NHL gets a 1.7 rating for game 1 of the finals

[FairWarning]

incorrect. basketball is the sport most of the young demo is in. hockey is more of an older audience, along with baseball. id also disagree on hockey players being the most physically fit. nobody in the nhl has a physique like a lebron, most shifts on the ice are what, 1-2 mins? lebron is going up and down the court for over 40 mins a game. basketball also has a lot more entertainng plays, as it dominates social media like youtube.

We won't count all the stoppages in play like out of bounds, TV TO's, FT's. He's running 40 minutes. He must be a better athlete than a boxer also, they only have 2-3 minute rounds.

Solid logic.

 

[doubledeuce22]

What also hurts hockey to average fan is the superstars are only on the ice for a minute or two at at time.. Each shift is so short and constantly changing lines hurts building up superstars.

 

[Akillies]

its cause there is no ice rink on every corner in the big cities or in most of the country for that matter

 

[HarryCaray]

its cause there is no ice rink on every corner in the big cities or in most of the country for that matter

That's obviously a factor, but I never played hockey as a child. I watched it as a teenager and instantly recognized it was fun as hell to watch and awesome to gamble on.

I don't think accessibility to play the sport is necessary for it to have a large following.

 

[FairWarning]

That's obviously a factor, but I never played hockey as a child. I watched it as a teenager and instantly recognized it was fun as hell to watch and awesome to gamble on.

I don't think accessibility to play the sport is necessary for it to have a large following.

Never played floor hockey in gym class?

 

[HarryCaray]

Never played floor hockey in gym class?

Nope.

Played a little roller hockey when Rollerblades got big

 

[lt56]

hockey is not popular in this country because of regular season play throughout history. if you allow a guy to get into a fist fight during a sport that is not a self defense sport, and he is not kicked out, fined and suspended, you cater to the lowest common denominator fan who is an idiot. you have cross checking to the neck from behind that snaps a guy's neck and no penalty called. god forbid the player who got beat to the spot try and take back the spot using his body, just cheap shot a guy with your stick. players on the ice who can't even play the game, but are goons who can fight. any sport that allows a guy to have a career who can only fight is a joke. the players show no self discipline whatsoever and will start a fight with a guy who just put a legal, hard hit on them.

now playoff hockey is a different sport. teams can not play stupid or fight because someone could get a penalty. no more blatant slashing and hooking. cross checks are very rare. it is real hockey, the way it was meant to be played. it is still very physical and rough, but you can't chase a guy down if he legally nails you. they suck it up, like real athletes do. playoff hockey could be the most exciting sport in the world to watch. but people see the nonsense of the regular season and stay away. if every hockey game was played like playoff hockey all year and a network showed it regularly, they could quadruple their ratings in 5 years.

if you don't watch playoff hockey, especially the later rounds and finals, you are missing the most exciting sports moments that exist today. and hockey is my 4th favorite sport. if they cleaned the game up so humans could watch it during the regular season, it would be my 3rd.

sorry, i thought you wanted the actual reason. my bad.

 

[bigtendominator]

Too bad the NHL isn't like the NBA. If it were, we could have had a couple of 2 man advantages called for the Rangers to get back in the game.

The OP forgot about the NBA slogan: Where game manipulation happens.

 

[doubledeuce22]

Too bad the NHL isn't like the NBA. If it were, we could have had a couple of 2 man advantages called for the Rangers to get back in the game.

The OP forgot about the NBA slogan: Where game manipulation happens.

good god.. If it was the nba this game would have Joey Crawford and 5 penalties to zero.


The fact that even bill Simmons still jokes about the ref assignments shows how hard it is to take seriously.

 

[bigtendominator]

good god.. If it was the nba this game would have Joey Crawford and 5 penalties to zero.


The fact that even bill Simmons still jokes about the ref assignments shows how hard it is to take seriously.

What amazes me, is that people don't understand the business/economic impact of why this occurs.

 

[slapshot]

bump