Ok, not related to Sioux hockey. Not even related to the NHL Interests of Goon (Boston), the region (Minnesota), or me (Detroit). This relates to the game I'm just watching right now on NHL Network: The NY Rangers vs. the Washington Capitols.
The game was out of hand. The Rangers were winning 6-0. Semin shoots the puck and hits Ovechkin in the knee. He goes down. THE CROWD CHEERS.
Ok, you know what? I boo every time Ovechkin and Crosby touch the puck. I boo ESPN and NHL Network every time they say their names. But cheering when one gets injured? I don't think that's classy... at least in that context. I cheer Pittsburgh without Crosby and Washington without Ovechkin because it forces the commentators are forced to NOT cream their shorts every time those two step on the ice. In other words, they're forced to recognize that these teams and the NHL are more than these two players (great or otherwise).
I'm sick as all get out of "Sid the Kid" or "Alexander the Great" or their newest incarnation: "The Great Eight." It's like calling LeBron "King James." King James is a version of the Bible. King James wasn't a basketball player.
It's never appropriate to cheer an injury. Injuries suck. There were some DU trolls on USCHO.com Fan Forum back when Paukovich hit Bina that gloated about it. Those people drove us UND fans nuts. I guess the scale of this one really set me off. The WHOLE ARENA cheered!!!!
On the flip side, like I hinted at above, I'm finding myself somewhat sympathetic. I can't be the only one who is simply sick to his stomach over the fact that the NHL seems to be Crosby and Ovechkin and nothing else. It's no wonder why they do little to promote the league and their televised games unless either the Capitols or the Penguins are one of the two teams playing. It seems often enough that the other teams in the NHL are afterthoughts. After Ovechkin got injured, the analysts went on and on about how the Great Eight got injured and this and that and seemed to be crying over how the Rangers fans could possibly fail to see how awesome Ovechkin is and become rabid fans of his. The commentators simply can't get it into their heads that no matter how good Ovechkin and Crosby are, they're still going to love their teams more. They'll nod and say "Yeah, they're pretty good," but they won't get all heavy breathing over them. It's almost as if you aren't their fans, you're obviously a clueless fan.
There's now a DVD being put out about Ovechkin! The height of egotism! But, hey, let Bettman pave the road towards the NHL's demise. No, not many in the front office would acknowledge such a thought because the NHL has been on a slight upward trend lately. They'd probably cite Crosby and Ovechkin as two of the reasons. But people don't see the long term big picture here. Bettman is carbon copying his mentor, David Stern (or maybe its his predecessor). The NHL and Crosby/Ovechkin absolutely REEKS of the NBA and Michael Jordan. Now... look at the trend. What happened to the NBA when Jordan retired?
The NBA went down the toilet. Why? Because their only recognizable player was gone. Now, look at what is happening with Crosby and Ovechkin. It's a few years away, sure, but what are you seeing the NHL doing to promote the league outside of Crosby and Ovechkin hype? Very little, if anything. So, when Crosby and Ovechkin depart the NHL, do you think the NHL will continue to trend upward? Will the popularity even out? Nope. I predict that the NHL will decline back into the irrelevance produced by the lockout. And the NHL is STILL recovering from that.
The NHL needs to do more to promote THE LEAGUE and all of its players rather than a select few. It's a tough proposition, for sure, but gimmick games and the Dynamic Duo isn't going to do it. ESPN is at the level of caring that they don't even bother to have the anchor people even study the basics of hockey. Hockey isn't relevant to ESPN and that's a direct statement towards the state of the game. Bettman isn't doing it. He thinks of us as no better than the NBA. Perhaps we can not hope to be more popular than the NBA overall and we definitely will not overtake Football, but we should try like hell to promote at every level. We should be trying to make some players from EVERY team visible to at least their regional fan base. We should have commentators that spend as much time ranting and raving praises towards players ON the ice as they do Crosby and Ovechkin. We should be pushing that EVERY team in the NHL is important, not just Pittsburgh or Washington. Oh, and by the way, it's not because a Red Wing is also mentioned as an "and by the way"
