Negative Press: Is ESPN Killing the National Hockey League by Influencing Public Attitudes? http://thesituationist.wordpress.co...ockey-league-by-influencing-public-attitudes/ If you think the soccer fans are pathetic, don't forget to read the public comments at the bottom.
I am so tired of the media (ESPN especially) downing hockey and soccer. I used hate on both sports, but then I actually started watching them and now I LOVE Soccer and Hockey. (and i'm from the south!) It is obvious that if a powerful organization such as ESPN took hockey more seriousley, others would take it more seriously. Our society is fickle, and I assure you that if ESPN started covering more hockey games it would be more on the national radar.
Soccer and Hockey are the two sports I love most. I played hockey all my life and just recently got into soccer. I wondered why these two sports caught my attention so much and I realized it was because they are team sports. One player in either sport can not simply take the puck/ball by himself and plan to score. You need a team to win in these two games and that's what I love. There is rarely personal glory in either sport. Sure there are icons in both but you dont have the personalities that baseball, american football and basketball have. Although all of those sports are team based, all focus more on personal achievements and stories rather than the team play. Americans do not have the attention level to watch the Beautiful game or the coolest game on earth. They want that home run shot, the slam dunk and the game winning pass but can't sit through a 90 minute soccer game and appreciate the level of team play needed just to get a scoring chance. The same goes for hockey, most people love the big hits and fights but don't understand that it takes 5 players to get the puck in the net. Soccer and hockey are the two most unappreciated sports in America but loved around the world (or where there is ice). ESPN realizes the fact that Americans don't take interest in these sports and choose to focus on the sports that will make them money. Hockey gets lower ratings on ESPN than bowling and that is because, as this thread states, they choose to 'kill' hockey. Before they chose not to renew their TV contract with NHL, they only played games that would gain little attention from the public (Thrashers v. Hurricanes; Coyotes v. Blues etc) If only they televised games that included marquis players such as Ovechkin, Crosby, Sakic and so on more often, the game would take more of a foot hold in American sports. I can not stand ESPN because of their bias towards other sports and choose to watch FSC and OLN, channels that televise the sport I love and actually show they enjoy presenting it to us. ESPN can follow those "better than everyone" attitudes players in the other sports have all they want but I know a real athlete is modest and holds the team higher than them self and that's exactly the kind of player the NHL as well as the sport of Soccer has.
ESPN .. um .. SUCKS!!! Their Monday Night Football games suck too, i'll LMAO if it ever gets cancelled.
Tell me about. Tony Kornheiser is the worst announcer EVER. MNF was SO much better on ABC. I can barely stand to watch it on ESPN.
I dont think hockey fans are as bad as soccer fans. Maybe in the US, where hockey fans are still marginalized. Hockey fans in Canada are nothing like soccer fans. We couldnt care less how popular the game is in the US.
Since when are Canadian soccer fans concerned with how soccer is treated in the US? They only care how it is covered in Canada. Likewise for US soccer fans and their concern with how soccer gets treated in their country.