I currently am 19 years old. For the first 18 years of my life, professional hockey was an afterthought.
Blame Bill Wirtz all you want, but when I watched my hometown Blackhawks, I just wasn't interested. There likely was a more exciting baseball, football, basketball, or chess match on somewhere else.
Or so I thought. This year, however, I was enlightened.
I don't claim to have knowledge of hockey. I don't even claim to be a fan of the sport, although I'm starting to come around with the exciting young combination of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane skating at the United Center.
But I know exciting sports action when I see it.
If you want an intense, exciting game to watch, turn on the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They say that nothing is like playoff hockey. I never believed it. Like many Americans, I saw the total number of goals scored by both teams at three and thought "oh, this must be really boring."
- B/R Ticket Guide
If you think that hockey is boring, just watch a game. It's the furthest from boring you can get.
Watching as Marc-Andre Fleury recorded save after save for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals Monday night, I found my heart racing, my knuckles white, and my mouth screaming and moaning as I became more and more attached to the Penguins.
Just because there may not be the kind of scoring that takes place in other sports doesn't mean that you should write it off as a "boring" sport.
If you ask me, hockey has the most going on at any one time of any sport. It's the only major pro sport where time is not stopped for substitutions. Teams are always trying to set up or stop an offensive attack.
During the intermission between the second and third overtimes, I took a step back.
I was watching playoff hockey. And I was loving it.
And when Petr Sykora slammed one into the back of the net to send the series to a sixth game in Pittsburgh, I threw my arms up in the air and yelled.
Usually, for me, shouts are reserved for big plays by the Chicago White Sox, Missouri Tigers, and Chicago Bulls.
Not the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.
It speaks to just how invested I was in this game.
But, I wouldn't have been that invested if the Stanley Cup Playoffs weren't so incredibly exciting.
So, for all you sports fans like me who haven't given the NHL a chance before, I implore you: watch Game Six on Wednesday.
I promise you won't be disappointed.
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6 months ago
Hockey is not boring to watch, I can just find better things to do. I have given it a few chances, even attended a game, but it just doesn't trip my trigger. When people talk of the edge-of-your seat suspense, I don't feel it.
The same goes for soccer, but I would much rather watch the Stanley Cup.
6 months ago
Good to see new fans being added. Hockey is the greatest sport on Gods frozen surface.
6 months ago
I think for once, hockey is headling ESPN and all the sports stories. That game single handedly put hockey on a bunch of people's radar.
from 6 months ago
Yeah, when I went to ESPN after the game, I half-heartedly expected the front page story to be some fluff piece on the Celtics/Lakers series or Manny Ramirez. I'm glad I was wrong.
from 6 months ago
To be fair, really the only reason that the Stanley Cup is taking center-stage for the past few nights is because the NBA Finals hasn't started. Once they do, then coverage will go back to being buried in the middle of Sportscenter
6 months ago
You would whore yourself out like that JJ haha.
I enjoyed this piece, and it's great to see the perspective of someone who's been 'newly introduced' (I use that term only because you recently started getting 'into' hockey) and really enjoying the sport. You've got an excellent young team down in Chicago too—some guys you can really enjoy some outstanding play from in the future.
Good work JJ,
BT
from 6 months ago
Haha, thanks Bryan! I'm definitely excited about the Hawks (here come the 'Hawks, mighty Blaaaaackhawks) and will be wearing my "Toews 19" shirt around proudly next year.
6 months ago
Welcome aboard! :p
for sure that game was one of the most exiting ones ever! I thought it would be over yesterday, but they have offered a real good game and a real series.
from 6 months ago
Maybe the reason I found myself pulling so hard for the Penguins was that I didn't want the series to end. I wanted to watch more playoff hockey.
Or maybe it's just that I have an inherent disdain for all Detroit sports teams.
6 months ago
Nice article and the NHL marketing dept. should learn.
This series is so reminiscent of the 1983 Oilers vs Islanders.
You had veteran, playoff ready, 3 time Stanley Cup Champs of Bossy,Trottier,Potvin and Goring facing the young guns of Gretzky,Messier and Lowe.
Epic battle that the Oilers learnt from, and won the Cup the following year.
The Pens may not win this series…but they are learning “how” to win in every game, every period, and every shift.
The Pens and Red Wings series also speaks to the success of solid/established franchises, with a terrific fan base.
If you want more of this.....say goodbye to the likes of the Panthers,Hurricanes,Coyotes...etc. Teams that have won and lost on the frozen pond…but continually loose in the stands.
..and say hello to the Jets,Nordiques, Hamilton ???, and perhaps Halifax ????
from 6 months ago
My non-hockey-watching mom asked that question—why aren't there more teams in Canada? I'd think they'd do much better than those in Phoenix, Miami, and other warm locations around the U.S. I have to say, I think that would be pretty cool if they brought back some of those old Canadian teams...it might not be the best for the NHL in the U.S., but I'm pretty sure those markets that the Coyotes, Hurricanes, Panthers, etc. are in are already lost.
6 months ago
Good article JJ. Like you, I've never been a huge hockey fan, but once I saw that last night's game was in OT, I had to watch. I love watching sudden death hockey.
The reason I watch much hockey (or soccer either) is because I feel like most of the exciting moments aren't when something good happens, like a home run or a touchdown, but when something doesn't. Since the scoring is so low, most of the things that get you excited are a missed goal, or a chance at scoring, not when an actual point goes on the board. It's probably because my untrained eye can't yet appreciate some of the other intricacies of the game. Still, it bothers me and prevents me from really getting into the sport. I don't like continually getting worked up at near-misses.
I still can't deny last night was awesome. Nothing like having a teams season on the line with every shot.
from 6 months ago
I thought that way too, Dan, up until I watched the World Cup in 2006 and realized that the beauty of soccer is that you just don't know when one of those scoring opportunities is going to go through. Same goes for hockey.
6 months ago
ESPN Radio last night was full of hockey talk. Jason Smith was calling this recent game, "the best hockey game ever."
Was it really that good?
from 6 months ago
i don't know about best game ever, it was probably the best game of the season, and the best game of the past few seasons probably, but probably not ever.
from 6 months ago
Best ever? Probably not, but in terms of excitement, the only way it could have been better would be if it was game six or seven.
6 months ago
hockey is the worlds best sport, not just the best sport on a frozen surface
it is the fastest game in the world requiring more skill, strength, endurance, smarts, speed, reflexes and reactions of any sport.
hockey players can outwork any other athlete in the world, they have more heart than other athletes, exception is probably kevin garnett though, he is the planets most intense person, he would make a hell of a hockey player.
that makes them the most fun to watch (with the exception of the new jersey devils), i would rather go watch junior hockey or college hockey than baseball, football, or basketball
of course, the above statement has a few exceptions, for baseball it would be the sox, for basketball it would be the celtics, for football, while i love the bills, i would probably prefer to go see hockey over a bills game strictly because football can't be as exciting as hockey unless it is the playoffs.
also, if i had a choice between soccer and hockey, i'd probably go to a soccer game b/c there aren't as many opportunities to watch soccer in this country
from 6 months ago
While I'll still take regular season baseball over regular season hockey, playoff hockey is different. I could have watched the Yankees/Twins or Cubs/Padres game last night, but decided to tune into playoff hockey instead. For those who know me, it takes one hell of an exciting game to pull me away from baseball.
from 6 months ago
Yo TJ, it's nice to see you have an opinion as strong as that. People feel different. I have a friend just like that who gloats about hockey and it's players like they just came from winning the battle Sparta. "They're gods, they're the best, every other athlete is soft...."blah blah blah. I love hockey, always have until he wouldn't shut up.
Maybe that's why people don't like it as much casue when people like you try and get them into it you explain it the wrong way.
Luckily for me, the game itself had to bring me back, i was against it for a while cuase if the players and organization are like you...why would i wanna like them?
from 6 months ago
didn't say they were gods (tell your friend that is blasphemy), and hate when sports are compared to war. i love yelling SPARTA and wish i was leonidas just as much as everyone else around here, but sports cannot be compared to actual wars and battles, people don't die in the thousands playing sports. go ahead and call games battles and what not, and use terms, it adds to the intensity and satisfies stupid people who just wanna see people get hurt, just don't compare sports and sporting events to actual wars, that is reserved for football
didn't say other athletes were soft, just said hockey players are the best athletes with the most passion and heart, by assuming i say that other athletes are soft when i say hockey players are the best, that is like calling the losers at the world's strongest man competition pussies, which is obviously the stupidest thing someone can do (your friend is obviously retarded, or just has never seen another athlete do anything)
and if hockey players were like me i wouldn't watch it either, b/c that means they are overweight, mechanical engineering students who enjoy watching the discovery channel and not very good at hockey, and very short. they are also very slow, quite reserved, and not likely to get into fights or throw bone crunching body checks
however, i may have just been caught up in the moment after reading such a positive article about hockey, let me clear up what i said:
batting in baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports
soccer players are the most physically fit athletes in sports
football players are probably the strongest, at least the linemen and linebackers
now, rugby may actually require the highest combination of strength and endurance, i don't know, maybe even number 1 in both categories, there is more hitting than football and probably a pretty even amount of running with soccer, if not more
hockey players require the highest combination of skill, endurance, strength and sport smarts, overall, they are probably the best at what they do
and every sport has their own share of gloaters, i have heard that every sport has the best athletes, the smartest players, the most skilled players, blah blah blah, that is not the reason ppl do not watch hockey
they don't watch hockey b/c they dont understand the game and there is not enough time in between breaks for the average american to process what they have seen, why i believe football and baseball are so popular, there is more time to try to understand what is going on, or what will happen next, than there is actually stuff going on. and there aren't enough points scored tokeep the average american interested in it long enough
that and when there is a big, hit, you will be lucky to see it again within the next few minutes, in football, they play it like 12 times right after the play, so the average american can sit on his couch and go "ooooh man look at that hit, it's so hard" if hockey did that, they would miss so much, and the average american just can't process information fast enough to be able to keep up with hockey.
being an american i hate to say it, but it is true, that is the reason hockey isn't as popular, we are collective to stupid to keep up with it.
a little evidence, all my friend who are hockey fans are fairly intelligent and are capable of processing information at high rates. my friends who don't like it. don't understand what is going on half the time and can never figure it out.
sorry i got off topic, but you put me into a group with which i do not belong, and i have a lot of energy, so i wrote a lot, if this scares you away from hockey, ignore what i say and formulate your own beliefs. thats what everyone in the world did when religions and political parties started forming, just be a different kind of hockey fan than me
6 months ago
JJ,
You really have to go to the UC and see the "kids" play in person, even from the 300 they are exciting to watch. Glad to see that you are coming around to hockey.
Nice article, as well.
from 6 months ago
I actually went to a Stars/Hawks game this year. Unfortunately, it was during a bad streak by the Hawks, but it was still pretty fun nonetheless.
6 months ago
It's great hearing people talk about hockey. That game was unbelievable, with constant back and forth action. Pittsburgh winning that game had to be huge for that confidence. If Malkin can get going, they can maybe pull out the series.
from 6 months ago
There seems to be a good chance this goes to seven, which would be absolutely incredible...
6 months ago
I was going back and forth from my radio (We don't get CSN) listening to the Cubs game, and then over to the TV to check on the Stanley Cup. After that high sticking call in the 3rd OT, I had a feeling that the Penguins were finally going to put it together, and that they did, and for about a minute and a half, I was more excited for the underdog Penguins than the Cubs 8 game winning streak
6 months ago
The NHL's demise in the U.S. is largely on one man's shoulders...Gary Bettman.
What kind of moron thinks that Versus is a better bet than ESPN...honestly.
The problem Americans have is that they have trouble embracing things they think are foreign, things like soccer, hockey, etc.
That's why it is so important for the U.S. to start producing some great home grown talent, and in many ways that seems to be happening.
from 6 months ago
That's a very good point. If the NHL would get back on ESPN, it would do wonders for the league.
6 months ago
Your article sums up the same way I felt about hockey 15 years ago when the Red Wings started to capture my attention. It is a great sport to watch, especially during the playoffs. I hope it will regain some of its popularity because it sure would be nice to see games back on ESPN sometime soon where you never missed a minute of playoff puck!!
from 6 months ago
Here's hoping the Blackhawks start to do that for me (and win a few titles while they're at it). If I was that into playoff hockey with two teams I'm not attached to, I can only imagine how into a Blackhawks playoff game I'll be.
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