Not too long ago I wrote about the LA Kings' quest to get people to figure out who they are and what sport they play. I also opined a little bit about how no one gives a shit about hockey anymore, and how maybe the NHL itself is to blame.
Well, I don't have any more evidence to offer of the NHL's culpability, but I do have some more good evidence that no one cares about hockey in the slightest, outside of Canadians and Russians. Which, again, means no one cares about hockey.
For instance, take Game 5 of the Stanley Cup. At the time, the series was 3 games to 2, so it was a potential elimination game and all that jazz. And it was a saturday night without much else going on tv-wise, so that should improve the chances people would tune in.
But they still didn't. The game was out-drawn by Fox's Saturday night baseball, which although clearly the superior sport, was featuring a slate of mediocre matchups. And it's roughly 5 years until the playoffs, so even a baseball diehard like myself would say you don't absolutely need to tune in this time of year (though you probably should).
But that's not so embarrassing. I mean, baseball is America's game and all that. But a bit more telling is that Game 5 was beaten handily in the ratings by Spongebob Squarepants. Yup.
So to recap: more people would rather watch meaningless early-season baseball or a decade-old children's cartoon instead of an elimination game in the Stanley Cup finals.
But hey, at least from what I hear, it was a good series. I'm sure that one toothless guy hit that one guy with the French sounding name. And there were probably some goals stopped by a guy with only consonants in his last name. And I'm sure they all had delightful beards or something. Sorry, I can't be bothered to even pretend I care enough to look up shit about current hockey players. Gordie Howe still plays, right?
3 comments:
"The Kings' Stanley Cup clinching drew a 13.6/25 in Los Angeles, meaning one in every four people with a television on in the market was watching the Kings emerge victorious. It was the highest-rated hockey game on record in Los Angeles, surpassing Game 7 of Devils vs. Ducks in 2003 (10.0/18). That's important for this hockey market as we go forward, hopefully even a few of them will stick around in years to come. Hopefully, NBC does the right thing and gives the Kings the exposure they deserve next year."
- Steve Lepore, SB Nation
Oops.
Yes, the championship team got a good chunk of viewers in their own city on a Saturday night when nothing else was on. That's not an achievement, it's the equivalent of saying "my mom comes to all my little league games" as proof you're popular. That's not impressive, it's the bare minimum level of support most people can expect in life.
When the quote that apparently eviscerates my argument ends with the guy *hoping* people will continue to watch in the future, I think that pretty much makes my point. Think about it -- even with the NBA, which is by far the least popular of the Big 3 sports (used to be Big 4, but again, no one gives a shit about hockey), you would never hear anything like this: "Well, the Heat and Thunder are a good matchup and people are tuning in. Hopefully people will continue to watch basketball next year."
My theory? No enough Don Cherry. You bring that guy back, the viewership will increase ten fold. Which I guess would mean nearly 20 people would watch it then...
There's nothing else to say to someone who thinks that the population of Los Angeles is 80.
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