auxlepli 17 Report post Posted December 21, 2007 Terry Frei wrote a great article I think you all should read. The pursuit of fans: How far is far enough for the NHL? Should the league make the attempt to convert the uninitiated a top priority, especially in territories with neither hockey tradition nor public rinks? Or should it abandon that as a counterproductive quest for the Impossible Dream? Later he concludes I usually settle on a happy medium, which seems to be the league's unofficial position. Especially while dealing with in-arena and local broadcasting issues, the trick is to avoid turning off the hard core with pursuit of the "new" fans. I'm passionately against some of the bush-league stunts that plague us -- screaming hucksters on microphones in the stands during stoppages, childish implorations on scoreboard screens and generic U.S. game-night experiences that seem to have been dreamed up by geeks with sports marketing degrees who rose to the top of dual basketball-hockey ownership organizations. While surfing during the game last night I found that article. Then I went to another site and found this article written by Larry Dobrow. I'm thinking he has a lot of reasons why attendance might be down in hockey. Then I get toward the end and he contradicts himself where hockey is concerned. Hockey, maybe? My most recent NHL experience, on Tuesday night, was loud and expensive, but no other sport benefits as much from in-person consumption as does hockey. Them's guys done skated fast! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lfd250 1 Report post Posted December 21, 2007 You know I never realized how stupid Bettass and the league really is unitl I read the article. Lets show a fun outdoor game which we hope will draw fans, lets show it on one of the biggest college football days of the year, heck if that day falls through the always have the sunday the superbowl will be played. Dumb, dumb dumb. You might as well play a game in Puerto Rico, oh wait we did that and there were tons of fans there too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted December 21, 2007 I pretty much agree with everything he wrote. There's no point trying to appeal yourself to idiots, so the league might as well stick to its fanbase, and not try to alienate that fanbase. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest jaytan Report post Posted December 21, 2007 Attempts to grow the game only make the quality of the game worse. So instead of keeping the old fans and adding new ones, they risk losing the interest of more older fans than they gain new ones. The outdoor game should have been played maybe during that week before the Super Bowl that the NFL takes off (or the week after when all the football fans freak out because their season is over). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaKineMaui 8 Report post Posted December 21, 2007 The outdoor game should have been played maybe during that week before the Super Bowl that the NFL takes off (or the week after when all the football fans freak out because their season is over). MUCH better idea. Maybe grab up 2 "decent-market" teams that are on the brink of playoff contention and put 'em up smack dab on a late Sunday afternoon? aloha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
