Wingsfan4life19 26 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 To start off, I in no way hope for anything negative to happen to hockey. However, the 3 other major sports (NFL,MLB,and NBA) all have CNN worthy stories. The MLB with steroids, NBA with the gambling referee, and NFL with MIchael Vick. Hockey doesnt have a major story. I think these sports are getting major publicity for these unworthy actions. I mean, lots of people are going to watch the Atlanta Falcons to see how they perform post-Vick. People will always second guess the NBA's officiating, and the MLB is being questioned as to the legitimacy of their athletes skills. All the big American sports have stories that puts more spotlight on them ( even if it is for the negative) and keep pushing hockey further and further out of it. Do you think A major story ( all be it negative) could help the NHL with publicity, or do you think it would make people care even less for it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cicada 4 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 i don't conder the fact the Michael Vick doesn't play hockey a negative thing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heaton 1 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 To start off, I in no way hope for anything negative to happen to hockey. However, the 3 other major sports (NFL,MLB,and NBA) all have CNN worthy stories. The MLB with steroids, NBA with the gambling referee, and NFL with MIchael Vick. Hockey doesnt have a major story. I think these sports are getting major publicity for these unworthy actions. I mean, lots of people are going to watch the Atlanta Falcons to see how they perform post-Vick. People will always second guess the NBA's officiating, and the MLB is being questioned as to the legitimacy of their athletes skills. All the big American sports have stories that puts more spotlight on them ( even if it is for the negative) and keep pushing hockey further and further out of it. Do you think A major story ( all be it negative) could help the NHL with publicity, or do you think it would make people care even less for it? None of those stories are helping their respective sports in any way and I highly doubt anyone in the NHL wants that kind of publicity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wingsfan4life19 26 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 I know what you folks mean... but wouldn't it help somewhat if The NHL had a CNN esq story... not necessarily a big name player, but something to gain the casual fan's attention. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
auxlepli 17 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 I am very glad the NHL doesn't have a negative story surrounding it now. It doesn't matter to me that the NHL isn't number one in the ratings, doesn't have the most fans, or whatever. IMO it's the best league going, and that's good enough for me. Now what hacks me off is when people ridicule it, put it down, or disparage it. Is it perfect? No. Could it be improved? Yes. Still it's the best going because it features the best sport, hockey. Don't get me wrong I do wish it was more popular, that it was featured more on the networks, etc. I get tired of what I consider substandard sports getting all the press, even if it negative. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
puckbags 863 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 I think the saying goes "any publicity is good publicity"!! ..or something along those lines..someone correct me if they know the exact quote !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lets go pavel 2 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 Do you think A major story ( all be it negative) could help the NHL with publicity, or do you think it would make people care even less for it? No, we don't need a negative story. None of those stories you mention above are going to help their respective leagues ... in the case of NBA and MLB their respective scandals have the potential to undermine the very premise of their existence, which is to showcase the best talent in the world competing to see who is best. If fans cannot trust that the results are valid (NBA) or that the athletes are actually competing without unfair advantage (MLB) some of them will tune out. People want to celebrate victories and achievements in sports, but to do so they must believe that such things have been hard fought and won. In the case of the NFL, I don't think more people will watch Atlanta without Michael Vick because chances are they won't be very good, and it shouldn't really affect the other teams. I also think back to the Bertuzzi incident, and while the NHL was in the news for a while then, debating the role of fighting and such, none of it was good attention. Does anyone know if attendance or viewership changed at all following that incident? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yzermania19 1 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 I think the saying goes "any publicity is good publicity"!! ..or something along those lines..someone correct me if they know the exact quote !! You got the quote right...but it is a misnomer. Trust me, I've worked in public relations for the better part of the last decade and we spent countless hours and client's money trying to avoid negative publicity like that which has befallen the NFL, NBA and MLB. All negative publicity does is keep your name in the news, but it damages your reputation sometimes so badly that there is nothing you can do to repair it. While it never happened to any of the clients I serviced, I do know of other agencies' clients who have gone out of business because the pub was so bad they just couldn't recover from it. There's a reason PR is sometimes referred to as "reputation management"...the goal is to build a positive reputation for your clients and then maintain it through various programs, campaigns, goodwill gestures and events. A story such as the Michael Vick story can undo all the good you have just done to give your client a good reputation. People tend to remember the bad...think about how many times you hear, "You don't want to shop at Acme Fashions...their service is terrible!" Or, "John Doe? Wasn't he indicted for embezzlement once?" Once something like Vick happens, it makes the PR person's job that much more difficult. It's not impossible, but it takes a whole lot of crisis management, a huge effort on the client's part to behave themselves, a lot of apologizing and eating humble pie, very public acts of contrition and a whole lot of luck. IMO, as a PR person, the best thing the NFL can do is distance itself from Vick as much as possible. Suspending him without pay is a good start. But they need to remain firm in their resolve that this type of behavior won't be tolerated, and they don't seem to have a history of doing that...yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CdnWingsFanEh 2 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 Does illegal sports betting/gambling count as CNN worthy? I think a certain Phoenix assistant coach would think so.... At the same time, I don't know that it helped or hindered the NHL so much... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted August 25, 2007 Isn't it slightly ironic how the fact that the league doesn't have bad publicity seems to give it bad publicity. Face it, Americans for the most part hate hockey because they don't understand it. And I don't think that if Crosby or Ovechkin were to get arrested with 100 pounds of Cocaine in their car, that it would make the league more popular. The NFL can avoid losing Vick, because football in America is like gasoline or heroin, no matter what the price is, there will always be a high demand from consumers. The NHL, on the other hand, can't afford to lose its big stars, since the current stars are so poorly marketed as it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jocu 0 Report post Posted August 26, 2007 (edited) i don't conder the fact the Michael Vick doesn't play hockey a negative thing Actually... "Five minutes for dog fighting." Edited August 26, 2007 by Jocu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
luvmnger 125 Report post Posted August 26, 2007 how about a positive story........like marcel hossa stopping a bunch of skin heads from killing a man! no.....wait......that would show a good light on the sport and reach out to sports fans and make them mumble.... my guys would have been out gettin f***ed up WITH the skin heads. stupid hero types.....i dont want my kids watching them! lets watch some over zealous types, dance for every little personally significant move they make. yeah!....burp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted August 26, 2007 I'm actually going to have to disagree with most people and say that for the nfl, nba, and mlb, negative publicity, if anything, will help ratings. Sports fans generally aren't the type to boycott what could quite possibly be their favorite hobby just for an individual player's misdoings. In actuality, I believe that you might as well file it under "drama" and add that entire aspect to the world of sports. "Oh no! This team is without their star line backer/pitcher/defensman due to illegal whatever! How is their team going to cope???" People eat this kind of stuff up. Thats why reality shows are so popular. Unfortunately, with the nhl's current state I can only see this type of publicity hurting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
55fan 5,133 Report post Posted August 26, 2007 We had the Staal underage drinking scandal that amounted to nothing. I'd hate to think what it would take to get hockey into the news. I don't think we need that. Maybe if Sidney Crosby got a sex change or if someone signed Paris Hilton as a goalie or something, but not your average run of the mill arrests. Ooh, reality show- Paris and Sid switch lives. Check that! Personally, I'm glad our boys don't do that sort of stuff, and when they do, no one hears about it. I guess anonymity has its benefits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yzerfan75 0 Report post Posted August 26, 2007 What really blows my mind is how often I've heard Heatley's accident mentioned in the press lately...as a scapegoat for Vick's behavior. That just doesn't seem to add up in my book.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lou_Siffer 1 Report post Posted August 26, 2007 (edited) Actually... "Five minutes for dog fighting." If Vick ever plays in the NFL again, he will be kept on a short leash thats for sure. If he skippyed out on his bail, wouldnt it be ironic if Dog the Bounty Hunter went to track him down? I wonder if Vick's favorite food is collieflower... I hope someone in prison makes Vick his golden reciever! I wonder if Vick will roll over on all his co-conspirators? (i could keep going but i think thats enough!) Edited August 26, 2007 by Lou_Siffer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FireCaptain 563 Report post Posted August 27, 2007 (edited) Several animals were hurt in the filming of this commercial. All of them in and around Mike's trailer. Actually... "Five minutes for dog fighting." Edited August 27, 2007 by FireCaptain Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mooose kiiisses 0 Report post Posted August 27, 2007 I know what you folks mean... but wouldn't it help somewhat if The NHL had a CNN esq story... not necessarily a big name player, but something to gain the casual fan's attention. I'm not at all saying more fans is a bad thing, but if there were more fans would'nt that take away tickets from long-term fans that can't afford to buy them for the whole season? It's going to take something big to get more people interested in the NHL. I only know half a dozen people who watch the games all season, everyone else only cares if their home/favorite team makes it to the playoffs, they don't care what it takes to get to the top, as long as their team is there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted August 27, 2007 No "big" (or bad in this case/most cases) is good news to me. I might be in the minority, but could care less about drama or entertainment in sports off the playing surface. Just do your job in practice and in the games, and go about your business quietly... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
