I don't know how it happened, but I'm super into WWE right now. I used to literally crap on it, say I'd never watch it... Now I'm a WWE Network subscriber.
I already answered that part of the question. What you quoted is called an aside. As another aside, with so much bad acting and eye rolling drama antics sometimes I think soccer has a lot in common with pro wrestling.
I haven't bothered following the WBC in a long time. It's sad that there really is no such thing as international baseball in the same sense as there is soccer.
It is but the sport just isn't really conducive to having more games than they already have. It's so easy to get hurt and so difficult to play when you are
I'm sure if the WBC occurred at a different time of year, say in the winter, it would get more support from the MLB teams themselves. It has the potential to be an amazing showcase for the sport. That's what so frustrating about the WBC in its current form.
Hockey here as well. I guess there's a lot of overlap with soccer. I watch the Bucs too but nowhere near as obsessed with it.
Great! I really like it when there are hockey fans in the south. I understand your pain. Tampa Bay certainly weren't expected to play this poorly especially after coming 1 win short of the Stanley Cup Finals last year.
I think folks like you are the majority but it's crazy how provincial some hockey fans can be instead of trying to grow the game, so I appreciate the sentiment. I've been following the team since 1995 and it's unreal the progress that's been made. I get people wanting to talk hockey with me all the time now, the logo's everywhere, and the place is packed despite the record. Jeff Vinik has been a godsend as an owner. The Lightning have gone from quirky stepchild to arguably the most beloved team in the city. There may be more football fans in general but their relationship with the Bucs is more love-hate.
I used to not like hockey in the south. That was until I became a soccer fan and experienced the treatment that Europeans gave to American soccer fans made me empathetic towards southern hockey fans. Now I actually want to see more southern cities, especially Houston, get an NHL team. How big was it when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup?
It was pretty big back then and definitely helped solidify the fan base. Thousands of people packed the plaza outside the arena just to watch the game projected on the side of the parking garage. But ultimately it was more of a blip compared to the sustained attention they get now. I blame the ill timed lockout post win for killing some of the momentum. The new salary cap plus wiping a year off of existing contracts totally ruined our title defense, with Khabibulin leaving for Chicago. Just brutal. Then Bill Davidson died and the team was sold to a couple of clowns. Anyway I'd say there was actually a lot more buzz for our cup run that fell two wins shy in 2015 than in 2004 just because of the growth that occurred when Vinik took over.
Well for this Gen Xer, it's soccer, followed by baseball, then a big gap, and then hockey and tennis and sundry.
The 2016 game 7 loss to Pittsburgh must have been heartbreaking, who knows if Tampa Bay would have beat San Jose.
That was tough but honestly what hurt more was Drouin's disallowed goal in Game 6 because his skate was millimeters off the ice. Totally changed the complexion of the game when we could've clinched the series at home. Overall though we were thoroughly outclassed when you look at the shot totals, so it's hard to be too bitter. Vasilevskiy almost stole it singlehandedly. I think the Penguins were worthy champs even if I liked our odds against the Sharks more than the Blackhawks the year before (that series stung more because it was the Final and we could've been up 3-0 in the series if we hadn't blown Game 1, plus the injuries to Johnson and Bishop derailing everything). 2011 ECF against the Bruins was another that got away. Felt we could've taken the Canucks in fewer games than they did. 0 penalties on Boston to keep our red hot power play off the ice in Game 7 was mighty suspicious.
I remember the 2011 team they seemed to come out of nowhere. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit against Pittsburgh and then sweeping Washington. I feel like anybody would have beaten the Canucks in the finals, they just simply collapsed in the finals, they had the worst performance of any team in a 7 game finals. A huge coaching error cost the Lightning the game against Chicago. I have no idea why they were sitting on a 1 goal lead. Those 2 goals from the Blackhawks came as no surprise. A 3-0 series lead and Tampa Bay likely win the Stanley Cup.
This. I used to watch everything. Stopped college sports about 25 years ago. Stopped NBA when the Sonics were stolen. Stopped hockey (don't tell my Canadian mom) because I've never really had a home team to be passionate about. Watched some Mariners' MLB games last year, but I find that sport truly boring. It's worth a visit to a ballpark once or twice a year for the atmosphere and such, but the sport is lame. Now it's just MLS, and the Seahawks and playoffs in NFL. You'd never see me watch a random NFL game between two non-Seahawks teams during the regular season. I watch a lot of MLS. All the Sounders games, plus if I have the time I will watch other full games. The ones I don't see all of I'll watch the 20 minute highlight package on MLS Live. I occasionally watch a few minutes of EPL, La Liga or Bundesliga action if nothing else is on. I stopped watching Serie A after the last big referee bribing scandal. Corrupt league. I would watch Eredivisie given that my wife is Dutch and her whole family is into it, but can't seem to find it anywhere on US TV any more.
ESPN commentator Pedro Gomez was saying the US baseball team was rattled by the Dominican crowd in Miami. (World Baseball Classic) If the US baseball players think that Dominican fans doing the Conga is hostile, go down to Guatemala or Mexico City and see what real hostility is.
Try to watch baseball whenever I'm home, have given up completely on the NFL after Spanos threw a hissy fit and took the Chargers to LA. One thing in Norway that I actually like watching is Biathlon, but they have a much cooler word for it: skiskyting, or ski-shooting. Other than that I love watching rugby union but it's always been difficult in the US and nigh-impossible in Norway. In order: Soccer Rugby union Baseball Skiskyting Those are the only things I intentionally watch out for ahead of time. Although a 7 month-old baby makes the scheduling kind of irrelevant sometimes.