NHL Network Coming to America
Attention citizens of Massachusetts, Vermont, Michigan and Minnesota: the NHL Network will soon be available in the United States. Am I forgetting any other states that actually watch hockey in America? New York and North Dakota? Ok I’ll give you those but that means I’ll have to pretend there are more than forty-three people in North Dakota with a TV.Now I understand that the majority of the country will not care about the addition of the NHL Network to his or her broadcast provider. I also recognize that there are few people out that are going to name his or her first two children Gordie and Wayne like I am (regardless of the gender). Pardon the digression.
The point remains that it is somewhat noteworthy simply for the fact that Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable even agreed to carry the network. The press release asserts that the NHL network will now be accessible to 75 million homes. 75 million? Amazing. The numbers of people not watching hockey programming available to them is going reach record numbers.
“NHL Network’s success in Canada has paved the way for the network’s launch in the U.S.,“ said Rick Brace, President, Revenue, Business Planning and Sports for CTV Inc.
Really? Because I didn’t see any other way it was going to end up coming down to the States. If it had tanked in Canada I can’t imagine anyone thinking, “well I didn’t work in up North, lets try the US.” But I still wonder if there isn’t a bit of flawed logic to it. Let’s take something where it’s most popular and introduce it to a group of people that would rather sit and watch a guy point at suitcases for an hour. Then again, I thought the Bruins, the Islanders and the Flyers would already be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs at this point in the season, so what do I know?
Look, I don’t mean to have a negative attitude toward hockey appreciation in the United States, but there is a reality that we hockey fans tend to overlook. Canadians love hockey, its their national game. When combined with the fact that the majority of US hockey fans are involved in the hockey community, it creates a warped sense of perception. Personally I don’t get why anyone, after watching even one period of a Pee-Wee game, wouldn’t agree that it’s the greatest sport in the world. But there remains an overwhelming amount of disrespect for the sport among Americans.
Every time I step out of my hockey-filled world and have conversations about the sport with the less enlightened majority I always seem to get the same response, “hockey is okay, I just don’t like to watch it.” That is something I just don’t understand. Sure, there are other reasons as well, but not enjoying watching it would definitely be number one if that question ever made it to Family Feud.
Which brings me back to my original point about being surprised the NHL Network is coming down from Canada like an illegally smuggled vegetable and will probably receive just as much fanfare. Although, as long as they show that clip of Terry O’Reilly going into the crowd to attack that guy everything could turn out all right.
Before I end this post I first have to admit that my personal feelings about this announcement boarder on orgasmic euphoria. Upon learning that is was not only coming, but coming in HD, I treated myself to a early skate sharpening just so I could talk about it with the guy at the pro shop. The sad part is, my skates weren’t even somewhat dull.
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