2013: The NHL season that almost wasn't

My thoughts exactly. Would have a hard time turning on the TV if this actually came to fruition.

 

There's more Canada than that?

 

Beef and JC. You're letting your Western parochialism show.

There are Habs and Leafs fans right across the country.

Vancouver fans are in BC, Calgary/Edmonton fans are in Alberta.

Jets fans are everywhere .

I've never met an actual Ottawa Senators fan. I think they keep them in a secret location and just bring them out for games

Like the Blue Jays, the Leafs are Canada's team. Everyone knows that.

Seriously, guys, the four dailies, the three all sports TV networks and the two sports radio stations--all in The Centre of the Universe ---would have this series hyped up so much you'll want to stab your eyes out. Or leave the country.

 

A friend posted this link which is the Panthers feed of a game against Winnipeg. She posted it because it's kind of a funny discussion about Winnipeg but all I kept thinking is "When are these guys going to notice there's a hockey game being played"? It seems an awfully long segue ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=BR5j9fbnnw4

 

In terms of ticket sales, hard to tell.
The Kings have sold out all their games for a couple of years. They are getting more regular hits on the sports talk shows and local TV news segments. LAT and LA Daily News cover them like a beat, but no overkill. OC Register uses AP for gamers with little to no off-day coverage.
The Ducks, not so much. The announced attendance is much higher than the number of butts in seats. But they have sold SRO tickets for a few selected games, i.e. Kings and Blackhawks. OCR covers them like a prime beat, including daily off-day stories. Columnists check in frequently. LAT is a semi-regular, LADN and the LANG group have no presence in O.C. so they do very little. Not much TV news or talk radio time for the Ducks.

 

Both have won the cup in the last six years, where do they sit in the SoCal sports pecking order? Certainly behind the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels, NFL, NCAA Football, would either sit higher than the Clippers or NCAA hoops? Are they above the MLS teams?

My point being, from a pro sports stand point, you cannot generate any better sustained publicity than a successful championship run. Forcing a contrived gimmicky game that is not going to be a true representation of the sport on any level down people's throats may have a quick boost, but will largely be forgotten when the next big thing rolls around, especially in SoCal, where I'm guessing people don't really associate hockey with playing on frozen ponds in 70 degree weather on New Year's Day. The nostalgic connection will not be there. But they'll sell some tickets, some jerseys and t-shirts and get a couple of weeks of exposure and risk devestating injuries to their high priced stars like Getzlaf, Perry, Richards, Kopitar and Doughty because of wretched ice conditions -- and in turn the fortune of their collective seasons -- to do it.

Putting a Winter Classic in Dodgers Stadium is a terrible idea on all levels.

 

Believe me, the stabbing of my eyes is under serious consideration if this happens. And yes, there are Leafs and Habs fans everywhere, but I would venture to say there is a much stronger anti-East sentiment out West that overrides that fandom. The West will be plenty sick of it all by the time they are both eliminated by the end of second round (If they meet in the first round, one of them have to win, right?).

 

Given that it was a 7-2 game and the Panthers were losing, that's a pretty good job of filling air time.

 

The bad thing about a Leafs-Canadiens playoff series is someone has to win. The good thing is someone has to lose.

Their fans are unsufferable.

 

That was very entertaining. Guess I gotta go to Winnipeg if I want a good slurpee.

 

Maybe, but not as pathetically whiny as Sens, Canucks or Penguins fans

Ottawa wins the overall prize because the fans have learned from their string of owners who whined about everything.

 

Who would know, leafs have been irrelevant for years. You only hate fans of teams that actually make the playoffs, the others are treated with apathy.