It's a sad day for me when I have to finally admit that Hockey is starting to die out. After the Cup win in 2002 I slowly drifted away from the Wings. I still cared, but would rarely put them on the tube, especially if the Pistons were playing. The last two years have changed my opinion though and I'm a pretty dedicated fan again. Unfortunately, society has clearly stated that hockey is not on their minds and it really is too bad.
For those of you who remember, the Stanley Cup wins in 97 and 98 were amazing. The city of Detroit was hopping, and everyone was enthusiastic about every goal that was scored! So what has changed? I'm not going to blame the lockout a couple of years ago. Sure, that didn't help anything, but I refuse to admit that the lack of buzz is because people are still upset about the lockout. I've always said that hockey is a tough game to promote. For me, it's the most exciting sport out there. The fast pace, the tension in every attack, and the creative moves that are coming out every game brings be back for more. Still, it doesn't seem to do it for the majority of sports fans out there. So what is it that caused the first non-sellout in 396 games at Joe Louis Arena on opening night? I have found four possible reasons.
1) The struggling economy. While it makes some sense, I have to put this one aside. I agree, Olympia Entertainment or whoever runs the Joe needs to cut the prices down and soon. To me, the people who have owned season tickets are doing just fine for themselves to begin with that if they wanted to, they could easily renew or get new tickets.
2) Hockey is boring to many people. I don't understand this one because I have heard it from people who watch soccer for pete's sake! So I would love to hear why it is boring. After the lockout they have done a good job implementing rules that have sped the game up and cut out unneccessary stopages in play.
3) The game is not promoted well. This I agree with. You have to search hard to find information on the Red Wings. Did you know that the Wings lost Schneider and picked up Rafalski this offseason? Do you know who Rafalski is? Both those answers will probably be no unless you are like me and have simply worked hard at finding information. It's hard to get people interested when the NHL games are on "HDNet" and "VS." (For the record VS. does a pretty good job with their broadcasts.) On the flipside, most of you reading this easily knew that the Pistons picked up Jarvis Hayes, traded Delfino, and drafted a young talent named Rodney Stuckey. Simlarly, people don't know the players. Again, you have to search to find out who these people really are. Casual hockey fans will know who Lidstrom, Draper, and Maltby are. You know why? These players were around when hockey was a top story in the 90s.
4) The fighting is gone. Simple but true. What you don't have anymore is the hated rivalries of the 90s and before that. Everyone was watching when the Wings took on the Avs is anybody watching as the Wings take on the Blue Jackets? Who cares? The answer is clearly noone.
5) Finally, my number one reason is that people are too lazy to watch a game of hockey. Sorry to say it, but hockey is not like basketball. You can watch a basketball game and never have played a game personally. Hockey has so many subtleties to it that to really appreciate it you need to be close to the game by playing or really watching. My advice to all you who say that hockey is boring is to watch an entire game with someone who knows the game. Watching five minutes could be boring. From personal experience, I am not into a game if I turn it on for a couple of minutes in the second period.
These are all reasons why people may be losing the thrill of going to the Joe. There's no hype over this extremely talented and exciting team! Oh and it might be time for two things. One, lower the ticket prices, and two, BUILD A NEW STADIUM! Many people are way to attached to the legend that is Joe Louis Arena. I'm sorry, but I would be much more excited to go to an arena that is state of the art, clean, and sells good food. The Joe is a dirty, old building. It's the truth.
It's a sad day, but unless hockey does a better job of promoting the greatness of the game, or even it's players, we may have already seen the NHL's prime are now on a downhill ride to the bottom.
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