Why don't more Americans like hockey?

Question

I don't understand! It is exciting, fast-paced, physical and really fun to watch!

Answer 1

Chenisvonpenis brings up some great points. American's just aren't into the game of hockey
- ice rinks are expensive to maintain in the south so many cities/towns don't have them and people aren't exposed
- hockey is the most expensive sport of the big 4 team sports (my son played both football and hockey in high school and football was a lot cheaper) so it isn't as accessible to everybody
- a lot of Americans I know...just don't care. They don't see it as a Canadian thing, or a non-American thing, they just don't care.

One needs to read no further than Jeff Burton's comments last week regarding the foreign invasion of NASCAR. Here's a guy who's a driver who claims he knows people who will stop watching NASCAR because foreigners will be competing.

http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/261038.html

And he could be right
1) The Indianapolis 500 has had viewership drop as the number of Americans competing has decreased
2) Men's tennis viewership has decreased 41% since 1980 as the number of top ranked Americans has decreased from 31 jn the top 100, to 6
3) Women's tennis viewership has decreased 29% since 1980 due to similar drops in top ranked Americans
4) Louden New Hampshire lost it's open wheel race several years ago due to lack of fans. Fans in the area cited lack of Americans as the reason they stopped watching.

I spent many years crossing North America watching hockey, talking to players, talking to fans, etc. And the biggest obstacle was that people just didn't care. Yes the sport is fast, but that doesn't appeal to everybody. Yes the sport is physical, but that doesn't appeal to everybody.

Why choose football over hockey?
- skating is considered by some a hard skill to master...walking and running are not
- you can play football on any field that is relatively flat, real hockey needs ice
- touch/flag football needs only shoes, even road hockey requires a stick and some sort of object to designate as a net

Why choose baseball over hockey
- skating is considered by some a hard skill to master...walking and running are not
- you can play football on any field that is relatively flat, real hockey needs ice
- cheaper for a high school to have a baseball program than a hockey program

Why choose basketball over hockey
- skating is considered by some a hard skill to master...walking and running are not
- building a basketball hoop on your garage is relatively cheap and painless....putting an ice rink in a modern North American backyard is next to impossible


And, while people are quick to blame Gary Bettman, he has nothing to do with it's lack of popularity. The NFL has had more rule changes over the last 25 years (21) than the NHL has had (16) yet people still watch.

Personally, there is nothing anybody can do to make somebody watch something. The success of the 1980 US Olympic team, and the US Women's team, and with places like Tampa, Carolina, Anaheim, Dallas, and Florida all having been to the Stanley Cup final in the last 15 years means that Americans have been exposed to it. I get USA Today everyday, and have for 25 years. Not once have they forgotten to put hockey scores in, or the standings, or a little paragraph about each game (which is pretty much all they do for baseball and basketball as well). The exposure is there....people get it. They just don't like it.

Why is Soccer the #1 sport worldwide but not in North America? We're exposed. Why don't we support it?
Why is NASCAR #1 in America, but nowhere else? Everybody knows about NASCAR, but just as a Canadian will say 'I don't understand how millions of people can watch grown men race cars for 3 hours around an oval track' a man in Charleston wonders why millions of people watch a bunch of grown men on ice skates with sticks chase a little black thing around.

Similarly, people in India wonder why the world hasn't latched on to field hockey, or cricket, etc.

It's all relative.
Most American's are just not into hockey, and there is probably not a lot anybody can do to change that (it's been that way since 1961)


Hockey does have one thing on it's side
1) Between 1980 and 2005, the average # of viewers watching the NFL decreased by 2.3% (not ratings - # of viewers) although viewership of the Super Bowl has increased.
2) Between 1980 and 2005, the average # of viewers watching baseball decreased 27% and the # of viewers watching the World Series has decreased 19%
3) Between 1980 and 2005, the average # of viewers watching hockey has increased 1.8% (ratings have decreased slightly)


Keep in mind, the average American has 16 channels at his disposal in 1980 compared to 117 now.

Answer 2

Being from Detroit we have had some good local kids make their way into the NHL. I have loved hockey from when I was a little kid (I am 40 something) and we had a few rinks and the winter pond hockey plus what could be better on a saturday night than watching Don Cherry spout off and get 2 hockey games on CBC. I cant really speak for the non Original 6 cities and why hockey has grown there but I know several freinds that have moved south (jobs and weather) and still have that thirst for hockey (Florida actually has a surprising number of local rinks) so I think a lot of southern cities might enjoy the influx of "northerners" ( and plenty of Canadiens retire to southern cities as well....that cant hurt). Plus I think a lot of "fans" have just grown tired of how bad NBA basketball has gotten and many still needed a winter sport fix. And I also think that as hockey gained some exposure in the states a lot of people became fascinated by the speed and pace of the game (even though most of them have no clue where the puck is most of the time). Personally I guess I could have been Canadien myself....always loved and pretty much always played hockey (thank goodness for over 40 leagues....the old legs cant keep up with the "kids").

Answer 3

I agree with Garion_B, much of it is culturally cultivated.

I would also say though it is by far the most intensive and intelligent sport of the big 4. Who was the last fat slob you ever saw putting on a hockey jersey versus a football, baseball or even a basketball player? None in hockey because it is such a physically demanding sport. Even more so is the level of talent.

To compare hockey with any of the other 3 major lamos is an insult IMO. I'm American born and breed through and through and for my money there is no better sport. Any of the other 3 sports can be played with very little to no talent even by the average Joe. Now take that same average Joe, lace him up in a pair of skates and hand him a stick and watch how horrible he becomes. Why, because Hockey is by far the most talent demanding sport as well.

It takes little to no brains to put a rubber ball into a peach basket.
Even less brains to catch a ball and run with it.
And then the boring 8 innings it takes to get through a baseball game?

Gimme a break, hockey is the best sport on this planet.

Answer 4

I think for hockey to be popular in America, it has to covered and covered well on TV. That's not as much an inditement on lazy Americans as it is a statement of how few Americans have access to watching Hockey live. It won't get coverage in America unless it becomes more popular -Catch-22

Here's one American's unlikely path to loving hockey: I was "converted" while in college on the coast of California. ESPN coverage of the Edmonton Oilers glory years along with a chance meeting with some students from the northeast got me into a floor hockey league -no ice rink. Next step was learning the rules and nuances of what to watch and when....on TV (still had never seen it live). Grew up in the SF Bay Area and returned after college when Gretzky opened the door for the expansion Sharks: (a sunbelt team that has always been wildly supported by the way.) Saw a few games at the tank but ticket prices were pretty steep. Learned to rollerblade at least and LOVED learning to play the game: though I realize that ice is a different game. Finally moved to Spokane, WA. where as silly as it sounds, I could be closer to Hockey. I can take my family to see WHL games many times a season. Now my son could easily grow up playing if I committed to forking out the cash and getting up that early.

I still have to listen to national talk radio programs make fun of the lack of hockey ratings.....seemingly the only measure of national interest. My experience is that hockey fans both Canadian and others are wildly passionate about their sport!!! It's nice for me that it co-insides with the NBA thugfest season where lack of effort seems an all to common scene. I still love American football, and baseball to a far less extent. But there is no better sport than hockey when you consider action, speed, skill, and what seems to me atheletes that are "good people" for lack of a better term.

Answer 5

I don't think it is a matter of liking hockey. I think it is that most Americans are not exposed to the NHL the way they are to other sports. I have been to games with people who are not really big fans and they have a hard time following the play and the rules. When you compare that with baseball and football, those sports are so overexposed it is impossible for any American sports fan to not know atleast the basic rules. Trying to explain icing and offsides to people is sometimes not worth it. Also, back when the two line pass rule was enforced it made it even more difficult.

And while hockey will always be associated with Canada, and rightfully so, I think is more of a international game being that players from over seas are as typical as Canadians and Americans on NHL rosters. Also the Europeans have quite competitive leagues.

Answer 6

I'll tell you exactly why. Because Americans who have never been to a hockey game live will always hate on it, because most of them don't even know the rules of the game. How could that be fun to watch, when you don't even know what's going on? People who don't get into hockey are just too lazy to give a sport a chance. Hell, they'd rather watch BASEBALL, and you can't tell me that's fun to watch until the 7th inning or so. Americans are spoiled with their football and their god awful Super Bowl Sunday, (which is the FURTHEST thing from a football game I've ever seen) I honestly don't have an answer for you other than the fact that we're ignorant, and stubborn. I live in California, and I know ONE guy who's a Sharks fan. Being from Detroit, that pisses me off to no extent. I can only talk hockey with one person out here, and it's about the Sharks :( Let's face it; television does NOT do this sport justice! I don't understand what's so great about football either. There's just as big of hits in hockey, fighting is disciplined by a five minute "TIMEOUT", the action lasts more than 10 seconds at a time, unlike football, and it's pretty much non-stop; not stop-and-go, stop-and-go like football. ARRRGGGHHH, sorry, I'm venting now. Now that I think of it though, I'm glad hockey's not put up on a high pedestal in the states. Think of how ridiculousy high on a pedestal they put basketball, baseball, and football out here. And they say hockey's boring because of the low scoring! Let's count every goal as 7 points, and see how low the scoring gets. Or, we could count every goal as two points, goals from the point as three, and penalty shots as one. (of course, if you were shooting during the penalty, you would get two shots on the penalty shot, unless you scored as the penalty was taken, in that case it would be two plus one penalty shot)

Answer 7

1) The media doesn't pick up on it, which is a good thing. I can't imagine how long it would take to play a game with stoppages every twenty feet so the commentators could break down every movement as it happens, then send it over to the four panel desk to be anylised further, and predictions made on what's going to happen in the next twenty feet. We would know the butter content of Brian Mc Cabe's toast before returning to live action.

2) Its hard to get excited about a game you're not exposed to. Your Dad played football as a kid, so he watches football, takes you to football games, wants you to follow in his footsteps and signs you up for the football team. This is not the best formula for breeding hockey fans.

3) Americans tend to love all things American. Americans tend to love to be world champions while doing things American. Win the super bowl, become world champions. Well yeah, you're the only ones doing it. Baseball, win the world series, you're world champions. Who else played? Mexico and Japan play some pretty good baseball, how come they weren't invited to play? Toronto played for the world series a couople times, didn't seem to go over too well in some circles, the National Color Guard even presented the Canadian flag upside down. (remember, National Color Guard, not the flag dude from Malibu Beach).
Hockey has other world championships, so winning the S/C doesn't make for a world champion, even though it is the best hockey league.

Answer 8

http://www.topsneakeronsaleshop.com

Ever since the VII's taking a stand when it comes to the design has been a lot more obvious and we've always seen distinct pro and con divisions within the circle of customers.

PRODUCTS DESCRIPTION OF AIR JORDAN VII

Released February 1992

Michael wins his third MVP award, his sixth scoring title, a finals MVP award, his second championship and his second Gold Medal. He ends an incredible season by sinking 35 points in one half of game one in the finals against Portland.

Answer 9

Hockey is small is southern America because many kids cant play it because of the lack of a team (or very few teams) and they grow up to be adults who dont care.

Also, the lockout killed about half the hockey fans in the US but the numbers are beginning to recover

Answer 10

Good question. I always hear that it is too hard to follow on TV, but that's bs. My personal opinion is that it is too expensive to play. Most parents put their kids in basketball or soccer leagues where there is little equipment to buy so the interest / exposure to hockey is low. Hockey is much more exciting than basketball, and has many more role models than the thugs in the NBA. The NHL needs a charismatic player to come along to draw the publics attention.

Answer 11

It also has a lot to do with Americans being absolute sheeple. 99.95% of Americans allow themselves to be herded around like ignorant sheep by letting the media,the corporations, and the government tell them what to do,how to do it,and when to do it. It is really quite sad. It also has to do with regions. I was born and raised in southern Virginia (yes i moved north as soon as I could) and there were quite a few hockey fans there surprisingly. I also lived in DC,Buffalo,Denver,Kansas City,Richmond,Erie and a host of other places in the USA and there were HUGE throngs of hockey fans in the north and even in DC, but anywhere else it was a foreign language to them (esp. Kansas City). SO there are a LOT of fans in the USA, they are just within a stones throw from the Canadian border. It truly is a Canadian game. Also Betteman is a plant by the NBA I am convinced. He is a fascist dictator just like Bush is. He listens to nothing that makes sense. Hamilton or KC? He will choose KC. Quebec city or Tulsa? His logic is skewered and he does not listen to those that matter,the fans. That will only get them so far. Look at Nascar. They stopped listening to the fans and started bending over backwards for corporate sponsors and team owners and what did it get them? Absolute TANKING ratings(because very few can afford to go to a race anymore) and a hemorrhaging fan base that gets smaller and smaller as the years tick on.