Well, I'm not sure if anything could save hockey at this point. But here are some things that may or may not work...
1. Get rid of fighting.
There are fans that like hockey because of the fighting. But it hurts the sport. The NFL is doing just fine without allowing players to stop the game and dance around.
2. Have less teams.
Fewer teams means the bottom of the talent pool gets kicked out. A league with too many "Who cares" teams doesn't do well nationally.
3. Have less games.
If there are fewer games, each game would matter more.
4. Wednesday Night Hockey
Schedule every team to play on Wednesday every week. Then for that week, pick 2 games to form a national tv doubleheader. 6 and 9 eastern. Make fans look forward to the schedule. Let them salivate over the games.
I'm not sure what impact this would have, but it's a start.
I'll reply piece by piece
ReplyDelete1. I don't think fighting hurts the sport. I think it adds to the intensity and if you've seen a fight in person, you can really see how it energizes the fans.
2. I agree here. I know Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup, but why are there two teams in Florida, a team in Nashville, and one in Columbus? The expansion of hockey doesn't make any sense.
3. Fewer games could work because the season currently extends into June, but I found a different way to possibly make games more important. If you're not over .500, you're not in the playoffs. Some teams every year make the playoffs without even winning half of their games. If the 8th best team in a conference is under .500, the 1st place team gets a bye.
4. I like Wednesday Night Hockey. The game just needs exposure. It's a lot of fun to watch once you have seen enough to follow the puck. Another way to gain exposure, cheaper tickets so more can see the games in person. It's one of the best live sports because of the non-stop, up-and-down action.
We accept fighting as part of hockey because it's always been there. But it gets in the way of the game itself. If any other sport introduced fighting it wouldn't be acceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe reason the XFL, Slamball, and Roller Derby didn't succeed long term isn't because they weren't entertaining. It's because we want our sports to have an official sense, like this is important.
I've seen fights in person and people jump out of their seats to watch it, but we need to get people focused more on who is winning then who is fighting.
Cheaper tickets, a tv deal, all of this is important.
The goal should be to make sure that every hockey game is important enough that I have to see it.
Also, If the Stanley Cup playoffs are in April-May, then they don't have the competition of the NBA playoffs.
None of these comments fit together to make any good points, but I'm too lazy to make them work.