Why do most sports fans not realize how great a game hockey is?

Question

I mean seriously, I do like watching other sports, but come on . Hockey is the ONLY major and yes I said major sport that doesnt have its players running around like hooligans or having teams cheat. I swear if I had a nickel for every story I see about an NBA, NFL or MLB player getting in trouble, I could buy the fricken New York Yankees! You dont hear about this c**p happening in the NHL, maybe some haters of the game should take notice that while this sport has attitude, its players are smart enough to keep stop the tough guy attitudes once they step off the ice. This is the best sport in the world, it gets the worse ratings becuase people dont sit and take the time to understand how great of a game it is!

Answer 1

Hockey fans are, in a word, smarter.

Well, ok, maybe not., but you do have a good point about trouble following athletes, especially in the NBA.

Answer 2

Two STRONG reasons...

1. THE SPORT OF HOCKEY DOESN'T TRANSLATE WELL ON TV. To see a hockey game live is to realize the speed of which the game is played, and that's much of the appeal. I've NEVER taken anyone to a game (and I've taken dozens) who didn't walk away with a new found appreciation of hockey.

Opening up scoring isn't the answer either... what hockey owners should do is expose more people to the live game by giving away unsold seats from time to time.

2. GAMBLING. Hockey isn't a betting sport. More than anything else, betting drives pro-sports. The leagues will denounce gambling publicly, but behind closed doors they understand its importance - particularly in basketball and football. It's a huge piece of what motivates people to watch the games, and keeps people tuned into games until the very last seconds even in games that are already decided.

The underlying problem is that hockey is a true "two-way" sport (equal parts offense and defense), that lacks a lot of scoring, and for years had the "tie" making it difficult and often dissappointing to wager on (perhaps this is a area where more scoring would help?). Though gamblers overseas (called 'punters' in Europe) wager vast amounts on European Football (soccer), which is also a low scoring sport that features ties, but that may be due to nationalistic reasons and the fact that sports betting parlors are as numerous (and legal) as Starbucks Coffee Shops are here in North America.

Answer 3

I think it is because most of the players are not American and people want to see Americans playing.  I think hockey is a great game!  Also I think people loose interest in playoffs that are 2 months long.  Americans have a very short attention spans.  That why the Super Bowl is so popular, it is one game and three hours and it is done.  Not 7 games and a week and half later you have a winner.

Answer 4

The media basically tells us what to watch and who to cheer for. There's no individuality anymore.

Answer 5

i love hockey, its my favorite sport. =) i just cant get into any of the other sports idkk why tho.

Answer 6

The view I've seen taken by people who won't even give hockey a chance is that they don't consider it to be an American sport. "Do you like hockey?" "Um, no, I'm not from Canada." Baseball is known as America's pastime, they consider American football to be their own too, and many people also play basketball growing up but I saw that the NBA and NHL are neck and neck for the lowest ratings. I don't care where it originated or if it's popular here; I enjoy the sport so I watch it.

Answer 7

I completely agree. Unfortunately this is a question that I don't know if we will ever find the answer to. In my opinion they have all bee brainwashed.

Answer 8

love it hockey is the best sport

Answer 9

AMEN BROTHER, AMEN.

Answer 10

Any sport that stops the game to watch brawls, or even mini-riots, will never be a family sport. Many people are turned off by the violence. It takes a love of violence to be a fan. Can you imagine football or basketball or baseball allowing fights on such a regular basis? They would be ashamed.

Answer 11

Hockey is one of those sports thats much better live than on TV.  Its also much more common in colder climates where kids grew up playing it on a frozen pond or street for free.

Answer 12

Because they have no brains.

Answer 13

I am a hockey fan, but here are my thoughts on this:

-not as physical as it used to be

-not as high scoring as it used to be

-too many penalties

-Versus.  enough said.

Answer 14

It's not a good TV sport. For one thing, look at the size of the puck. It's much smaller than a basketball, football, or even baseball. (And baseball has the summer allure including sunshine to help make up for its comparatively smaller size.)

I agree with you that hockey is underrated, but I think it's much better in person than on TV and in this day in age that makes a big difference unfortunately.

Answer 15

i find its because this is the hardest sport to begin in,      you wanna play sports, you can walk, you can do it,  except hockey,  before you can play, you need to learn to skate,  and then you learn to play,  

most of the people i know that don't like hockey cannot skate,  never learned, or couldn't get the hang of it,  i think its relative to who are fans

Answer 16

The great part about sport is the competition, not the off the (court, field, ice) stuff. We are defiantly privileged not see hockey's best drug through the mud. For one simple reason.

THEY GET IT...

They understand, they aren't owed anything. What ever it is they have they must earn DAILY...

Answer 17

I totally agree and the reason I hear from most non-hockey fans is that they just don't understand the game.  when I was much younger there used to be this segment (I can't remember what it was called but the character was a puck and it taught the ins n outs of the game) on during the games.  They need to bring something like that back to arouse more interest.

Answer 18

becuz they're all stupid

Answer 19

First off,  people are creatures of comfort and thus habit.

They have grown up watching Football, Baseball or Basketball...trying to change that for whatever reason is simply uncomfortable for people.

Now,  myself, I was one of those creatures...but times changed.

First,  I became a father and in the mid-late 90's my then young sons took up Soccer.   Well being the supportive father that I was and am, I decided to get involved and learn about the game...before you know it, I am a fan of Soccer.

A red blooded southerner who grew up on Football, is now a soccer fan...hmmm

Now during this time, there was an NHL Hockey team in my town...they had moved down from up Nortwest somewhere...I remembered watching the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team as a kid, but I hadn't watched much Hockey since then.

My wife, even set a new law...I was not allowed to get into Hockey because I spend too much time on these other sports...

Little did she know...

She began to watch a game here and a game there...before you know it, she became a HUGE Hockey fan!!!  So naturally,  I became the supportive husband and fed her addiction while I too began to learn the little things that make this sport so awesome!!!

As a result,  this past year we have purchased to Plasma Flat Screens for the house, hooked up the HD connections and have enjoyed the NHL in HD...by the way, this is the best solution to Hockey on TV.  There is nothing better than Hockey in Full HD!!!

We have also managed to go to 4 regular season games and one Conference finals game...our team is not 5-0 this year when we are at the games!!!

I do agree...the NHL is by far the best sport around and it drives me nuts to see the disrespect that the Sports Media give it.  Heck they almost treat Hockey as bad as they do Soccer.

As much as I hate to say this...but here it goes...is it a racial thing?  Does the American Sports Media think that their are too many pale skins and not enough diversity so they simply ignore the sport?

Again, the way the sports media covers this game makes me sick...but I will continue to watch every bit of Hockey that I can.

Outside of the NHL...there has been -0- coverage of the World Hockey Championships...I wish I could have turned on my TV and caught a few games...but absolutely nothing...meanwhile they are busy showing College and HS Softball, fishing, hunting, paintball...With all due respect to those sports...I would like MORE Hockey coverage!!!

Answer 20

I think its a combination of things.   The rules confuse people and there isn't always someone there to explain why something happened.  The NFL and NBA and even NASCAR have done a good job at using commentators that explain what's going on, as opposed to hockey where they kinda assume you know what's happening.

I think the biggest factor is that in much of the nation, there are little opportunities to play hockey as a child.  With the amount of equipment you need compared to other sports its a harder sport to start kids in.  I know one person who played pee wee hockey, but almost everyone I know played basketball, soccer, football or baseball growing up.

Lastly I think many Americans just dismiss Hockey as a Canadian sport.

Answer 21

True that, hockey really is the greatest game. I'd name soccer number 2. The thing about cheating.. I don't know what you're referring to in the NBA because I pay no attention to it, NFL.. Belichick? As for the MLB, I assume you're talking about steroids. Thing is, in hockey steroids won't do you much good. Quickness and agility as well as hand/eye coordination (puck/stick handling) are probably the top skills you need. While strength is good to have, excessive muscle is not necessary and will probably even slow a player down.

Side note: MLB, why is it even considered a sport? It's more of a turn-based strategy game.

Nips - From personal experience, anyone I have ever taken to a hockey game LOVED it. Even if they know nothing about it, it's an exciting sport to watch. It's fast paced, physical and often impressive.

Alicia - That's a good point, I've met quite a few people who pride themselves on Baseball and Football being the all-American sport /rolleyes

That's probably the same reason why soccer is not popular in the US either.

Answer 22

true dat..true dat

Answer 23

Most people dont understand the rules and wont take the time to learn them. If they did not play it, or learn it growing up, they shun it. Just the way it is. People know how to play Basketball and understand it and the rules, therefore they watch it. Oh well, their loss.