Goodbye, Hockey.
In more ways than one.
The 2004-2005 NHL season was cancelled today. Or, as some would put it, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
Who gives a shit that hockey is gone, other than people that live in Canada? Really? This hockey strike has been laughable. LAUGHABLE. The problem, of course, is the player's belief that they are part of the "Big Three".
America supports three major sports: football, basketball, and baseball (in that order). These are the guys who make millions of dollars a year. Hockey players think it's a big four. Guess what guys: YOU'RE WRONG!
There's no multi-million to billion dollar TV deal for hockey. There's no legion of angry fans upset when the players go on strike. Does Nike go out of it's way to sign the latest hockey star? Do you see cities lining up to build a new hockey stadium for new teams? Can the average sport fan name the player of the year in hockey last year?
Of course not. I've heard many analysts say that the strike will make hockey a "regional sport" again. To this I say: water seeks its own level. Hockey got a LITTLE popular, and you had some greedy owners and an arrogant commissioner decide that they could MAKE people like hockey. They decided if they just acted like everyone loved hockey, people would start loving it. They were dead wrong.
Don't get me wrong; I don't dislike hockey. Hell, I probably like hockey more than football. But it is what it is: a sport that has an incredibly loyal fan base, but not a national one. Yes, there are plenty of people in many cities who will pay $150 to pay for tickets by the glass. But to make the big money, to get in the big three, you must attract the casual sports fan. The guy who isn't a diehard hockey fan must be willing to stop down and watch a game on TV. That's what makes a sport go big time. Hockey tried to do that...and failed. If you can't do that, then players can't earn millions of dollars a season. The math just doesn't work. Sorry guys.
And as for the owners: FUCK YOU TOO! Please don't think that I'm blaming the players totally for this mess. The players grossly miscalculated their value, sure, but they made a SINCERE effort to reach an agreement with the owners. The owners have lied, cheated, and stonewalled the players and fans. The owners had NO intention of playing hockey this season. At all. They've lied about where ticket prices come from, they lie about the amount of revenue they take in, they lie about caring about the fans, and they lie about being sincere in their negotiations. They don't want to see a strong union like what exists in baseball, or even a little bit in basketball (say what you will about Billy Hunter, but basketball players have GUARENTEED contracts. Those bastards are written in adamantium once they sign the dotted line), so they went out of their way to kill this season in order to kill any chance of anything other than a puppet player's union evolve.
So the NHL is back where it belongs: in the gutter. I'm happy. Hockey is a fun sport that can be enjoyed locally. It's not a big market sport that will attract lots of TV fans and endorsements for it's players. Sorry guys; I hate to break the news to you, but it's true. You are what you are, and be happy with that.
The 2004-2005 NHL season was cancelled today. Or, as some would put it, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
Who gives a shit that hockey is gone, other than people that live in Canada? Really? This hockey strike has been laughable. LAUGHABLE. The problem, of course, is the player's belief that they are part of the "Big Three".
America supports three major sports: football, basketball, and baseball (in that order). These are the guys who make millions of dollars a year. Hockey players think it's a big four. Guess what guys: YOU'RE WRONG!
There's no multi-million to billion dollar TV deal for hockey. There's no legion of angry fans upset when the players go on strike. Does Nike go out of it's way to sign the latest hockey star? Do you see cities lining up to build a new hockey stadium for new teams? Can the average sport fan name the player of the year in hockey last year?
Of course not. I've heard many analysts say that the strike will make hockey a "regional sport" again. To this I say: water seeks its own level. Hockey got a LITTLE popular, and you had some greedy owners and an arrogant commissioner decide that they could MAKE people like hockey. They decided if they just acted like everyone loved hockey, people would start loving it. They were dead wrong.
Don't get me wrong; I don't dislike hockey. Hell, I probably like hockey more than football. But it is what it is: a sport that has an incredibly loyal fan base, but not a national one. Yes, there are plenty of people in many cities who will pay $150 to pay for tickets by the glass. But to make the big money, to get in the big three, you must attract the casual sports fan. The guy who isn't a diehard hockey fan must be willing to stop down and watch a game on TV. That's what makes a sport go big time. Hockey tried to do that...and failed. If you can't do that, then players can't earn millions of dollars a season. The math just doesn't work. Sorry guys.
And as for the owners: FUCK YOU TOO! Please don't think that I'm blaming the players totally for this mess. The players grossly miscalculated their value, sure, but they made a SINCERE effort to reach an agreement with the owners. The owners have lied, cheated, and stonewalled the players and fans. The owners had NO intention of playing hockey this season. At all. They've lied about where ticket prices come from, they lie about the amount of revenue they take in, they lie about caring about the fans, and they lie about being sincere in their negotiations. They don't want to see a strong union like what exists in baseball, or even a little bit in basketball (say what you will about Billy Hunter, but basketball players have GUARENTEED contracts. Those bastards are written in adamantium once they sign the dotted line), so they went out of their way to kill this season in order to kill any chance of anything other than a puppet player's union evolve.
So the NHL is back where it belongs: in the gutter. I'm happy. Hockey is a fun sport that can be enjoyed locally. It's not a big market sport that will attract lots of TV fans and endorsements for it's players. Sorry guys; I hate to break the news to you, but it's true. You are what you are, and be happy with that.
posted by Michael Pondrom at 4:53 PM
3 Comments:
Come on Soccer!!!
NUDE volleyball. Female only, of course.
Hell, that's practically what we had in the olympics.
Michael
Are you talking about the players... or the dancers?
Nick
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