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stevkrause

NHL the #2 sport in America in 10 years

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The MLB represents baseball. Baseball for Americans isn't just a sport, which you still aren't looking at, and merely mention popularity which is another failure to recognize what impact baseball has here. You somehow think that in some ambiguous time span that baseball will (or "can") lose it's cultural roots with this country and suddenly hockey will step on in? Hockey, as a sport, does not have a foundation that baseball does, here, which is, again, more than simple popularity. How do you develop something to be more popular where there is little-to-no development nor interest? Do you honestly believe that baseball could, in the next, oh, 50 years, bow to hockey in states like -- California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and so on? The reason it has any popularity in this country is because of permitting weather that makes hockey viable to play in certain parts, and thus fosters interest and then development. This is why anyone would laugh at the suggestion that any other sport, especially one like baseball, would overtake hockey in Canada. I like the fact that you're thinking positive, but you're going way out in space and need to come back to Earth and first understand baseball and it's roots here to be able to first make a decent comparison to hockey.

Fair enough - at bare minimum, it could far supplant the NBA and be damn close to MLB in the US and as an overall league in North America (between Canada AND US) be the #2 sport...

Like someone else said, the main thing holding it back, is it's accessibility and representation in schools - this is also something that would need to be changed, but I don't think it's crazy to suggest it... will it happen, almost definitely not, but COULD it happen? Without a doubt given the proper leadership and direction...

That's all I'm driving at...

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Guest Shoreline
No other reason? Yeah, you didn't read my post. I understand Crosby is a great player (uggh, that hurt), but I'm saying Ovechkin is where the money is at. I see people liking him much easier than Crosby.

But it's moot, because both are being marketed pretty well now I guess.

Where the money is at? Uh, so what about all the money coming the NHL's way because of Crosby? Was that non-existent? There's no doubt Ovy is becoming increasingly marketable as his career has developed. Crosby's persona and actions, not to mention geography and language, helped foster the development of him being marketable well before he ever got to the NHL. If a product goes beyond the shelves, metaphorically, and into people's homes, it has been successful -- that is the essence of brands, whether they are cardboard boxes, other humans, or a chihuahua parroting a "yo quiero taco bell" phrase. By the sheer ratings, attendance, attention, toward Crosby, and the fact that it has indeed spelled more success for the NHL in doing so, it's actually very clear that Crosby is where the money is at, which is evidently not welcoming news to fellow Wing fans who don't like him or are in sore need of understanding how marketing works.

Marketing-wise, Crosby and Ovy are still on entirely different levels.

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Where the money is at? Uh, so what about all the money coming the NHL's way because of Crosby? Was that non-existent? There's no doubt Ovy is becoming increasingly marketable as his career has developed. Crosby's persona and actions, not to mention geography and language, helped foster the development of him being marketable well before he ever got to the NHL. If a product goes beyond the shelves, metaphorically, and into people's homes, it has been successful -- that is the essence of brands, whether they are cardboard boxes, other humans, or a chihuahua parroting a "yo quiero taco bell" phrase. By the sheer ratings, attendance, attention, toward Crosby, and the fact that it has indeed spelled more success for the NHL in doing so, it's actually very clear that Crosby is where the money is at, which is evidently not welcoming news to fellow Wing fans who don't like him or are in sore need of understanding how marketing works.

Marketing-wise, Crosby and Ovy are still on entirely different levels.

I see Crosby as being a good marketing tool. I see Ovechkin as a great, respectable marketing tool. But to each his own. Sure, Crosby has "worked", but I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it.

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I see Crosby as being a good marketing tool. I see Ovechkin as a great, respectable marketing tool. But to each his own. Sure, Crosby has "worked", but I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it.

No doubt Ovy is and has become more marketable than he was when he first joined the NHL. It's evident he's trying to promote himself, and in many cases now is getting deserved attention -- he's done a great job at winning over fans and I'm one of 'em. The thing about marketing is it's like the tide. It comes in, it goes out. Crosby's day will be over soon enough perhaps. Part of that is how he deals with the attention. Some superstars shine and relish in the attention, others break down. But really until someone else can take the reins or if he f***s up rather large, Crosby is, for now and the last several years, the NHL's king of marketable players.

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you guys, marketing gurus, once again proved that marketing is an art of pursuing people to buy exactly what they do not need.

if you think that to promote nhl, it needs to sell pretty english/french-speaking boys over skills and fair competition, there must be something wrong here...

Edited by ami

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I'm hearing a lot of Bettman bashing on here as usual, so once again I feel I have say this: I am not a Bettman fan but to blame him for thing like this is assinine. He is employed by the owners and does as they tell him to do. If you fire Bettman another puppet/mouthpiece will take his place.

Edited by UP2HERE

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Guest mindfly

What are the current ranks?

1. Baseball

2. Football

3. Basketball?

4. Nascar?

5. X

6. Hockey on this spot?

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What are the current ranks?

1. Baseball

2. Football

3. Basketball?

4. Nascar?

5. X

6. Hockey on this spot?

I would say:

1. NFL Football

2. Baseball

3. College Football

4. NASCAR

5.NBA Basketball

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I would say:

1. NFL Football

2. Baseball

3. College Football

4. NASCAR

5.NBA Basketball

Should college football be excluded? It's not technically a pro sport. I mean, sure lots of businessmen (Ahem BCS supporters) rake in the dough while the football players live off of cafeteria food (unless they go to USC).

I dunno, I guess it counts because it is a sport and is religiously followed. In that case, hockey will never be above #4.

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Americans you funny youuuu :D

Nascar and UFC ahead of NHL.. lol

We didn't say we agreed... we said that's where the consensus is... and sadly, it is...

My personal rank is:

1. NHL

2. NFL

.

.

.

.

.

3. MLB

4. NCAA FB

5. UFC

6. everything else... except Nascar... it's not a sport...

Edited by stevkrause

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Losing Crysby as the golden child and replacing him with Ovie (already kind of happening) would be a good marketing step.

I don't really see this happening. Ovechkin in all senses of the word is a dirty player and he speaks broken english. Not really the kind of guy they'll want portraying the NHL.

It sucks though because he's much more fun to watch than Crosby and the guy is a risk taker. Easily one of the most talented guys to ever play the game.

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I don't really see this happening. Ovechkin in all senses of the word is a dirty player and he speaks broken english. Not really the kind of guy they'll want portraying the NHL.

It sucks though because he's much more fun to watch than Crosby and the guy is a risk taker. Easily one of the most talented guys to ever play the game.

I don't get what you're saying. Do you really think he's a dirty player because of the knee-on-knee hit and some of the runs he takes. Or are you saying he smells funny?

Crosby punches people in the nuts you know...

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It's always going to be Football>MLB>NASCAR> In no particular order: NBA,NHL,Golf, Soccer. That's just how it's going to be. And before anyone gets on my case about NASCAR, there are more people who attend NASCAR events than any other sport out there....and I have no idea why!!!!

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Guest mindfly
It's always going to be Football>MLB>NASCAR> In no particular order: NBA,NHL,Golf, Soccer. That's just how it's going to be. And before anyone gets on my case about NASCAR, there are more people who attend NASCAR events than any other sport out there....and I have no idea why!!!!

That track in indiana has room for 250.000 people or something i read... crazy red necks :D

Watching exactly similar cars go round and round and round in all eternity.. great sport! :P

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Jordan, Bird, and Magic were all Americans, spoke English fluently, and were marketed the moment they stepped onto the court, and it was predicted this would happen. The most marketable people are marketed for a long time, and you can foresee the continuation of that. If you ever watched Crosby before he came to the NHL, you knew he was going to be highly marketed in this league. You did not know that of Ovechkin. Why? He was not here, and he was not pushed and given the attention Crosby was. These other attributes you state have nothing to do with marketing. The only way to see the viability of marketing is by sales and attention. Let's see. Crosby comes and suddenly the seats in Pittsburgh fill up. Crosby comes and suddenly Crosby jerseys sell more than any other. Crosby comes, and even before he came, and suddenly every media outlet is paying attention to him. I think we have a winner. It's flat out that obvious, and again, the only arguments I've seen against Crosby being the most marketable all come down to vitriol and dislike toward him and nothing to do with marketing.

You've basically given a poor evaluation of the circumstances. Ovechkin wasn't pushed as much as Crosby... sure.. that's right, but what's that got to do with it beyond initial press and speculation? Nothing. The argument is who is the face NOW, and that is Ovechkin. Crosby lost that war because quite frankly, he is boring off the ice: and to a casual fan/never seen the game kind of fan, he's even boring on the ice. Ovechkin is getting the commercials now, and he's getting the press.

That's why Ovechkin signed a deal with the top Marketing company on the planet IMG (same company that has Kobe, Tiger Woods, etc).

To quote a Puck Daddy article on it:

To some, the news that Ovechkin has signed with IMG will be a blip on the radar, a brief note in the business section. To hockey fans, it should mean something much, much more significant: It's a premier marketing company indicating that the NHL has potentially produced its first global crossover superstar since former IMG client Wayne Gretzky.

You want more on it click here

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Hockey is not an American sport, hence it'll always be behind the American sports.

For instance, baseball is boring, the best players are steroid cheaters and the salary cap system is a joke when it comes to competition. Baseball fans know this, bust still don't care.

You can't teach elephants how to fly. Americans will never put hockey above their own sports.

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Guest mindfly

Americans won't ever switch to the accurate metric system either....

They won't allow *** people to get married all accross the country...

Americans are old fashioned and traditional :P

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Guest Howard He Do It?!
Americans won't ever switch to the accurate metric system either....

They won't allow *** people to get married all accross the country...

Americans are old fashioned and traditional :P

The metric system is more accurate? It's easier to understand and convert, but by no means is it more accurate.

Not everyone shares the sentiment of denying gays the right to marry.

Oh yeah, NONE OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH HOCKEY!

Edited by Howard He Do It?!

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we can Top NBA, Not football, not baseball.

Priority #1 is getting a Hockey guy as commish. Until that happens, there's no hope.

NHL already tops the NBA in attendance. And as far as the TV ratings... well... one's on versus, the other is on ESPN, TNT, and ABC, not much else can be expected.

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To be honest, I like hockey being a regional or niche sport. I think American markets like Detroit, Minnesota, Buffalo, and Boston thrive because hockey has always been deeply embedded in those particular areas' culture. I couldn't imagine hockey games becoming the "it" sporting event to attend and while I think it would be great for the league, I feel that a strong majority of hockey fans today are extremely knowledgeable and dedicated to their local markets.

Baseball and football have so many casual fans because I think that many Americans feel that they HAVE to accept these sports on some level because everyone else has. Hockey fans actively seek the sport out. Living in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area now, I've seen the Caps firsthand go from the basement of D.C. sports to the hottest ticket in the city and most of those fans only started paying attention when names like "Ovechkin" and "Green" became household names. Not to mention, more popularity breeds a higher market demand. It was an absolute travesty to me that I had to shell out more money for two tickets to a regular season Caps game than I did for the two tickets to game one I purchased for this past year's cup final (the seats were comparable). I think if the NHL wants to flourish, they should work on promoting the sport first and superstars second.

Edited by Paul MacLean's Mustache

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