Anaheim not exactly the new Hockeytown

[RedRockit 0]

Actually, there's a ton of great youth hockey going on here in So Cal. Most of the kids' parents are from the midwest or Canada, but the seeds are being planted.

That'a truly good to hear.

A local friend , neighbor of a friend, sent his daughter and wife out there so his kid could pursue FS w/Frank Carroll (cost a BUNDLE and a half, but the guy's a Motor City exec, commutes 3 hours daily if he can't phone it in. Also has corporate box seats, which my friend (who could care less about sports!! argh!) tells me are THE BEST TIME EVER.

Back on topic, maybe it wouldn't be the Worst Thing Ever if the Ducks won.

But Duckfans, PLEASE still allow me to hate the hell outta Pronger, Public Enemy No. 1. He is THE current worst thing that ever happened to the New NHL. What I REALLY hate is that his success re the cheap shot, intent to injure style is infecting potentially deadly players such as Perry and Getzlaf. They are amazing potential stars and don't need the dirty play to be hot.

(you know if Prongs weren't on your team, you'd hate his play, c'mon!

[RedRockit 0]

Let us forget the Pronger hit on Holmer, shall we? You're a f*** tard! And your post just proved it.

Easy there hoss. Take a deep breath, no one's out to get you.

Or our Wings. Is what it is, history's in the books for us already. Time to get over it: Relax, maybe play some golf.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Let us forget the Pronger hit on Holmer, shall we? You're a f*** tard! And your post just proved it.

Which led to a 5-minute major on the Ducks and a 1-game suspension on Pronger. Yep, the refs are clearly in the Ducks back pocket after the result of that incident! :looney:

Edited June 1, 2007 by SouthernWingsFan

[Duckette 0]

But Duckfans, PLEASE still allow me to hate the hell outta Pronger, Public Enemy No. 1. He is THE current worst thing that ever happened to the New NHL. What I REALLY hate is that his success re the cheap shot, intent to injure style is infecting potentially deadly players such as Perry and Getzlaf. They are amazing potential stars and don't need the dirty play to be hot.

(you know if Prongs weren't on your team, you'd hate his play, c'mon!

You're welcome to! We still hate Paulina Kariya (well, most of us) no matter what he does! And we most likely always will. Trust me, we Ducks fans know what it's like to hate someone

[ltgator333 3]

Well the NHL needs to go cry in the mirror cause I really don't wanna hear it.. Buttman wanted parity well he got it. If Anaheim ends up winning the cup it'll be two years in a row that when the team has it's parade 90% of the city couldn't give a rats arse other than it's in the way.

Edited June 1, 2007 by ltgator333

[hockeymom95 0]

Well the NHL needs to go cry in the mirror cause I really don't wanna hear it.. Buttman wanted parity well he got it. If Anaheim ends up winning the cup it'll be two years in a row that when the team has it's parade 90% of the city couldn't give a rats arse other than it's in the way.

Hey, we're probably the only team that had a big rally for our guys when they came in 2nd place!! Thousands of people showed up to hear Paul Kariya say "Same time next year, different results" and then leave us a month later. If that rally had never taken place, maybe so many Ducks fans wouldn't hate him now and call him a liar for what he said then. So don't say we don't care about our team.

And no, the entire city of Anaheim won't stop any more than it did when the Angels won the World Series. Someone has to work to pay for the price of the tickets I paid for the playoffs. Doesn't mean we're bad fans any more than you not selling out your arena during the playoffs...just simple economics.

[RedRockit 0]

You're welcome to! We still hate Paulina Kariya (well, most of us) no matter what he does! And we most likely always will. Trust me, we Ducks fans know what it's like to hate someone

Duckette, me darrlin child (I'm allowed to say that, I'm old enough to be your... older sister *cough*), yer a prime example of what Hockey Fandomage capitalized is about ("about" pronounced the Canadian way, of course). Fans like you have made me feel better about ("about" pronounced the Buckeye way) the loo.. the loooo... the looosss.. ehmmm, the not-exactly win that the Wimgs dinna get over the Ducks.

Good luuu... luuuuuccccc.... luuuucccccc.....

Enjoy the Finals.

[edited to say: You too, HockeyMom. Go Duhhhh... Go Duhhhhkkkk...

sorry, just can't say it: forgive me. Wish "your team" the best]

Edited June 1, 2007 by RedRockit

[ltgator333 3]

Hey, we're probably the only team that had a big rally for our guys when they came in 2nd place!! Thousands of people showed up to hear Paul Kariya say "Same time next year, different results" and then leave us a month later. If that rally had never taken place, maybe so many Ducks fans wouldn't hate him now and call him a liar for what he said then. So don't say we don't care about our team.

And no, the entire city of Anaheim won't stop any more than it did when the Angels won the World Series. Someone has to work to pay for the price of the tickets I paid for the playoffs. Doesn't mean we're bad fans any more than you not selling out your arena during the playoffs...just simple economics.

I really don't care about Paul Kariya rallies...

What I'm speaking on, is that you can go to about any neighborhood in Detroit or surrounding area for that matter, and people at least know who the Red Wings are. At least heard of them. In Anaheim or Raleigh I'd bet that's not the case, not by a longshot.

Edited June 1, 2007 by ltgator333

[Izzy24 44]

Let's be fair though. If the same questions were asked to the same people in the same exact situations except for it was the Angels or Lakers, do you think their responses wouldve been much better?

Kings vs. Ducks in the finals, Minnesota in Canada, Royals in Canada and the NHL... that one is up there for the dumbest response. The elementry kids didn't say anything really and im not sure why it was added. and then the guy that said of course i watch hockey, i hate the flames they are they every year... i guess he watched hockey in 89 and 2004 and just assumed nothing changed in between... do you think its possible he confused the Detroit Red Wings with the Calgary Flames?

That's kind of what I figured, to someone observing (very) casually the Wing could look like a flame. The Red Wings do get a lot of exposure, I would think plenty of people who don't care about hockey have at least an idea of the logo looks like.

[Guest Shoreline]

Not to rub salt in the wound, or further the clowning of the new "Hockeytown" (ok, maybe I am), but have a look at the new Hockeytown's attendance rating this season:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2007

Rank #20 this season

Rank #24 for last season (post-lockout)

Rank #23 for the 2003-2004 season (after finals appearance, pre-lockout)

Rank #26 for the 2002-2003 season (season of their finals appearance)

It's just laughable.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

But go ahead and keep defending your Ducks team...

Which is why I have a Wings nickname and I'm on a Wings forum. :looney:

I'm sure you're a Pronger lover deep down, big boy.

Well dang gum it, you caught me! God that was a great dream I had of him last night!

Your refs swallowed the whistle when the mad scramble around Hasek was taken place. Remember the controversal goal after the play? (if you watched the series)

Maybe I should take my invisible cash from my invisible safe from my closet and just bribe the refs some more then. :looney:

...and I'm done with you

But playing with you and messing with your head is so much fun! Don't leave!!!!!!

Edited June 1, 2007 by SouthernWingsFan

[NKYWingsFan 4]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/attendance?year=2007

2007 Attendance Home Road Overall

RNK TEAM GMS TOTAL AVG PCT GMS TOTAL AVG PCT GMS TOTAL AVG PCT

1 Montreal 41 872,193 21,273 100.0 41 694,589 16,941 90.8 82 1,566,782 19,107 95.7

2 Detroit 41 822,706 20,066 100.0 41 693,246 16,908 92.1 82 1,515,952 18,487 96.2

3 Tampa Bay 41 814,944 19,876 100.6 41 688,429 16,790 90.4 82 1,503,373 18,333 95.7

4 Toronto 41 798,981 19,487 103.7 41 703,606 17,161 90.8 82 1,502,587 18,324 97.2

5 Ottawa 41 794,271 19,372 104.7 41 695,018 16,951 89.5 82 1,489,289 18,162 97.0

6 Calgary 41 790,849 19,289 112.4 41 696,198 16,980 92.3 82 1,487,047 18,134 102.0

7 Philadelphia 41 790,591 19,282 98.9 41 683,015 16,658 90.7 82 1,473,606 17,970 94.9

8 Buffalo 41 766,290 18,690 100.0 41 722,863 17,630 93.2 82 1,489,153 18,160 96.6

9 Vancouver 41 763,830 18,630 101.1 41 702,771 17,140 93.8 82 1,466,601 17,885 97.5

10 Minnesota 41 757,280 18,470 102.2 41 691,841 16,874 92.2 82 1,449,121 17,672 97.2

11 NY Rangers 41 746,200 18,200 100.0 41 731,401 17,839 96.5 82 1,477,601 18,019 98.2

12 Dallas 41 734,508 17,914 96.7 41 685,952 16,730 91.6 82 1,420,460 17,322 94.2

13 Colorado 41 722,127 17,612 97.8 41 707,214 17,249 94.2 82 1,429,341 17,430 96.0

14 San Jose 41 714,316 17,422 99.6 41 667,524 16,281 88.7 82 1,381,840 16,851 94.0

15 Carolina 41 712,861 17,386 92.8 41 696,317 16,983 91.0 82 1,409,178 17,185 91.9

16 Los Angeles 41 691,229 16,859 91.1 41 678,162 16,540 90.6 82 1,369,391 16,699 90.8

17 Edmonton 41 690,399 16,839 98.5 41 700,229 17,078 92.8 82 1,390,628 16,958 95.5

18 Pittsburgh 41 673,395 16,424 96.9 41 729,425 17,790 95.6 82 1,402,820 17,107 96.2

19 Columbus 41 672,443 16,401 90.4 41 665,404 16,229 87.5 82 1,337,847 16,315 88.9

20 Anaheim 41 670,916 16,363 95.3 41 688,019 16,780 91.2 82 1,358,935 16,572 93.2

21 Atlanta 41 665,417 16,229 87.5 41 690,411 16,839 90.1 82 1,355,828 16,534 88.8

22 Florida 41 630,183 15,370 79.8 41 679,357 16,569 89.0 82 1,309,540 15,970 84.3

23 Nashville 41 625,649 15,259 89.2 41 651,985 15,902 85.3 82 1,277,634 15,580 87.1

24 Phoenix 41 614,519 14,988 85.6 41 679,566 16,574 90.3 82 1,294,085 15,781 88.0

25 Boston 41 605,352 14,764 79.3 41 736,701 17,968 95.0 82 1,342,053 16,366 87.2

26 New Jersey 41 581,225 14,176 74.5 41 710,380 17,326 94.1 82 1,291,605 15,751 84.1

27 Washington 41 571,129 13,929 74.6 41 712,583 17,380 93.1 82 1,283,712 15,655 83.8

28 NY Islanders 41 528,331 12,886 79.1 41 704,460 17,181 92.0 82 1,232,791 15,034 86.0

29 Chicago 41 521,809 12,727 62.1 41 684,155 16,686 91.1 82 1,205,964 14,706 75.8

30 St. Louis 41 513,345 12,520 59.6 41 686,467 16,743 91.6 82 1,199,812 14,631 74.5

Interesting...Tampa Bay is #3. Good on them!

Also, note that Anaheim had better attendance than TWO O-6 teams! :nonono:

And then we have this article...523,000 US households watch SCF Opener

I say we not worry about the hockey knowledge of the individual Anaheim resident and worry more about the flipping freefall that is the NHL's TV ratings and popularity.

Edited June 1, 2007 by NKYWingsFan

[hockeymom95 0]

And then we have this article...523,000 US households watch SCF Opener

I say we not worry about the hockey knowledge of the individual Anaheim resident and worry more about the flipping freefall that is the NHL's TV ratings and popularity.

Anyone care to mention that the opener was on a major holiday in the US? People still do things on Memorial Day instead of watch TV don't they?

I live a mile from the beach here in Orange County and you can't get a fire pit after noon because that's what they do here along the coast on Memorial Day. Remember the game started at 5PM on the west coast when many people were just returning home from their 3 or 4 day weekend.

On Wednesday, I had to listen to the entire 1st period on the radio because I was the carpool mom and had to pick up the boys from spring football practice. It's a week before hockey tryouts here in SoCal and the rinks are full of kids doing tuneups and worrying about what team they're going to be on instead of the watching the SCF.

The NHL doesn't make it easy to get the viewing numbers up for even those who do like hockey.

[Duckette 0]

Duckette, me darrlin child (I'm allowed to say that, I'm old enough to be your... older sister *cough*), yer a prime example of what Hockey Fandomage capitalized is about ("about" pronounced the Canadian way, of course). Fans like you have made me feel better about ("about" pronounced the Buckeye way) the loo.. the loooo... the looosss.. ehmmm, the not-exactly win that the Wimgs dinna get over the Ducks.

Good luuu... luuuuuccccc.... luuuucccccc.....

Enjoy the Finals.

[edited to say: You too, HockeyMom. Go Duhhhh... Go Duhhhhkkkk...

sorry, just can't say it: forgive me. Wish "your team" the best]

I seem to be young enough to be a lot of people's younger siblings/children/grandchildren on online forums

BTW, Tampa may have the Number 3 attendance, but their crowd was pathetic for most of the season. NO intensity in that building. I was at game 6 when they were eliminated, and if I hadn't known any better, I wouldn't have known that the Bolts had been eliminated. The fans were...emotionless....

[Kp-Wings 3]

I seem to be young enough to be a lot of people's younger siblings/children/grandchildren on online forums

BTW, Tampa may have the Number 3 attendance, but their crowd was pathetic for most of the season. NO intensity in that building. I was at game 6 when they were eliminated, and if I hadn't known any better, I wouldn't have known that the Bolts had been eliminated. The fans were...emotionless....

The Bolts were a mediocre team for long spurts during the season. If not for Montreal and Toronto going in even longer bad spurts, Tampa would have been out of the playoffs.

The majority of the team is great, with guys like Vinny, St. Louis, and Dan Boyle, who are all spectacular players. But the goaltending is just plain awful. Denis sucks, and Holmquivst (sp?) is only a backup. They really had no chance of winning that series, even if it was against offensively challanged New Jersey.

Edited June 2, 2007 by Kp-Wings

[double-d 0]

Interesting...Tampa Bay is #3. Good on them!

Also, note that Anaheim had better attendance than TWO O-6 teams! :nonono:

And then we have this article...523,000 US households watch SCF Opener

I say we not worry about the hockey knowledge of the individual Anaheim resident and worry more about the flipping freefall that is the NHL's TV ratings and popularity.

Long time lurker here, posted a couple of times last series, but allow me to chime in here...

Ranking fans based on attendance is inaccurate. The avg percentage should be used since some arenas have larger capacities than the Ponda. The percentage of seats in an arena is a more accurate evaluation. I know plenty of people who wanted to attend games, esp. the weekend games, and could not get tickets in Anaheim in the later half of the season.

Second, the upcoming number of viewers for tomorrow's (well today's) game will be a better indication of the interest in the SCF's. Everyone can get NBC, but not everyone has VS or even know where to find it. I have a bunch of family and freinds in Sharks terriroty who wanted to watch the first two games but could not. They listened to it on the internet (where are those numbers??).

It's really easy to take these numbers and translate it however one wants, but in a nutshell, we in the OC know the Ducks and NHL have almost a cult following here (that has been growing, even before the playoffs started...our Lady Ducks won their title and what kid in my neighborhood doesn't have a hockey stick), but the fans are good people who are incredibly passionate about the sport. Our numbers have improved and that's a start.

Edited June 2, 2007 by double-d

[NKYWingsFan 4]

Long time lurker here, posted a couple of times last series, but allow me to chime in here...

Ranking fans based on attendance is inaccurate. The avg percentage should be used since some arenas have larger capacities than the Ponda. The percentage of seats in an arena is a more accurate evaluation. I know plenty of people who wanted to attend games, esp. the weekend games, and could not get tickets in Anaheim in the later half of the season.

Second, the upcoming number of viewers for tomorrow's (well today's) game will be a better indication of the interest in the SCF's. Everyone can get NBC, but not everyone has VS or even know where to find it. I have a bunch of family and freinds in Sharks terriroty who wanted to watch the first two games but could not. They listened to it on the internet (where are those numbers??).

It's really easy to take these numbers and translate it however one wants, but in a nutshell, we in the OC know the Ducks and NHL have almost a cult following here (that has been growing, even before the playoffs started...our Lady Ducks won their title and what kid in my neighborhood doesn't have a hockey stick), but the fans are good people who are incredibly passionate about the sport. Our numbers have improved and that's a start.

Points well taken but I think they still underscore the horrific job done by the NHL marketing brain trust (that'd be sarcasm right there). Hockeymom's point about Game One being scheduled ON Memorial Day speaks to that as well. No matter how we measure viewership and attendance, I think we still come to the same conclusion; hockey as a whole continues to be marginalized.