2008 Woodie Awards
Blueprint for the NHL
Peter Locke
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: Sports
A couple of weeks ago I complained about a little thing called football purgatory. Really, what football purgatory amounts to is a preview for February, the single worst sporting month ever created. Thank God it's the shortest. After the Super Bowl, there's very little red blooded American excitement to look forward to until March Madness. The NBA is doing it's annual (and ill-timed considering the lack of TV competition) February swoon, and the Olympics (if they do them in February) are only every four years.
Now, the Canadian blood that runs through me is required to mention this...the NHL is currently in season. I know, I know, you guys didn't get the memo. But honestly, if you are from Nashville you could be legitimately excited about your chance of raising up Lord Stanley's trophy this year. Weren't aware of that? More interested in the Vols recruiting class? Tough crowd.
The thing is, and I can't believe I have to put this into writing, hockey is an outstanding game. It's violent, fast paced, there's lots of scoring (since the lockout), some players are even allowed to decorate their helmets (ask Jake Plummer about how the NFL likes that), and the post season tournament is BETTER than March Madness. Sound familiar? That's because it contains the same essential qualities that football has, and you crazy Yankees love the foosball. But that's not really a fair comparison.
See, the reason a sport is popular in any place has a lot to do with the infrastructure of the sport on a local level. You can't just take a bunch of Pakistani dudes and plop them in Vegas and start up a successful cricket league. Although I would love to gamble on games. Sports, on some level, are tribal affairs. If your tribe (or city) isn't invested in a sport or activity that its youth grew up playing...guess what...they probably won't shell out a couple hundred bones for an evening of a bowler throwin googlies at some wickets. That's as much of a cricket reference as I've got.
Now, the Canadian blood that runs through me is required to mention this...the NHL is currently in season. I know, I know, you guys didn't get the memo. But honestly, if you are from Nashville you could be legitimately excited about your chance of raising up Lord Stanley's trophy this year. Weren't aware of that? More interested in the Vols recruiting class? Tough crowd.
The thing is, and I can't believe I have to put this into writing, hockey is an outstanding game. It's violent, fast paced, there's lots of scoring (since the lockout), some players are even allowed to decorate their helmets (ask Jake Plummer about how the NFL likes that), and the post season tournament is BETTER than March Madness. Sound familiar? That's because it contains the same essential qualities that football has, and you crazy Yankees love the foosball. But that's not really a fair comparison.
See, the reason a sport is popular in any place has a lot to do with the infrastructure of the sport on a local level. You can't just take a bunch of Pakistani dudes and plop them in Vegas and start up a successful cricket league. Although I would love to gamble on games. Sports, on some level, are tribal affairs. If your tribe (or city) isn't invested in a sport or activity that its youth grew up playing...guess what...they probably won't shell out a couple hundred bones for an evening of a bowler throwin googlies at some wickets. That's as much of a cricket reference as I've got.
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