gagne ok he wasn't huge but all those saves in a row made ppl watch LA and the highlights as long as he kept it going.