Why Nobody Likes Hockey: A Sharks Fan Comes to Grips with Being in the Minority

I walked into class this morning, excited as the next person about the huge victory on Tuesday.

I’m talking about the San Jose Sharks' 11th win this season last night over the Minnesota Wild, of course.

When I announced to my friends that my Sharks were indeed 11-2, first in not only the Western Conference but in the entire NHL, I got a slew of sarcastic and cold-hearted replies.

“What’s the NHL? Is that a league or something?”

“What’s hockey? Is that a sport?”

I tried to defend myself by saying that the San Francisco Bay Area hasn’t had such a successful franchise in years, and I was really proud of my home team.

Few can claim actual residence in San Jose. Most fans live near enough to the city; not literally a step away from it. No matter, I just kept receiving taunting remarks. I slumped down in my chair, dejected.

Then the question arose in my head. Why don’t people like hockey?

There are a variety of factors. Many reasons will never come to light; I, myself, can’t understand why hockey isn’t adored by every single American citizen, but that’s just me and my extremist views of sport.

First off, let’s attack the general American public. Consumers like instant gratification. We want it, and we want it now. We’ve been brought up to believe that this is an acceptable thought process, and entertainment feeds it to us. With the addition of the Internet and improved technology, it’s even more attainable to have what you want, right now.

For example, digital cameras take away the suspense of what photos are going to look like. Point, click, and you have your picture right here, right now. Television shows are also centered on instant gratification.

In this day and age, the majority of consumers are too busy to devote an extensive amount of time to just one show. Therefore producers within each show create a plot, pathway, and solution all in the convenience of one tiny hour. You get your crime scene, your facts leading up to the apprehension of the criminal, and it’s solved. Case closed.

Now, what happened to the good ol’ days, when hard work and determination was what brought success and happiness? Did we forget about things being “worth the wait?” In a time with “get rich quick” schemes, earning online degrees in just months, and slim down diets in days, society has gotten caught up with being satisfied instantaneously.

Back to hockey. Instant gratification is not seen on the rink, nor in the eyes of the players, fans, or referees. Sure, one could argue that one could get quite the instant satisfaction of a quick blow across the face of an opponent, but that is not the main goal in hockey.

But it is understood by the ones involved that scoring and winning does not rely on a fast break, an interception, or a quick turnaround.

Perhaps when a sports fan realizes this, they, too, can appreciate the aesthetics and mesmerizing draw of the sport of hockey. Passion sets apart hockey fans from other sport fans; hockey fans love to love their sport, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?