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How does Gary Bettman still have a job??

Look how low the ratings for the NHL are. They got pumped about getting a 4 last Sunday night for Game 4. Heck, the Pocono race for NASCAR got a 3 that same afternoon.

Even Jay Leno got better ratings probably. At least people in Chicago & Philly watched, just not many other places....

NOBODY cares about hockey.

Gary Bettman could do anything and it won't matter - hockey just isn't popular. Nothing's going to change that. It will always be a sport that's less than the Big 3 here in America. They can dress it up anyway they like and it won't change. I like it, but I only count once.

GannonFan wrote:Gary Bettman could do anything and it won't matter - hockey just isn't popular. Nothing's going to change that. It will always be a sport that's less than the Big 3 here in America. They can dress it up anyway they like and it won't change. I like it, but I only count once.

Fighting. The fighting has GOT to stop. For every 1 fan that attracts, it turns off 50.

And they HAVE to find a way to get the game to translate well to TV. Going to a game in person is unREAL. Watching it on TV is like watching paint dry. Same reason golf and NASCAR don't draw good ratings but have large crowds.

I don't believe there was 1 fight in the playoffs. None in the Finals so I don't buy the fighting excuse

I agree - fighting used to be a problem years and years ago but you can go weeks following a team and not see anything noteworthy. It's just a different game anymore.

What the problem is, and always will be, is two fold - it seems to take forever to score, and then when someone does score, you almost always have to look at the replay to see how it got into the net. If you wait all that time and then need to have the action slowed down to even see the score, it just ends up being a long time to wait with little reward at the end. Might as well just watch Sportscenter and save yourself the time and aggravation - and apparently that's what many people do.

AZGrizFan wrote:

GannonFan wrote:Gary Bettman could do anything and it won't matter - hockey just isn't popular. Nothing's going to change that. It will always be a sport that's less than the Big 3 here in America. They can dress it up anyway they like and it won't change. I like it, but I only count once.

Fighting. The fighting has GOT to stop. For every 1 fan that attracts, it turns off 50.

And they HAVE to find a way to get the game to translate well to TV. Going to a game in person is unREAL. Watching it on TV is like watching paint dry. Same reason golf and NASCAR don't draw good ratings but have large crowds.

You could argue the same thing about baseball. I love going to see games in person, but I pretty much only watch the M's on TV, and even then I don't usually sit and watch the entire thing. Let's face it, the only sports that are ever going to be hugely popular in this country are the ones WE came up with; it's just our nature.

Grizalltheway wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Fighting. The fighting has GOT to stop. For every 1 fan that attracts, it turns off 50.

And they HAVE to find a way to get the game to translate well to TV. Going to a game in person is unREAL. Watching it on TV is like watching paint dry. Same reason golf and NASCAR don't draw good ratings but have large crowds.

You could argue the same thing about baseball. I love going to see games in person, but I pretty much only watch the M's on TV, and even then I don't usually sit and watch the entire thing. Let's face it, the only sports that are ever going to be hugely popular in this country are the ones WE came up with; it's just our nature.

WE came up with baseball.

Grizalltheway wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Fighting. The fighting has GOT to stop. For every 1 fan that attracts, it turns off 50.

And they HAVE to find a way to get the game to translate well to TV. Going to a game in person is unREAL. Watching it on TV is like watching paint dry. Same reason golf and NASCAR don't draw good ratings but have large crowds.

You could argue the same thing about baseball. I love going to see games in person, but I pretty much only watch the M's on TV, and even then I don't usually sit and watch the entire thing. Let's face it, the only sports that are ever going to be hugely popular in this country are the ones WE came up with; it's just our nature.

We came up with baseball...

isumatt wrote:I don't believe there was 1 fight in the playoffs. None in the Finals so I don't buy the fighting excuse

That's my whole point. And compare the playoff ratings to regular season ratings.

Is there an echo in here?

I realize we came up with baseball, and it's still one of the most popular sports in the country, no?

Grizalltheway wrote:Is there an echo in here?

I realize we came up with baseball, and it's still one of the most popular sports in the country, no?

Clenz is a little slow on the draw.

But I hear ya...a lot of people don't like watching baseball on TV, but it's not becuase the game doesn't "translate" to TV very well...it's because the action is too slow (unless you're a seamhead like me, and a stats guy...). When you're AT the game, you can people-watch, which is hard to do from your living room.

GannonFan wrote:I agree - fighting used to be a problem years and years ago but you can go weeks following a team and not see anything noteworthy. It's just a different game anymore.

What the problem is, and always will be, is two fold - it seems to take forever to score, and then when someone does score, you almost always have to look at the replay to see how it got into the net. If you wait all that time and then need to have the action slowed down to even see the score, it just ends up being a long time to wait with little reward at the end. Might as well just watch Sportscenter and save yourself the time and aggravation - and apparently that's what many people do.

That's kind of my argument with soccer - if I'm going to spend 90 minutes (or whatever the time is) watching a game end 0-0, then I've wasted my time. I've tried to watch soccer and hockey and I just can't do it. Baseball is painful on TV, but I enjoy going live to see our single A team play. Plus, we didn't have a soccer team or hockey when I was going through school, mainly football, basketball, and baseball. I guess if you grow up with a sport you can have more of an appreciation for it.

The thing is, people do watch baseball on TV and they do go in record numbers to the game. Sure several people on here can't stand to watch it, but millions of Americans do watch it on TV, and certainly in numbers that dwarf something like hockey. A lot of people watch it because it's something that you can loaf in front of for hours on end - it's like good company.

Bring back the glow puck!

GannonFan wrote:The thing is, people do watch baseball on TV and they do go in record numbers to the game. Sure several people on here can't stand to watch it, but millions of Americans do watch it on TV, and certainly in numbers that dwarf something like hockey. A lot of people watch it because it's something that you can loaf in front of for hours on end - it's like good company.

Lots of people watch it, but the numbers pale in comparison to football....

AZGrizFan wrote:

GannonFan wrote:The thing is, people do watch baseball on TV and they do go in record numbers to the game. Sure several people on here can't stand to watch it, but millions of Americans do watch it on TV, and certainly in numbers that dwarf something like hockey. A lot of people watch it because it's something that you can loaf in front of for hours on end - it's like good company.

Lots of people watch it, but the numbers pale in comparison to football....

Everything pales compared to football, but that doesn't change the fact that football, basketball, and baseball are immensely popular and rightfully called the Big 3 in America. It's been that way for a long, long time, and doesn't seem to be in any danger of changing.

GannonFan wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Lots of people watch it, but the numbers pale in comparison to football....

Everything pales compared to football, but that doesn't change the fact that football, basketball, and baseball are immensely popular and rightfully called the Big 3 in America. It's been that way for a long, long time, and doesn't seem to be in any danger of changing.

That's what I was getting at. I think if hockey were an American sport, as opposed to a Canadian one, it would be a lot more popular than it is. I mean, it's fast-paced, has lots of hitting, and the occasional fight; what's not to like about it?