Why is hockey not more popular in the U.S?

Question

For you sports fans, I'd like your honest assessment of why hockey fails to catch on with the American public.

Answer 1

Simple. It's not America's past time. It's Canada's.

Answer 2

All good answers of why hockey is not as popular as other sports, but you make an assumption in your question, that hockey has not caught on with the public. Out of 30 teams in the NHL 24 are in the US. So not too bad. In cities like NY, Boston, and Buffalo, hockey games sell tickets and good seats are expensive. Youth hockey leagues in certain cities are popular. A lot has to do with youth sports. If someone did not play baseball or grow up with it, they are bored to tears. I have some friends from outside the US who really tried to get into the sport, but gave up.
Olympic hockey is very popular. Maybe the greatest moment for US Olympic history is the 1980 hockey team.
Also keep in mind while hockey fans are fewer, they can be real serious and loyal.
Hockey is the 4th largest professional sport in the US. I recall there was a hockey strike, I think that set the sport back as they lost some fans.

Answer 3

it's just like Football (soccer) it's been around for over 100 years and it's not catching on because they don't dominate the sports hockey and football (soccer). and look at baseball it use to be America's #1 sport but it's losing it's fans because there not the dominate ones at the sport anymore, you look at all the roster the best players are from the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Porto Rico and now with Japan and Korea getting involved the sport of baseball in the U.S is not the #1 sport anymore and plus they lost at the very first World Baseball Classic they didn't even make it to the finals even Canada beat team U.S.A. Once they dominate hockey and football (soccer) which will never happen anyways that's when it will catch on to the average American.but don't forget hockey is big in the northern area's of the U.S like Minneapolis, Michigan, New York and Massachusetts. and another thing hockey and football (soccer) are low scoring games and have a defencive system to keep the scores low unlike American sports when you score a touchdown you get 6 pts and in basketball the scores are like in the high 90's and 100's and baseball its usually scores like 8-7 so that's another reason also.


Lorenzo Ferlinghe...>>>> o ya Crosby ain't as cool as a Kobe a rapist wow.


GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 4

Football! people get crazy about football. I live in Texas and football is a religion not a sport. Hockey is the only sport I like to watch and it really sucks when It says The Stars will be shown on a station and instead its a documentry on the dallas cowboys. Since the Stars got to Dallas Hockey has caught on a lot more, you can find viewing parties, and there are plenty of peewee teams. If they build a mall in the area it better have a ice rink. If all the major sports networks would talk it up it would catch on a lot more

Answer 5

Hockey is an expensive sport, and not every town has a rink in the United States.It's hard for the half of America that lives in the South and the Sun Belt to appreciate it.

The fighting turns people off, even though fights are down for the most part in the NHL.

I find the bigger surprise to be that soccer isn't big in the United States. It's the cheapest of all sports to play and virtually every school has a team, but it's at the bottom of the barrel in this country.

Answer 6

Because Americans have the attention span of a knat. We dont want to learn the "complicated" rules of hockey. Honestly it seems as if Americans also tend to love slooooooow sports, which explains why football now exceeds baseball as America's pastime. It's like our brains cant handle anything that moves too fast. Also I dont understand the "America is not cold enough" or "never played it after school" excuse. I fell in love with hockey and I never got a chance to play it as a child.

Who cares. I love hockey, I love the NHL, and the NHL is not going to fold. We have enough fans. To those who chose not to watch the greatest sport in the world, thats their loss. Hockey is the worlds best kept secret and I feel priviledged to be let in on it.

Answer 7

On the contrary. If you look at the markets hockey is in, they sell out and do well. Outside these markets there is no way for people to associate themselves with the game largely due to the lack of tv exposure. Every night, there is at least 4 basketball games on nation wide networks or cable. What does hockey have?

Answer 8

a lot of it is marketing but then again the major sport networks thinks that World Series of Poker is a great sport. (Not even close its all who has the ability to bullshit and luck with LITTLE SKILL).

The sports networks focuses on the negativity of the great sport of hockey. (Bertuzzi and McSorley to name two) and then have the nerve to say oh thats just love taps driving 200 miles an hour and hitting another car or the Clemens/Piazza fiasco.

Just go a live game you'll be hooked.

Answer 9

I dont know why many of my fellow americans think that for some reason hockey is boring not me though I LOVE HOCKEY!!! i play on 2 teams 1 for my highschool and 1 for my local hockey club hence the name: nova ice dogs #9

Answer 10

Not enough money involved in hockey. Too many moms are affraid to let their kids play(like mine) so the interest is down. In addition its also an expensive sport for kids to play. I guess im saying there is not enough interest from the younger population.

Answer 11

Because Football,Baseball, and Basketball are more popular. Hockey is a Canadien sport. On the contrary, why isn't Football,Baseball, and Basketball popular in Canada?.