Whenever the notion strikes us, we will take an aspect or issue that at best doesn't get the respect it deserves. We will present our subjective love for such things in the most unbiased way possible, dissecting the reasons against, while presenting reasons for. We will also invite you to add your two cents, feel free to comment on this blog or elsewhere, and we just may revisit the defense. Who knows, you might change our minds.
Our inaugural induction will be the defense of America's fourth sport, hockey.
HOCKEY
What’s wrong with hockey, America? Seriously? The other night I watched a game while at the gym (yeah, I go to the gym.) I was quite excited to watch the Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers. A game I have no vested interest in seeing other than to watch some damn good hockey. What inspired me to take up the cause of hockey is that I had to ask the guy to change the channel to hockey.
Now, being in New York in the middle of the World Series, if baseball was on I wouldn’t bother. It is my opinion that early season games of one sport take a back seat to the post season of another, I think any sports fan agrees with this. I wouldn’t like it if someone wanted to switch from the Stanley Cup Playoffs to a pre-season Mets game.
However, what they were playing on ESPN? Poker. Seriously, ESPN was airing a game where the audience watches other people win money in a card game. This got me thinking, why doesn’t hockey get any love here in the states?
I’m not saying that hockey is somehow superior to other sports, I am saying that for my money, hockey is just as good as the other three. In terms of popularity or notoriety in the states, the big four are (in order) football, baseball, basketball and hockey. While I was on the treadmill, hating the fact that I was on a treadmill I asked myself, what about hockey doesn’t resonate with America? Here are a few reasons why Americans might be reluctant to embrace hockey:
1) Hockey isn’t an American sport.
The crux of the issue is that hockey A) was not invented by Americans or B) isn't dominated by American players. I would buy this point if the opposite were true for the other big three, but sadly it is not.
Football is based out of rugby which is about as American as Monty Python. Baseball’s roots have been traced back to England as well. In fact Basketball is the only sport with it’s official origin in America and was developed by a Canadian. Hockey is no less an invention of America than hamburgers and french fries.
In terms of Americans’ dominance of the sport, I truly don’t know where this misconception comes from, since a Canadian team hasn’t won the championship since 1993. For such a Canadian sport, there are only 6 teams out of 30 that call the Great White North home. What’s that? Oh it’s the players that aren’t American, like Yao Ming or David Ortiz right?
Sure the ratio to non-American hockey player to American hockey players is ridiculously in favor of non-American players, but is that legitimate reason to not watch a sport? Is it easier to cheer for a guy named Troy Polamalu over a guy named Sidney Crosby because the latter is not American? A fairly dubious argument.
A side note: With the Olympics coming up this year, Team USA is going to be one of the most exciting things to happen in the 2010 Olympics. It's a young team with a lot of heart and talent. They have the possibility of being the true underdogs of the Olympics. I encourage you all to tune into that.
So the "Un-American" argument doesn’t hold much water, unless you want to hold those same standards to ALL of the Big Four, which I sincerely doubt anybody would. So let’s move on, huh?
2) It’s a low scoring game.
Compared to what? How much different are baseball scores compared to hockey scores? Football has a lot of points sure, but imagine if every touchdown, conversion and field goal was worth one point. I suspect that, unless you’re watching Tom Brady take his frustrations out on the Tennessee Titans, the scores would look quite similar.
Basketball is the only acceptation, but when you think about it, the reason for that is simply because you’re not allowed to touch any player at any time. They call fouls for looking at a guy the wrong way. If that’s your idea of a good sport where a fast moving game screeches to halt because Lebron accidentally face palms Kobe, that’s your right.
3) It’s a game you actually have to pay attention to.
This is a point that hasn’t been presented to me, rather a theory that I conjured up, and it’s one of the reasons why I think that soccer (that’s right, I’m calling it soccer) and hockey are sort of in the same vein in terms of American “watchability.”
Think about watching football and baseball, it’s something you can easily watch at a bar or at a party. They are social sports. You can be engaged in a deep philosophical discussion during a baseball game and you won’t miss any action. You can be at a party playing beer pong, and still catch the big passes of the Superbowl.
In hockey, the big plays happen instantly. Blink and you’ll miss the great goal, the sick pass, or the nasty hip check. Play does not stop very often, certainly not as often as baseball, and when it does the stops are certainly not as long as football. This doesn’t really lend itself to drinking games or involved discussions during play. I seriously doubt however, that any sports fan would take this a knock against the sport.
So now that I’ve shaken you’re initial reluctance to the sport of hockey against your favorite sport, allow me to share with you the reasons why hockey may not deserve your fanatical devotion, but at the very least your respect.
Keep in mind that compilation is just from this past week in the early 2009-10 hockey season. You want finesse goals? Dramatic saves? Dynamic team plays? Brutal checks? Hockey as a sport, has it all.
Do yourself a favor and tune in January 1st for the Winter Classic in Boston. The NHL goes all out for this event as they pick a city to host an outdoor hockey game. The venue is usually something identifiable to the city, last year was at Wrigley Field, with the Chicago Blackhawks taking on Detroit Red Wings. This year, the Boston Bruins will take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park. Should be some "old time hockey." What do I mean by "Old Time Hockey?"
So I propose a question to you, loyal follower(s), what does football/baseball/basketball have that hockey doesn't? If you're a sports fan, why not watch hockey?
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The reason I don't seek out to watch hockey is the exact opposite of your third idea; because it seems to me to be a very slow-paced game. It's not just that it's a low-scoring game. Football, as you say, is just about as low scoring, but in-between the goals, there are actually things HAPPENING. They're advancing towards their goal in definite, obvious-to-see ways. Hockey just goes around and around in a circle until a goal is finally scored. Circles do not an exciting sport make.
ReplyDeleteI think your video of "old-time hockey" says it all, in that it's in color video. Baseball and Football have been played across the United States for a hundred years, but Hockey requires an ice rink to be played in the southern U.S. Therefore hockey was a regional thing, and baseball was "the american passtime". The mid twentieth century, with the proliferation of interstate highways and the national identity that was promoted in WWII and the cold war, lent its support to sports that were unifying, that could be played anywhere, any time of year. Hockey has only become that recently, compared to baseball or football. It's not "all-American" because not all of America could always play it, and only "all-american" things found wide popularity in the age of blind patriotism we're only now emerging from.
ReplyDelete@filmsinboxes - Yes things happen in between the scoring, mainly commercials. Kidding aside, in footbal there IS a definite advancing toward the goal, but to say the definite advancing toward a goal ISN'T happening in hockey is a bit dubious. The advancement to the goal just happens quicker. If you fast forwarded a football game, I imagine the pacing would look similar to a hockey game, with the back and forth opposing teams pushing against each other.
ReplyDelete@ian, you are absolutely correct that until the the 70s, the NHL was perfectly happy being a regional sport. Until the a rival, now defunct league came along and actually attempted to expand toward non-traditional hockey markets. However, I do believe that this is a mentality that is changing within the country, which is evident within the other "All-American" sports. That ought to be playing to hockey's advantage in my opinion.
I agree, Richard. Hockey has definitely become a sport that can and is played and enjoyed everywhere, and we'll probably see it slowly crawl up the ladder in popularity. The problem, however, is that sporting events have way, WAY more competition as an entertainment field nowadays, when you compare it to the golden ages of baseball and football. What I'm saying is that those sports maintain the popularity they have because it was born in an era where it could be developed- we're no longer in that era. Even if Hockey is played in every gym in America, it doesn't matter, because the stage is wrong for a shift in the popularity of sports. Without the heavy patriotism and lack of entertainment options that the, say, forties and fifties had, I don't think Hockey can reach that echelon.
ReplyDeleteIan, so what you're saying is that the Taliban needs to field an Olympic hockey team. I like it.
ReplyDeleteThat'd do it. The second it happens, I am investing heavily in thermally padded American Flag Jerseys. Holy shit will I make money.
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