Originally posted by chongo:
Originally posted by dnewma04:
Originally posted by Joey:
Originally posted by johnny hennessy:

It seems like everyone on T.V. is hoping that the Sharks lose. Cause they don't have the big name players like sakic, etc. That is B.S.




There is a point to this though...the NHL should be very worried that this may end up being a Sharks/Lightning final. Hate to say it, but neither team has very much fan poll outside of their respective cities, and a small audience in the final is the last thing they want to have.

Times may change in the upcoming years, and who knows, either one of these teams might become an extreemly strong force in the NHL...and they may even get every other game on ESPN, but you can't disagree that teams like Detroit and Colorado have that fan base now.



The worst thing that could happen to the NHL is Detroit and or colorado get eliminated.



What Kinda B.S. statements are these........
If your a fan of Hockey, Basketball, Football, Auto racing...etc
you will watch the game no matter who's in it.



Absolutely true, unfortunately the true fan isn't who they are trying to win over. They have to attract new fans in for Hockey to succeed and a Calgary/Tampa Bay Stanley cup finals would likely have worse ratings than last years final which is hard to imagine. The NHL needs the Red Wings to go deep in order to keep ratings as they are and have been the most popular team in the NHL for a number of years.

Just ask the NBA who they would like to see in the finals... the answer is the Lakers. Lakers get in, ratings go up, and guess what? you got it, so do revenues...

Quote:


All sporting events are seeing a drop in ratings this year.

Do you not watch The Superbowl because of who's not playing in it? Why should the Stanley Cup be any different.



Let's see, one of the single most viewed sporting events in the world compared to the Stanley Cup....Football owns the sports world. Hockey barely is hanging on because the fan base is so friggin small. Hockey fans are loyal and it's the only reason it still exists.
Quote:


The only people you lose, will be the ones that were watching, because they jumped on the
band wagon for there home team.



Yes, you lose them, and in the case of the Avs and Wings, you lose two teams that would have attracted a national audience of bandwagon fans. That is a very good thing.

Stanley Cup finals dream matchup: Detroit vs Toronto.
Quote:


As for many like myself if our home team is gone the we cheer for the next Canadian team. If there isn't one then we watch the game for the sport value that it is.
TB has been the most exciting hockey team all year to watch. I for one will cheer them on if The Flames bow out.
They've been building that team for 5 years + and they're so quick and deadly.
Also they have players that previously played on my team so I watch for that value as well.

Arenas will be sold out, T.V. advertising will be sold.
If you guys think that due to who's playing in the final game the NHL is doomed
then may all professional sports RIP!!!

\

You are in a VERY serious minority with your stance. There are very few people percentage wise who would have the same stance as you. You could be right in with the sports RIP comment, the NHL as we know it very well might cease to exist. When even the best teams in the NHL are barely squeaking by revenue wise, the sport is headed for a disaster.

If all you canadian fans are such die hard fans, what happened to Jets and the Nordiques? Can't make money there, so they move them to states where the bandwagon fans keep them afloat.

Advertising will be sold, stadiums will sell out, but ad revenue will be weak this year, and the ratings disaster caused by to teams with national irrelevance will severely impact ad revenue from next years finals if the players decide to destroy the sport, like it appears they want to do.

I can't believe you even compared Hockey to football...there is no comparison. Hockey is a like JV sport compared to a professional sport in football. Hockey is a great number 6 sport behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA Football and Basketball.

Last edited by dnewma04; 05/03/04 01:06 AM.
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