Casual sports fans, let me ask you a question: When was the last time you felt compelled to watch a game involving the Buffalo Sabres. Sorry, that was a dumb question. Let me rephrase. Have you ever felt compelled to watch a game involving the Buffalo Sabres. Yeah, that’s better. Okay, so?
Now, how many of you were hoping to watch at least part of Tuesday night’s game between the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins because it offered you a chance to watch USA Olympic hero Ryan Miller tending goal one more time? He won’t – Buffalo will give Miller an extra day off and start Patrick Lalime between the pipes against Sidney Crosby’s defending champs – but that’s not the point. The point is you wanted to watch or were much more likely to watch.
That’s why I can’t really get my head around the thought that NHL players might not compete at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. It seems amazing to me but not one of the current owners has committed to sending their boys to play for the gold medal they came so close to getting this time. It seems the price of sending them – shutting down their season for two weeks – wouldn’t be worth the goods received.
They concede that the 2010 Games were great for the sport’s popularity but they also site one big difference between these games and the next: location, location, location. With the action taking place live in prime time, the Vancouver Games were a great promotional vehicle for the NHL. But, with the 2014 Olympics being played half way around the world, the games would be tape-delayed and therefore not as big a TV draw. This point conveniently ignores the fact that the 1980 Miracle on Ice – the most watched hockey game ever – was not shown live.
But, let’s take them at their word that they lose some exposure in comparison to the 2010 games. Would they really be getting more exposure if they were playing thrilling regular season games at that time instead? Do you not think that at least as many people would be watching those taped games? Hey, it’s not 1980. The USA is good now. If they continue to send NHL players, they will routinely be in the running for a medal. These are going to be important games. People are going to watch. Even if viewership is down from 2010, the idea is to reach people that you haven’t been reaching and the Olympics do that. But, again, I am trying to see their point.
France, Germany and South Korea are the three candidates for the 2018 Games so the NHL’s weak argument will carry over the next two Olympiads. But, it 2022, five U.S. cities – including past hosts Lake Placid and Salt Lake City and a past winner, Denver, who turned down the chance to host in 1976 – are expected to join Quebec City as official host candidates. It seems that North America has at least a good chance of hosting in twelve years. What then? Do we pull the NHL players now and reinstate them if Denver gets the bid?
About the only demand of NHL owners that I might be able to support is their desire to have the rights to have some input on what these players do when they are on Olympic time. They should be able to do press work on site or stream media or see their players and the owners are right to fight for that. But, even if they don’t get it, I still think it helps their product to have it on that kind of stage.
I will gladly admit that I am no expert on hockey. I mean, I understand the rules and know most of the history but I’m willing to accept the possibility that I just don’t get it. So, then give it to me. I’m just the kind of guy that your sport needs to hook to make any kind of run at football and baseball. So, set me straight.
Tell me what the big deal is about taking a two-week break? It means extra games for those involved but it might actually help some of the teams get back to full strength as non-Olympic players get time to heal up some before the big push to the playoffs. More healthy teams would seem to point to more competitive playoff series meaning more excitement for the fans, some of which are making their decision on whether or not they like the sport.
The last time the NHL got this kind of top-of-the-fold coverage was 1994. Michael Jordan was still retired from the NBA, Major League Baseball was in the midst of canceling the World Series for the first time in 90 years and NHL was about to return from an amazing season that saw the New York Rangers win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. Hockey had never been hotter and they had much of the playing field to themselves.
So, what did they do? They had a lockout that lasted more than three months and caused the scrubbing of almost 500 games. Did the lockout need to happen? I don’t know. Did the sport miss a golden opportunity to make inroads in this, its second country? Absolutely.
They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression but, in the last ten days, the National Hockey League has been given just that. They'd better not blow it.