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HOCKEY Hockey starved fans???? |
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starved fans???? |
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First of all, I dislike the use of the term "Hockey starved fans". Because the media want to see themselves as "Big League" movers and shakers, they follow the "Big Leagues". Therefore the media is "hockey starved", and by association, they believe we all are. Perhaps they should pull themselves away from the buffet table that is professional sports, and realize that hockey is not "owned" by the NHL. If a fan is a "hockey" fan, then there is plenty of hockey to go around. This hockey has been around for a long time. If you feel you are "hockey starved", try one of the following. Start with your own children and their hockey. There is a lot of entertainment and pure joy to be had watching hockey as it really should be. (see Hockey Heroes) It is not a business, its a game. Watching kids play for the joy of playing is as close to the true spirit of hockey as you are going to get. If you don't have any children, then ask to borrow your neighbour's kids for a 6:00 am game. I'm sure they wouldn't mind at least one sleep-in-Saturday. But a warning. You will get hooked immediately, if you are any kind of hockey fan, and your neighbour will not likely want to miss two weeks in a row. |
Try your local high school or university. The High School hockey season is winding down into playoffs as leagues are trying to find representatives for their divisions to go to the OFSSA finals near the end of March. High school hockey is quite entertaining, especially if it is your own alma mater. These kids are the same age as junior players, and most of them are just a step slower or a size smaller, although some of these kids are extremely talented but are not playing Junior hockey for reasons other than their hockey skills. I had no idea how good Canadian University hockey was until I watched a couple of exhibition games between the OUAA Allstars against the Canadian World Junior Prospects, at a Canadian World Junior Training Camp in Kitchener, a few years ago. The University players are a little older, and have stopped growing and gotten used to the size of their bodies.Some have filled out a little, while many of the Juniors are still growing, and some of them while fully grown in height have not quite filled out the frame yet. Some university players are former Junior players who have chosen this route instead of going pro. The games were much closer, and competitive than I thought they would be. |
| Speaking of Junior, let's get right
down to the brass tacks. If you are
any kind of true hockey fan, Junior
hockey in Canada is not only the
best bang for the buck price wise, it is very often a much superior
game to a regular season NHL tilt. The annual Christmas time World Junior Hockey Tournament is the best short hockey tournament of the year, period. Even though the tournament is short, and the format slightly flawed, the play and pace of the games is superior to any hockey out there. These are the best players that aren't in the NHL. (apologies to AHL enthusiasts) Not only do you have some future career AHL'ers, but also some future NHL Hall of Famers. Some great junior players don't transition well to the NHL, while some average and above average Juniors end up becoming NHL superstars. Obviously some of the Junior superstars, end up being NHL superstars. Many junior arenas will have banners hanging from the rafters commemorating former team members who went on to NHL superstardom, and the Hall of Fame. The pace in a Junior game is usually miles above the pace of any average NHL game (including playoffs). These kids are young and hungry to impress the scouts. Don't kid yourself for a moment, Junior hockey owes its quality to the fact that these kids are all trying to earn a spot on an NHL team. Without the NHL, the Junior quality will eventually drop. The pace may not, but the intensity might. The intensity of a regular season Junior game can often equal that of an NHL playof game. |
I have seen games in both Kitchener
and Guelph, both on championship
teams and also ran teams. I saw two of the Memorial Cup games in
Guelph, and for a hockey purist, this is really good hockey. And the
fans are really good fans. The best part about Junior hockey in Canada
is the number of children and teens attending the games. This is not
only very good, and at often great hockey, it is also affordable hockey. I attend as many games as I get the opportunity to. Kitchener has had a recent renovation to their arena, and the Guelph arena is just a few years old. There aren't any bad seats in either of these rinks. The new Guelph arena is probably my favorite place to watch a game. You can stand in line for pizza or a beer, and still watch the game. Or if you get in the seats behind the team benches, and in front of the restaurant, the beer and food will come to you, thanks to some of the friendliest concession staff you will ever find. The cost? You can buy a pair of tickets, and either pay for parking or park nearby for free and walk a block or two, get a hot dog or pizza, a popcorn, and a couple of drinks, and a program for less than 50 bucks. At the Air Canada Centre for a Leaf game, the same would cost you well over $200 and up to $500 or more. The quality of the product is at least the same, and quite often better. |
| You could try an AHL game. I
have watched a few on TV, and they weren't that
bad, but they were nowhere near the calibre of a Junior game. I suppose
if you follow a particular AHL team, the interest might be greater, and
like watching any sport, you get more out of it, the more you put into
it. I first heard this said about baseball, and it is true. The more
you follow a sport, read the stats, look in advance at the schedule,
get to know the players, etc., the more enjoyment you will get from
watching the sport. That is why the NHL is so accesible for the average
fan. They hear more news about it, they are more familiar with the
players etc. This is true for most levels of hockey, although I must
say that Junior hockey is more entertaining than any other level, given
the same degree of fan input. If after trying all of these options you still find yourself "hockey starved", then I suggest you dig your skates and stick out of mothballs, and go find a pick-up game, or join a league geared to your age and level of play. The real part about sports, that the media guys just don't seem to stress enough, is that sports is about participation. If you can't play, volunteer to help with any part of running a league. Volunteer to do stats, help run a practise, drive kids to the rink, carry a bucket of pucks, donate used (or new) equipment. If you get involved at any level you will find that hockey is far from dead. So don't call us hockey starved fans. We who love the game for the sake of the game, have never been starved, and quite frankly haven't missed it much yet. All the talk was about the lockout deadline and playing a meaningless short season to get to the playoffs. The current length of a full NHL season guarantees meaningless games. Sure I watch regular season games, mostly on TV, and while you are sometimes treated to some true gems, you have to sit through some terrible games as well. For me the NHL season, other than a few rivalry games, doesn't really heat up until around this time of year anyway, as teams begin to jostle for playoff positions. This is where the intensity starts. |
The best NHL hockey is found in the
first few rounds of the playoffs.
Great Edmonton vs Dallas series, Toronto vs Ottawa, Montreal vs Boston,
San Jose vs Colorado, etc. When teams have played a few consecutive
games against each other, line-matching and the one-on-one battles turn
into epic struggles. The players aren't playing for money anymore, they
are playing as a team, for team pride. This is the part of the NHL
season that I will miss. The NHL playoffs is the best tournament of the year, and I qualify that statement as follows. The format of the World Junior Tournament is what prevents it from being better than the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The intensity of a seven game series between evenly matched teams is beyond compare. The real possibility of underdog upsets, as has happened in the past few years, makes this tournament rivetting for any hockey fan. The playoff runs of teams like Calgary last year, and Anaheim and Minnesota the year before were tremendously entertaining to watch. Every playoff year has a few second or third line role players who step up and take centre stage, pushing aside the big money superstars from the highlight reels. In these series, one becomes truly familiar with each player's particular quirks, strengths and weaknesses. One can see the relative merits of coaching styles. Defense and goaltending come into strong focus. This is what the true hockey fan will miss. Not a meaningless mid-December matchup of a perennial challenger vs. a perennial also-ran. We are not hockey starved yet. wolf6656 |
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JOIN
THE NHLFA
(NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE FANS' ASSOCIATION) Membership is free!!! Membership is currently over 26,000 fans. The NHLFA executive has already met with Gary Bettman, and is constantly putting the concerns of the membership in front of both the league and the player's association. (Boone and Jim Spendlove, who together started the NHLFA in April 1998, met with Bettman in late April, 99, seeking a voice in the so-called "Fan Exhibition" at the 2000 NHL All-Star game scheduled for Toronto. Bettman issued a challenge, said Boone - get your membership up to 75,000 and you're in. ) We need 50,000 more concerned hockey fans to be given a respected voice. - NHLFA WEBSITE - - NHLFA MEMBERSHIP - - spread the word - The NHLFA has also reached an agreement with NHL ENTERPRISES, L.P. granting the NHLFA a license to use the name and initials of the 'National Hockey League' as part of the NHLFA's name and initials. Add your voice and your vote to the issues that matter to you as a hockey fan. Join the NHLFA today, and tell 3 friends. Member polls and discussion forum on various topics including
The fan polls allow the NHLFA to present the views of the membership to the league and players. You may not agree with the majority on certain issues, but by using the forums, you can present your views and reasons for having those views. Your input can be instrumental and may prove to be vital in helping to improve the game at the NHL level, so that we the fans can enjoy it. If you are upset at all about the current state of affairs, but you do not add your voice, how will things ever change? |
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