NHL and the Media: Why Can't the NHL Get the Respect It Deserves?

In the world of sports, there is always something going on. Games are played, players are traded, and championships are won. If you want to know if your favorite NBA, NFL, or MLB team had won the night before, you probably tune into to ESPN. The self-professed worldwide leader in sport, many avid sports fans start their morning ritual by tuning in to SportsCenter. If you are in a rush and want to read a blurb or two you can usually read the paper on the train to work or use a smart phone app to get your sports news.

However, God help you if you want to get some information on the NHL. Unless you are a subscriber to the NHL network, you will be hard pressed to find some actual analysis and hockey talk. The United States is home to 24 of the 30 NHL teams, yet you wouldn’t know that if you picked up a newspaper or turned on the radio.

Of all the major networks, NBC is the only one to give the NHL some airtime. For most of the year NBC has its Sunday NBC Game of the Week. Many viewers have tuned in to watch original six rivalries like the Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings or New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins. For the most part, ESPN only takes notice when something extraordinary happens. However, analysts like Linda Cohn, John Buccigross, and EJ Hradek actively tweet, starting the hockey conversation on Twitter. In New York, Boomer Esiason and Don Lagreca also try and get the hockey conversations going despite the hockey hate that surrounds them.

Why is there such a disparity in coverage for the NHL compared to the rest of the big four sports? The common notion that has circulated even on popular morning sports talk shows is simple: people don’t care about hockey.

This notion is simply unfounded and untrue. When you combine the Vancouver Olympics, the Winter Classic, and NBC Game of the Week there is a significant amount of fans tuning in, a reality made evident by the upcoming increase in viewership from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite all of the excitement associated with playoff hockey some media outlets decide that regular season sports hold more weight. Baseball has started up but its season is still in its infancy. With 150-plus games remaining in the season a lot can change so there isn’t much exciting action worth noting. July and August are when baseball should be really analyzed, as playoff and wild card races start to take shape in the standings.

The NHL has a longstanding tradition in sports. It was founded in the year 1917. Today on the ESPN talk show Around the Horn hockey was brought up but only for the last minutes of the show. Each panelist was given a mere 15-second window to state which playoff series they thought would be the most exciting. How can you draws fans in to the sport if you have 15 seconds to cover two out of eight matchups?

If you ever stepped into Madison Square Garden, Bell Centre, Joe Lewis Arena, or any of the other original six arenas for a big matchup, the crowd's electricity gets your blood pumping and you can still hear the ringing in your ears hours after you have left the arena. It is something that you never forget in any sport. The first time can be a make or break experience for a fan. This is why most people who want to give hockey a shot, start by watching playoff hockey. This is evident as there was a 17 percent increase in viewership last year and a 29 percent jump the year before.

Hockey is the most exciting out of the major sports, with a consistent level of action. Baseball is laid back, a 9-inning game full of breaks. People are always getting up to purchase concessions, use the restroom, or buy souvenirs. Batters call for time out, pitchers attempt to pick off runners, and the game itself moves slowly. A great pitcher’s duel is nice to watch once in a long while but a game with limited action can become mundane and monotonous real easy.

Basketball moves at a faster pace but still isn’t as interesting. With 10-to-12 good teams in the NBA, the league is designed much differently than during itsheyday. When there were fewer teams, each one had legends, superstars, and role players that could equally compete for a championship. Small market teams don’t have enough funds to go after players and they simply can’t compete with the higher monetary markets in Los Angeles, New York, and Florida. Unless the marquee billing involves the Knicks, Heat, Magic, Lakers, or Celtics, you won’t see a consistently huge interest in regular season basketball. You also won’t find people losing their minds over matchups like Cavaliers vs. Pistons

Football is hard to describe. There are some games that feature great matchups that can draw in the fans left and right. There are other games that are just plain boring. Like the NBA, it is a hit or miss proposition depending on who is playing. The Super Bowl may the most watched game of the year, but most viewers don’t even watch football regularly. Super Bowl parties are becoming social events for mingling, drinking, and enjoying commercials,with less emphasis placed on the game itself.

All of this brings us back to the good ol' hockey game. Any NHL game in the league can be exciting. With the draft lottery system, The NHL is designed in a way that even small market, underachieving teams can compete.

The game of hockey itself is full of fast-paced, bone-crushing, non-stop action. The puck is always moving and there are always players skating, checking, shooting and scoring, while goaltenders make acrobatic and logic-defying saves. 

If the media gave hockey it’s fair share of exposure by focusing on the sport during the season and not covering idiotic sports "stories" like Cameron Diaz feeding A-Rod popcorn at the Superbowl, the NHL could expand its fan base. In the summer, baseball is in full swing; in the fall, football dominates over hockey. When football season is over, instead of shifting to the next major sport, everyone goes crazy over college sports. 

During most of the NHL season, hockey takes a backseat to the college sports on television, online, and in print media. Why does this happen? Last time I checked, players in the NHL were professionals. College sports are great but they are still students and they shouldn’t take priority over professionals. The pro players have worked there way up through college, junior leagues, and the minor leagues to finally shine on the big stage.

While March Madness may be exciting and a time where productivity halts at a standstill due to bracket watching, the NHL madness that goes on from April to June is truly must see television. The common reaction when asked if a person likes hockey is they respond by saying it is hard to follow on television and that the sport is boring overall.

The best news you can get on hockey may not be from mainstream media, but it is insightful analysis and thoughts from people who love the game and care for it. Bloggers and Twitter have been a great outlet for hockey. It has allowed the sharing of some great stories and some magic moments. An example of this was all the tweets about Teemu Selanne, a 40 year old who is having a career year. He had a hat trick and five points, a feat is unheard of in a game dominated by mostly 18-to-mid-20 year olds. It is these feel good stories that make hockey such a great sport.

No one is willing to give hockey prime-time exposure. During this time of the year, the NHL playoffs should be top billing. I implore those of you reading who are fans of the other big sports to watch some playoff hockey and then give your thoughts. 

With NFL and NBA lockouts on the horizon, maybe next fall will be the great opportunity the NHL has been waiting for. I, for one, would hate to see the two major sports continue their lockouts but I wouldn’t mind the NHL finally getting the recognition and coverage it truly deserves.

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