NationStates Jolt Archive

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....

It's kinda popular in the northern states.. I played it in the form of roller-hockey as a kid.. it's not practical to play ice hockey in most of the country, and sort of expensive.

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....
Because it sucks on TV.

Because it sucks on TV.

I beg to differ.

Well...
why do canadians like hockey?
just take whatever answer you get from that, changer every positive to a negative, and you'll have america's reaon why it doesn't like hockey.

Because it sucks on TV.

Oh no no no! About five years ago I saw this one guy score.

American's love football (our football, not that "pussy" European sport that hicks love to hate), baseball (possibly the most boring sport ever invented), and basketball.

No room for anything else.

Baseball > Other Sports. :cool:

They don't like HOCKEY!?! Why, those bastards!

baseball (possibly the most boring sport ever invented).

No room for anything else.


i don't find baseball boring (Go Blue Jays), but if americans do why watch it?

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....

Actually, you'll find that many of us (especially here in the Great Lakes) love hockey.

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....
I like hockey. All my friends do as well. Unfortunately they're mostly Rangers and Flyers fans.

I've always been a bit cynnical about professional baseball, and the recent steroids scandals have only added to it. The powerful players' union and the lack of salary caps make the whole affair corrupt enough, and now you throw Bonds into the mix and it gets really ugly.

The system allows for big money teams to buy wins. It's complete b.s. Can you tell I'm from Pittsburgh?

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....

In order to like hockey, one must dislike (or at least not care about) basketball. (IE: ME... GO RANGERS!!)

However basketball is usually favored because:
* Outrageous personalities. There just isn't a Dennis Rodman in hockey.
* It requires virtually no equipment.
* It's accessible to be played anywhere. Try and find a rink or frozen pond in Arkansas.

I like hockey. All my friends do as well. Unfortunately they're mostly Rangers and Flyers fans.

Your friends have taste!

http://www.execprom.com/licensed-to-play/NHL/images/pewter/dog_tags/big/NY-Rangers.jpg

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....

The strike put a damper on it.

Go to Minnesota. Hockey is a religion there.

Can i just say so what if the americans dont like it!

Us Brits make up for all those who dont!

Can i just say so what if the americans dont like it!

Us Brits make up for all those who dont!

i don't care if americans like it or not i want to know WHY they don't like it. and since they don't like it i think all those teams in the south should move up north like phoenix, dallas florida etc. wats the point of putting teams there when winnipeg or quebec city don't have teams any more....its all about the damn money.

...its all about the damn money.
You said it.

Besides, they decided to make it warm weather friendly:

http://cincinnati.com/preps/2002/05/31/hockey_150x200.jpg

Underwater Hockey!

The reasons hockey is not mainstream in the U.S. are:

1. The majority of the U.S. doesn't have lakes which get cold enough for kids to just play outside. I live in Florida, and I firmly believe this frozen rain you people call "snow" is about as real as Santa. Hence, any sport which requires "ice" has a hard time catching on.

2. It is near impossible to play as a youth. Expensive equipment, bed rep (dentist visits- mom doesn't like that), and the aforementioned lack of ice in half the country. Baseball requires a stick and a ball, maybe even a glove. (anything can be a base) Basketball requires a ball, and a hoop, which every playground, school, and neighborhood has pleanty of. Much easier to play.

2. It is too damn close to soccer (like soccer on ice, with sticks), and the majority of us HATE soccer. Yes, youths play it here, but only because "Soccer Moms" want to tire their kids out on the weekends.

3. The strike. It was gaining in popularity, then the players had to fuck it up and set it back years by wanting more money. Baseball ruled the U.S., til the last strike, and football has ruled ever since. Basketball has moved into #2.

4. Not that great on TV. MUCH better than soccer, I admitt, but if they would paint the ice so there wasn't a blinding white spot on my screen, I might be able to watch without going blind.

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....You have the "sticks", right, but Hockey is definitely played with a ball, and the only time there's ice is when the pitch is waterlogged when winter comes.

Oh, you mean ice hockey... ;)

No, no useful point... Move along...

...if they would paint the ice so there wasn't a blinding white spot on my screen, I might be able to watch without going blind.

Barbarian!! What colour would you have them paint it? (yes, colour)

Hockey isn't popular in America because ice melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. And most of America is a desert.

I like hockey and rugby hate basketball and soccer like radio baseball hate TV baseball and LOVE football. And I am slowly coming to terms with cricket

Thats like asking why [insert country here] doesn't like [insert sport that particular country doesn't usually play here]. They just don't. :rolleyes:

Barbarian!! What colour would you have them paint it? (yes, colour)

Well, the COLOR I would have them paint it would depend- light tones of course, maybe something with an anti-glare coating. Maybe a pale blue or something.

Hockey isn't popular in America because ice melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. And most of America is a desert.


Not so. America isn't mostly anything, it is too big. And there is vastly more woodlands and plains than desert.

Not so. America isn't mostly anything, it is too big. And there is vastly more woodlands and plains than desert.
I know that, but it presents a better image if you say "desert".

I love hockey...I've been playing hockey all my life. In North Dakota, if your not a hockey fan your just outta the circle.

Certainly hockey is popular with some Americans, especially those in the traditional hockey cities (Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, etc.). Attendance has reached record levels for games this year indicating that fans forgave Gary Bettman and the league for screwing us over.

However, television ratings are terrible, hovering around 4% for the playoffs. I have often asked myself the same question, because I love the sport and have given up trying to convince other sports fans how great it is.

Traditional complaints are:


The puck is too small and the game too fast for fans to follow it on t.v.

The game does not have enough stoppage in play to allow for frequent t.v. commercials and beer breaks.

There are too many foreigners with whom Americans can't identify.

Too may people did not grow up playing the game, so they have no identification with it.

Scoring comes too quickly, so people have to always pay attention.

Too much emphasis on defense and goal tending and not enough on offense (less valid now with the new rule changes).


Ah, well. Their loss.

Go, Sabres!

In order to like hockey, one must dislike (or at least not care about) basketball.

What?! Explain the state of Michigan then. We love basketball, and we love hockey. We love football, too.

Anyway, you guys can't generalize and say "Americans don't like hockey". Texans generally don't like hockey. Michiganders generally love hockey. This is one issue where it really does boil down to a state by state thing.

Well, the COLOR I would have them paint it would depend- light tones of course, maybe something with an anti-glare coating. Maybe a pale blue or something.
Pale blue ice is but ugly. Trust me I've played on it.

What's all this about hockey being like soccer. that is just absurd!

Go, Sabres![/SIZE][/FONT]

I like you already. :D

I believe you hit the nail on the head Ogiek- and, if I can opine, hockey I believe is fundamentally different than the other sports Americans typically watch. Hockey is the only sport where the play is entirely spontaneous: in baseball, one has to wait for the pitcher to throw the baseball for anything meaningful to happen. Football typically waits anywhere from half a minute to a quarter of a minute for a play to be executed since the teams need time to "set up" for that play, which are usually just a few seconds long, if that. Finally, basketball- despite the fact that like hockey the play is continuous- takes time for the game to really take shape. Since there's no mystery about whether or not either team will hit a basket, you could feasibly start watching the game from the third quarter onward and not really "miss" anything, at least in pertaining to the final result. This is also the reason why most Americans can't call a hockey game- they're used to sports that allow "breathers" during play (and thus allow them to talk about something else that may only tangentially refer to the play), and hockey doesn't allow that.

In hockey, the play is continuous, but it's also the only "major" North American sport where conceivably a game could end 1-0 because of some blooper shot (like Owen Nolan's dump-in that somehow eluded Roman Turek), and thus the game demands your attention. It's similar in many ways to soccer (a fact that's already been mentioned here before) and rugby, where the play is also continuous. I've long believed that hockey is better served trying to expand in Europe than in the U.S. because the sport shares so many similarities with the sports over there (that and a considerable amount of National Hockey League players are European themselves and would no doubt love to play closer to home), and it wouldn't be such a risky proposition since hockey does have a solid base in Europe and soccer has shown to be an extremely profitable industry without a U.S. television imprint. I don't really see it happening, since a lot of the "hockey people" are staunchly conservative when it comes to their game (as are a lot of people in leading positions in sports), but hopefully one day a maverick thinker will come along and put this idea in motion, if for nothing else but for the chance to see the Stanley Cup potentially being awarded in Switzerland or the Czech Republic. Now THAT would be something worth seeing. :D

I like you already. :D

I believe you hit the nail on the head Ogiek- and, if I can opine, hockey I believe is fundamentally different than the other sports Americans typically watch. Hockey is the only sport where the play is entirely spontaneous: in baseball, one has to wait for the pitcher to throw the baseball for anything meaningful to happen. Football typically waits anywhere from half a minute to a quarter of a minute for a play to be executed since the teams need time to "set up" for that play, which are usually just a few seconds long, if that. Finally, basketball- despite the fact that like hockey the play is continuous- takes time for the game to really take shape. Since there's no mystery about whether or not either team will hit a basket, you could feasibly start watching the game from the third quarter onward and not really "miss" anything, at least in pertaining to the final result. This is also the reason why most Americans can't call a hockey game- they're used to sports that allow "breathers" during play (and thus allow them to talk about something else that may only tangentially refer to the play), and hockey doesn't allow that.

In hockey, the play is continuous, but it's also the only "major" North American sport where conceivably a game could end 1-0 because of some blooper shot (like Owen Nolan's dump-in that somehow eluded Roman Turek), and thus the game demands your attention. It's similar in many ways to soccer (a fact that's already been mentioned here before) and rugby, where the play is also continuous. I've long believed that hockey is better served trying to expand in Europe than in the U.S. because the sport shares so many similarities with the sports over there (that and a considerable amount of National Hockey League players are European themselves and would no doubt love to play closer to home), and it wouldn't be such a risky proposition since hockey does have a solid base in Europe and soccer has shown to be an extremely profitable industry without a U.S. television imprint. I don't really see it happening, since a lot of the "hockey people" are staunchly conservative when it comes to their game (as are a lot of people in leading positions in sports), but hopefully one day a maverick thinker will come along and put this idea in motion, if for nothing else but for the chance to see the Stanley Cup potentially being awarded in Switzerland or the Czech Republic. Now THAT would be something worth seeing. :D
I heard rumours of a team proping up in Moscow. Unfortunatly I think it will remain just that: rumours.

Russian hockey has cheerleaders, which is awesome.

why don't Americans like hockey? i know it's popular in buffalo, New York and the North but why doesn't anyone else like it...it's basicly basketball on ice...except with sticks...and a puck instead of a ball and.......well maybe its more like soccer.....
Hey it is hugly popular up in minnesota

Personaly my fav sport

Russian hockey has cheerleaders, which is awesome.

Beautiful Russian women, hockey, and vodka. That sounds like a great evening to this American. :)

Beautiful Russian women, hockey, and vodka. That sounds like a great evening to this American. :)
Damn straight it is.

I heard rumours of a team proping up in Moscow. Unfortunatly I think it will remain just that: rumours.

Russian hockey has cheerleaders, which is awesome.

The Carolina Hurricanes have cheerleaders too (http://www.carolinahurricanes.com/images/0506StormSquad/LB8P1076H.jpg), and I think it's a great addition- not just because it gives me wonderful eye candy but also because I think it underscores that the game is an event itself- sometimes, when the game's going poorly you want something else to do, and besides, it's a great way to get the crowd going again.

As far as the rumours of the Moscow team: apparently they had something to do with a Russian entrepreneur wanting to start his own league, actually. From what I know the story has something to do with Evgeni Malkin, who's been held back from going to the Pittsburgh Penguins from Omsk (in a similar situation to what happened to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals) because the NHL and the Russians still do not have a transfer deal allowing Russians to be drafted. If the transfer agreement continues to stay in limbo, this story may heat up and there very well may be a "rival" league in Europe. The NHL did try to set up a European division back in the 1970s, but the pilot project- the London Lions- was such a failure they stopped from trying again. I do believe one day they may eventually join forces with the International Ice Hockey Federation in much the same way the soccer's national Football Associations are tied to FIFA, and I believe hockey will be all the better for that arrangement.

We like hockey just fine, we just recognize that baseball is better. :p

We like hockey just fine, we just recognize that baseball is better. :p
Baseball is for drunks who have nothing to do when they are drunk.

Baseball is for drunks who have nothing to do when they are drunk.

You're not allowed to speak the truth anymore.

The Carolina Hurricanes have cheerleaders too (http://www.carolinahurricanes.com/images/0506StormSquad/LB8P1076H.jpg), and I think it's a great addition- not just because it gives me wonderful eye candy but also because I think it underscores that the game is an event itself- sometimes, when the game's going poorly you want something else to do, and besides, it's a great way to get the crowd going again.

As far as the rumours of the Moscow team: apparently they had something to do with a Russian entrepreneur wanting to start his own league, actually. From what I know the story has something to do with Evgeni Malkin, who's been held back from going to the Pittsburgh Penguins from Omsk (in a similar situation to what happened to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals) because the NHL and the Russians still do not have a transfer deal allowing Russians to be drafted. If the transfer agreement continues to stay in limbo, this story may heat up and there very well may be a "rival" league in Europe. The NHL did try to set up a European division back in the 1970s, but the pilot project- the London Lions- was such a failure they stopped from trying again. I do believe one day they may eventually join forces with the International Ice Hockey Federation in much the same way the soccer's national Football Associations are tied to FIFA, and I believe hockey will be all the better for that arrangement.
But they are not as hot a Russian girls. I suppose we should start kidnapping 'em.

The story I heard would have made the Russian team part of the Western Conference.

But they are not as hot a Russian girls. I suppose we should start kidnapping 'em.

The story I heard would have made the Russian team part of the Western Conference.

That's just one girl out of several that makes up the Carolina Hurricanes Storm Squad (http://www.carolinahurricanes.com/custom/rad7D589.asp). Yeah, no Maria Sharapova's or Anna Kournikova's, but I still like what I see.

Hmmmnnn...I have to say that the "Western Conference" and "Moscow" link rings a bell, but I'm not sure where. I do know I've heard the story about a rival league being set up in Russia and I do think that's gaining some credence now. Do you have a link?

Not a chance in hell they put an NHL team in Moscow. Traveling cost/time would be way too expensive for the league to consider.

I love hockey and not just because I'm Canadian. It's a fast-paced sport where you have to be extraordinarly physically fit and skilled to play. Hockey players are probably in the best shape (all-around) than athletes from any other sport. The play doesn't stop very often which keeps you in the game and it is highly aggressive (nothing beats seeing someone fall on ice, nevermind when a 200lbs guy rolls him off his hip).

And it's just plain fun! Great to watch while being in the arenas too. But at baseball matches you'd fall asleep if the crowd didn't do the wave every now and then to wake you up.

i don't care if americans like it or not i want to know WHY they don't like it. and since they don't like it i think all those teams in the south should move up north like phoenix, dallas florida etc. wats the point of putting teams there when winnipeg or quebec city don't have teams any more....its all about the damn money.

Dallas fan here. But yeah, there oughta be more teams up north. It's just common sense.

Easy solution: FIX YOUR DAMNED RAPACIOUS TAX LAWS!

Dallas fan here. But yeah, there oughta be more teams up north. It's just common sense.

Easy solution: FIX YOUR DAMNED RAPACIOUS TAX LAWS!

Hmmm. You don't sound very japanese, really.

Hockey isn't popular in America because ice melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. And most of America is a desert.

I sincerly hope you are just a Jr. Hi student who hasn't really studied geography yet....

Hmmm. You don't sound very japanese, really.

Maybe that's because I'm not. Texian by birth. You can take the boy outta Texas, but by hell and high water ya'll'd best believe ya'll can't take the Texas outta the boy - don't even try! (Even after 15 years in Japan, my neighbors don't call me Texas Dave for fun... :D).

Maybe that's because I'm not. Texian by birth. You can take the boy outta Texas, but by hell and high water ya'll'd best believe ya'll can't take the Texas outta the boy - don't even try! (Even after 15 years in Japan, my neighbors don't call me Texas Dave for fun... :D).

Awright, no probs.
Some of the nicest people I know even are Aggies!

( But I'll go easy on the hidden cultural references in the future, then. )

Awright, no probs.
Some of the nicest people I know even are Aggies!

( But I'll go easy on the hidden cultural references in the future, then. )

I'm sorry ya'll ever had to meet such a creature as an Aggie. The rest of my state apologises. (Hock-head hint - I'm an Aero's fan....)

I'm sorry ya'll ever had to meet such a creature as an Aggie. The rest of my state apologises. (Hock-head hint - I'm an Aero's fan....)


*is having a laughing-fit*

Pale blue ice is but ugly. Trust me I've played on it.

What's all this about hockey being like soccer. that is just absurd!

Yes. Coloured ice is heresy.

However, if you have to compare sports, to an American, soccer would be the closest thing to hockey.

Take the ice away from hockey, you get Lacrosse.

Take the Lacrosse sticks away and the closest sport would be rugby.

Take the contact away, and the closest thing would be soccer.

So, I suppose hockey is soccer with ice, sticks and contact (and thus far, far cooler)?