After an epic overtime thriller that left the U.S. Men's Hockey Team on the losing end of a 3-2 result, the sad reality of hockey reclaiming its place as fourth fiddle in the American sports landscape set in for many of the game's fans. Even after a dramatic Olympic finale like Vancouver's, the nation's concern for hockey already has dwindled as casual followers shift their focus to March Madness, the start of spring training or maybe this summer's World Cup.
This declined interest should not come as a surprise to anybody. Every four years, our nation unites to watch sports we don't typically pay attention to (i.e. hockey and soccer) and then return to our attention to more the popular games. I've come to grips with soccer not being at the top of our nation's athletic agenda, but some hockey aficionados I know don't realize why puck hasn't caught on with the rest of the U.S. I'm here to offer a few tidbits as to why that's the case.
You see, hockey just isn't an ""American"" sport, so to speak – both literally and figuratively. Rather, it's a Canadian invention that happens to be a Midwestern and Northeastern phenomenon. Unfortunately for die-hard fanatics, their type of passion doesn't stretch much south or west of Iowa. This isn't just because people in those regions perhaps dislike the sport, but it involves practical reasons, too. Where else can people play hockey year round, both indoors and outdoors? It just isn't possible for about half the country to play hockey outside at all, and most puck heads agree that outdoor hockey is the game's purist form.
Since the sport can't be played outside in most parts of the country, the town where kids grow up in basically has to have an indoor rink otherwise they most likely won't be introduced to hockey. And that's beside the fact of getting ice time, which is a pain in the ass for every team in my Minnesota hometown of about 50,000 even though we have two indoor sheets of ice, with more coming to resolve the issue. If kids can't get on the ice, then their focus will shift to sports that don't have the same facility constraints and requirements as hockey (i.e. football, baseball, etc).
Hockey also has to compete with three other sports conceived in America. Baseball, basketball and football all were invented right here in the U.S. of A., and we happen to be the best at all three. We can play these sports everywhere in the country as well as year-round, and they are popular enough to warrant their own indoor facilities in basically every city – unlike hockey in the South. With the southern half of the country not participating in hockey at nearly the same rate as people in Minnesota or even Wisconsin, it's hard for the sport to gain national recognition and a large following.
Then there is the fact hockey is typically the most expensive sport to play, easily costing upwards of a thousand dollars for good equipment during a single season of play - and that doesn't even include registration fees. For many families, it's just too damn expensive to get Junior out on the ice year in and year out. I remember asking my parents why they never signed me up for hockey, and this was their very reason. Who knows, maybe I would have stopped Crosby on his way to scoring the game-winner had they started me off in Pee-Wees..
While the Olympics provided an opportunity for our nation to come together and stand behind our men's and women's hockey teams, it was a short-lived moment in the spotlight for the sport. How many people are now seriously interested in hockey and will continue to watch the NHL? Not many, I'm afraid, and I'm pretty sure there won't be indoor hockey rinks springing up in Texas and Alabama as a result.
Plain and simple, the passion of the Olympics and supporting the U.S. doesn't transfer to our professional league. And honestly, a sport that can't even get a broadcast television contract is not a major player here in the U.S. I know I'm in the minority in these parts when I say hockey isn't a prominent sport, but you should forgive me because I'm in an even worse situation – I love soccer.
