Will a Red Wings vs. Penguins Stanley Cup Final bring hockey back to the forefront of the sports world again?

Question

Enjoy your answers. :-)

Answer 1

No... it will never reach the forefront of the sports world, especially in America. Football will always take that spot. I would love to see hockey do that but it's not happening. Why would those two teams do that anway? Nobody in the country really cares about the Penguins except the fake Pens fans who only come out when the team is winning. And people are tired of seeing the Red Wings.

Answer 2

As much as I hate to say it, Any series with Crosby in it will get some non hockey fans to watch it just to see what all the hype is about.  I guess that I don't mind this too much since maybe it can help earn a few new fans in the end.

Answer 3

Hockey won't be in the forefront of the sports world for a long time, but the Pens/Wings series would help some.  I disagree with comments from before regarding the need to stop the marketing of single players and start marketing teams.  You need to do both.  Hardcore fans remember teams/lines/coaches.  Casual fans remember famous players.  Once you get the casual fans on board you get more money/ratings to sell to the bigger TV networks.

Versus is a terrible network.  They do no advertising, the commentators are terrible, and the pre/post game shows are dull and boring with no famous players (ones casual fans know) on their shows.  You need big network coverage of a sport to be in the "forefront".

Another comment from before I disagree with is that hockey is doing well because the arenas operate at greater than 95% capacity and is therefore on par with football.  Don't get me wrong I think that operating at that level is great, but NFL arenas have 60-80 thousand seats compared to 16-21 thousand seats for the NHL.  This is all aside from the fact that the NFL's ratings and revenue just annihilate the NHL's.

The other difficulty with marketing the NHL is that players/coaches change teams at the drop of a hat any more.  This is the norm for all sports with free agency but it seems more prevalent in hockey.  Nobody wants to buy a $150-200 jersey of a guy who probably won't be on the same team next season.  Teams need to build around their superstars and pay them accordingly, not treat them like a cash crop that will be sold to the highest bidder.  That's just my two cents.

Answer 4

Slow down big fella... the Red Wings and the Pens have to still WIN their series.

I'm a Pens fan... but I think your being just a little pre mature here... the Flyers wont roll over like the Rangers did. Not to say that I think they will lose to the Flyers... its just a weee bit early to look forward yet.

Although, I think the Red Wings can  :)  Sorry Stars fans... put a fork in ya... your done. I'm of the belief that the RW dogged that game 4 to win it in hockey town.

Go Pens!

Answer 5

yes it will, people love hockey, it will put hockey on the map again

Answer 6

I wish,the NBA will continue to get all the coverage though.Like anyone gives a S**t that Lebron told his mom to shut up.

Answer 7

Yes Those are two of the Most Glorious Franchises ever in the NHL, This will be a Good Match Up Because Detroit in recent Years won in 1997, 1998, 2002, Pens in 1991 and 1992, I've waiting all my life for the One Match-up to happen, Go Pens.

Answer 8

Pittsburgh will bring f******n back to sports?

oh come on its dumb humor

Answer 9

I wish, but I think the only thing that is going to bring it to the forefront of sports is for the media to actually begin to cover it like they do with football, baseball and basketball.  I don't think they will since it seems like most of the sports media I see and or read, really have little knowledge or appreciation of this great game.

Answer 10

Do not underestimate the power of ESPN to hold the sport back.  If you watch Sportcenter, what's the order they report the sports' in?  It's NBA conference semis, regular season baseball, and THEN NHL Conference finals.  Since ESPN is such a primary source of information for the casual sports fan that percieved "order of importance" is getting imprinted in viewers' minds.  I don't see how is hockey ever going to be in the forefront anytime soon as long as the reporting disparity exists.

Answer 11

Hockey will never be in the forefront. When only one station covers any hockey game, it's kind of hard for people to watch the sport. As long as ESPN holds a grudge against the NHL, the league will always have problems attracting fans.

Answer 12

no but it will get the detroit red wings the stanley cup!

Answer 13

Unfortunatly not,  Pittsburgh's sweep will make the series boring

Answer 14

Not grasping the f******n referance....But...Tooshay!!! It will be a h**l of a series If by chance that is the series at hand. The only downfall to hockey's popularity is that the game is much to fast/complected for the average person to keep up with. It's not as simple as hitting the ball or tackling the receiver. Not to mention those games are all over the T.V where hockey is on about 4 channels during the season unless you buy a package? So the average person can not keep up and loses interest? Hockey will always have it's core fans just like in here.....All and all the sport has come a long long way there are club teams in Fla. and other southern states. More High schools have programs then ever before. Roller Hockey and street hockey are everywhere now. The last thing we have to do is get people in the stands, and I think what is keeping people out of the stands is not the love of the game.....but the value of today's dollar and how it sucks during this recession!!!!

Answer 15

Probably not,despite how talented Pittsburgh is, they play in a small market and will bring fewer viewers then if two big market teams were to face each other such as Detroit and Philadelphia or New York. If the Flyers were to pull off the nearly impossible and come back to face the Wings in the Finals, you will have two of the top 5 markets playing each other and that will bring BIG numbers. Please remember that Hockey and Football are the only 2 sports leagues which play to over 95% capicity ALL SEASON, they are still top two with fans. Despite what ESPN Sportscenter analysts may claim, Hockey is doing quite well and its ratings are on par with the NBA.

Answer 16

No.... I love hockey but the Finals will have above average American TV ratings in their respective cities and won't make a dent elsewhere.  It won't lead news shows (like GMA or Today or even ESPN's Sportscenter)... it will be like other years, it will be a filler story when broadcasts have the time to mention it.

Like I said, I love hockey but I am a realist.

Answer 17

No, but it will help... if only because of the casual hockey fan base of these teams is much greater than some others.

I personally wish the NHL would stop trying to push players (i.e. Crosby, Crosby, Crosby, and Ovechkin) over teams. Like football, hockey is a HELMETED sport... most casual fans are not going to recognize Ryan Malone, Joffery Lupul, Marty Turco, or Brian Rafalski if they were standing next to them on line buying groceries - but they will recognize the Penguin, Flyer, Stars, or Red Wings logo.

The NHL should:

1. Start promoting TEAMS and the GAME itself over the player approach that the NBA has taken...

2. Embrace and promote LEGAL gambling on the sport of hockey, and take a chance with franchise in Las Vegas. Sure it's controversial, but it will keep hockey in the news for years.

3. Make the sport more affordable to see live.

All the talk about increasing scoring and changing the game is only going to alienate the long time fans, and it's those hard-core fans that have kept hockey alive during these lean times.

Answer 18

no.

i saw pti yesterday and they were discussing the dumb refs in the detroit dallas game trying to make a case against the nhl once again...they didn't even touch on the battle of pennsylvania. and also that series matchup will only get recognition outside of hockey if the penguins upset the redwings, not because of crosby and malkin, but because the redwings are the perfect nhl team right now, and the penguins are the up and comers. if the pens win it'll be a change of the old guard nhl.

and also basically the nba playoffs are still on...lakers may upset, spurs may upset, cav's have no hope...and same deal if there's an nba final matchup between 2 orginal 10 teams, then they'll get more ratings.

and baseball is still on.

guys unless sidney crosby gets his face mangled in a fight in the sc finals, the forefront of the sports world is so far away from hockey. i've heard more people talk about the champions league finals than talk of sc finals.

if you really think penguin nation is anything like redsox nation, them i'm just going to continue laughing as i type this. also if you're going to use that as an explanation for ratings/fanbase for the pens team then i could say that the redwings have a bigger international fanbase than the pens...but that the pens are getting there.

there's also something wrong with the nhl marketing department but i won't get started on that. i like to think they're doing the best with what they have...not.

Answer 19

I doubt it, but it will hopefully increase the sports popularity. The Wings/Pens would definitely be a match for the ages though.