NHL with better attendence than NBA

[spidergoalie]

Hockey Is Still Flying - Russakoff Rules - Comcast.net Community Forums

Contrary to what you have been told by the media, the National Hockey League did not go defunct in 2004. The league is still here. The players are still skating. And believe it or not, hockey is thriving.

NHL attendance around the league (avg. 17,151 fans) was actually slightly stronger than NBA attendance (avg. 17,145 fans) this year. Sure, it’s only a six fan difference, but those are the six coolest fans ever (trust me).

The point isn’t that the NHL outpaced the NBA in attendance; the point is that the two leagues are in the same ballpark.

If you watch ESPN, you’d think hockey was on the verge of extinction. Why is that?

Conspiracy theorists will say it’s because ESPN no longer carries the league on the network. But you can’t put much stock in conspiracy theorists…they’ll also say I’m only writing a ‘hockey is back’ column because I work for Comcast.

No, it’s no dark plot by ESPN to bend hockey to its will. It’s much simpler than that. The national media rag on hockey because it’s easy. Tony Kornheiser does it. Michael Wilbon does it. STEVEN A. SM ITH screams it….no wait, Slava Medvedenko plays hoops.

But it’s not true.

Hockey is alive and kicking. And nowhere is that more evident than in Philadelphia. I got down to the Wachovia Center hours before the start of Game 3 between the Flyers and Penguins on Tuesday.

As I walked through the crowd at the Flyers’ Block Party, I sensed the fans knew their team was in the middle of a Pittsburgh buzz saw with no real hope of finding the off switch.

Sure, they said all the right things around each other. In groups, they chanted “Penguins Suck!” and insisted the Flyers would find a way to get it done at home.

But if you pulled them aside privately, the story was different. They all knew how good Crosby, Malkin, and Hossa were, and they knew the odds of slowing them down without their top two defensemen were slim to none. (Yeah, reasonable Philly fans…I was as surprised as you…and I’m from here.)

But the fans were there anyway. And once inside the arena, they were ridiculously loud. Before the game, the Flyers paid tribute to slain Philly police officer Stephen Liczbinski, and the crowd was incredible.


In the end though, the crowd was no match for the Pens. Pittsburgh got out to an early 2-0 lead and then “New Jersey Deviled” the Flyers the rest of the game.

But even after the 4-1 loss, the Philly streets and subways were surprisingly upbeat. Not about their chances, down 3-0, but about the Flyers and the state of the sport on and off the ice.

In a town where the last Sixers playoff game was played in front of a half-filled arena, the Flyers—who averaged 98.9 percent capacity last year even with the worst record in hockey—are still the belle of the Wachovia Center.

As far as the hard-core Flyers fans are concerned, the strike is a distant memory.

Hockey did lose fans with the strike. You talk to people across the country and you hear the same story hundreds of times. “I used to watch, but when they took that year off I gave up on the sport.”

Many casual fans have yet to come back. And the television ratings are low.

But the NHL has always had low TV ratings. Hockey’s issue with television ratings is less with the quality or quantity of its fans and more with the regional nature of the sport.

Sure, hockey can struggle in Carolina and Atlanta, but so can basketball. Even the NFL, the king of American sports, has had a hard time taking root there.

In cities like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, New York, Buffalo, and every Canadian town with a population greater than 12, the NHL is a sport on the rise.

Despite how easy it is for the media to tell you otherwise.




Message Edited by Lee_Russakoff on 05-14-2008 01:37 PM

Discuss, discredit, go nuts.

[leaferguy]

Sure, hockey can struggle in Carolina and Atlanta, but so can basketball. Even the NFL, the king of American sports, has had a hard time taking root there.

In cities like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, New York, Buffalo, and every Canadian town with a population greater than 12, the NHL is a sport on the rise.

Then get out of those cities. The NHL doesn't generate NFL-level revenue AFAIK, so why try to be that?

[sloth2946]

It's bull****. It is long been known that the NHL changed the way they count attendance. Asses need not be in the arenas to count as attendance. It's complete crap.

[tgfoo]

Also, where did he get the attendance stats from? Pulling the stats from ESPN.com (NBA ESPN - NBA Attendance - National Basketball Association, NHL ESPN - NHL Attendance Leaders - National Hockey League) I got numbers that were different from his. It had the NBA at 17,394 and the NHL at 17,308.

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by sloth2946

It's bull****. It is long been known that the NHL changed the way they count attendance. Asses need not be in the arenas to count as attendance. It's complete crap.

Bang on. NHL's attendance figures are largely pulled directly out of their asses. They'll announce a total sellout while the camera pans by several entire sections without a single person in the seats. It's a joke.

[tgfoo]

Originally Posted by Bryan

Bang on. NHL's attendance figures are largely pulled directly out of their asses. They'll announce a total sellout while the camera pans by several entire sections without a single person in the seats. It's a joke.

Technically, to be fair, a game can sell out without having full attendance. How many tickets have been sold and how many people show up are two entirely different stats.

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by tgfoo

Technically, to be fair, a game can sell out without having full attendance. How many tickets have been sold and how many people show up are two entirely different stats.

It's not even that, they frequently completely make the numbers up.

Mythinformation | The San Diego Union-Tribune

[tgfoo]

Oh, I'm sure they fudge the numbers. I'll be a bunch of NBA teams to as well. I was once at a Caps game. Announced attendance was around 16,000, but the arena was half empty...

[sloth2946]

The NHL has made it public what it considers 'attendance'. And that includes tickets that were given away for nothing to charities, contests, events, etc. Whether the ass meets the seat at any point in time for the game in question is immaterial. The Isles give away a lot of tickets to every game. Probably a couple thousand....and yet they rarely have more than 10K in the building.

[Datank30]

Ok so even if you disregard the NHL attendance numbers and go by the ones on ESPN.com you have to still feel encouraged that the league is even that close to the NBA. The way ESPN makes it sound the NHL is no way near any other league in popularity so the attendance being less then 100 people off has to look good for the NHL. It's at least a step in the right direction.

[Bryan]

Originally Posted by Datank30

Ok so even if you disregard the NHL attendance numbers and go by the ones on ESPN.com you have to still feel encouraged that the league is even that close to the NBA. The way ESPN makes it sound the NHL is no way near any other league in popularity so the attendance being less then 100 people off has to look good for the NHL. It's at least a step in the right direction.

Both sets of numbers are completely made up. They mean nothing either way.

[Moore00]

The biggest problem with hockey right now are the self hating fans like the people posting in this thread.

[bc30]

The only thing that mystifies me is how the average reporter/media type constantly refers to the most recent work stoppage as a "strike".

When I read any story calling it a strike, the writer loses all credibility in my book. It just proves they writer has no connection to the game, no matter what the slant of the story.

If the story was about any other business, you know they'd make damn sure to know if it was a strike or a lockout.

[gl35]

Originally Posted by bc30

When I read any story calling it a strike, the writer loses all credibility in my book.

So that's one strike and you're out? Sounds like a great idea for speeding up MLB games.

It seems that the easiest measure of the NHL is if the salary cap increases. If so, the league, including the players, should be happy.

[L7spider]

All sports fudge the attendance numbers. Being in South Florida I know for sure that the Marlins and Heat definately don't have the attendance they claim.