A Golden Opportunity

Let it be known that I am NOT a fan of football. I’m not even talking about college or pro football, in particular. I just don’t like the sport. I’ll watch the Giants if there is nothing else on, and I root for them in the playoffs….but come the fall I’m more concerned with playoff baseball, Ryder Cup golf (every two years), and more importantly, the National Hockey League.

I love hockey with all of my heart, and soul, and some of my duodenum. But I don’t feel the same way as most Americans do about the game. Pro Hockey is really not one of the major sports in this country anymore. It really had its heyday(s) in the 60s and again in the 80s. Although now, I would think it safe to say that Mixed Martial Arts, Poker, NASCAR, Soccer, and maybe even the Lingerie Football League (sarcasm…although it IS awesome) are more prominent in the forefront of the American sports consciousness than hockey is.

However, come next year that might not be the case. About 365 days from now, there is a possibility that BOTH the NFL and the NBA will lock out. If the NFL locks out, ESPN estimates that they could lose over $1 billion in revenues. And that makes sense because football is king in this country, all year round. Basketball has become an extremely globalized game. Certain NBA teams are major draws, not only in their local and national market, but around the world. When baseball ends in November, basketball and football are the sports to watch. If they both lock out and don’t bring in scrub players, then hockey has a GOLDEN opportunity to claim a lot of viewership who are craving good athletic competition.

There’s no denying that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics helped give hockey a great boost (in terms of relevance) in North America. The USA beats Canada in pool play, and then the two rematch for the Gold Medal. Zach Parise (United States) scores the game-tying goal with seconds to play and then, (who else, but?) Canada’s boy Sidney Crosby scores the game winner in overtime. Then, to follow that up, you have a Stanley Cup tournament filled with incredible upsets (the 1, 2 and 3 seeds in the East were all upset in the 1^st round), even more incredible comebacks (Philly defeats Boston in the Conference Semifinals after being down 3 games to none), and a Cup final that received one of the highest television ratings in what seems to be eons. Couple that with a very tumultuous offseason (e.g. Ilya Kovalchuk & the Devils) and you’ve set yourself up for a 2010-2011 campaign that should prepare the league for a great opportunity in 2012.

What I fail to understand is how hockey is not popular given the nature of the game. It’s incredibly fast (unlike baseball, football, and to a lesser extent, basketball which have frequent stoppages); the puck is constantly moving (again, baseball is broken up into pitches, and have you actually calculated how infrequently the football is in play during an NFL game?); hockey players are large, fast, strong and incredibly agile; there are absolutely crushing hits and bodychecks every few seconds; and once in a while you’re treated to a good fight (forget what Gary Bettman says, MMA is popular and people actually want to see fights. No need to be overly “family friendly”).

If the NHL doesn’t tinker with its product much more, they understand that they can really highlight some great young talent in the league (Crosby, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Doughty, Toews, Stastny, Tavares, Dubinsky, Parise, Getzlaf…the list goes on), really play up all the amazing charitable work that hockey players are doing, and stop shooting themselves in the foot in terms of promoting the game (i.e. turning down ESPN’s lower offer for more money on OLN, refusing to let players attend major televised events, etc)…they have an opportunity to not only become relevant again but regain their popularity and save such a once great sport from slipping into obscurity. Don’t blow it, Bettman!