I like to consider myself a pretty open-minded sports fan. Sure I have strong preferences when it comes to choosing what to watch among competing programs, but for the most part will give anything a chance (except of course any type of racing, just not going to happen). I once sat in a pub in London and watched a 6-hour cricket match, mostly because it was raining, but also because I wanted to figure out the rules. While I may not be dying to repeat that experience, there are many worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Because there's usually some entertainment value to be found in any well-played contest, and I try to go for the most meaningful game being played. We all have our personal pecking order, in mine the hometown teams get preferential treatment and football is the trump card of major sport, because it's regular season is like the playoffs of any other. But third on the list with a bullet, and moving up every day, are the NHL playoffs.
Regular season NHL games just don't register these days if the local franchise isn't having a compelling season. With an 82-game schedule going up college counterparts playing less than half that (not Marty), it's simply tough to get amped up about the majority of contests. Especially during the first three-quarters of the year, when teams seem to alternate stretches of good play with being downright disinterested. College atmospheres are standing room crowds full of diehard fans, professional games are too often populated by disengaged people who can't name you more than a couple players on the team.
At $75 a pop for any ducat in the lower level, pro hockey crowds are increasingly corporate. That's great if you're trying to pay the bills, but lousy if you're looking for great atmosphere and home-ice advantage. It's usually an inverse relationship, the closer to the ice you get, the more likely you are to hear question like "So what does that line mean?" and "What's icing?" Even here in Minnesota, the self-proclaimed "State of Hockey", you'll find at least a few fans wondering why they only play three quarters. That all changes in the playoffs, and the transformation has been especially fun this season.
I don't know where they find playoff hockey crowds, if there's some sort of screening process to ensure only the deserving attend, or what. All I know is, after watching the last week of playoff contests, few things on Earth are more compelling than a tight playoff hockey contest going down to the wire. For six days in a row now, if you cared to watch, there has been a game that's gone to OT. The sight on thousands of people standing, knowing one bounce or deflection could be the difference in victory or defeat, and acting accordingly, reaches through the TV into your living room and pulls you to the edge of your seat. I know many people prefer the NBA, and their playoffs have a measure of enjoyment too, but nothing trumps 20 minutes in which any second could be the last, there is no substitute.
And if you're team is playing? Forget about it, don't bother trying to sit and keep the defribrilator handy. That part has been missing for me this year, and it's absence is noted. But I suppose the silver lining is being spared that lump of nerves parking itself in your chest while watching your squad play sudden death. The absence of the Wild dampened my enthusiasm a bit in the beginning, but that disappointment has been blunted by one of the best opening rounds I can recall. Yesterday featured two riveting Game 6 overtime comebacks that forced Game 7s; tonight's two matchups could do the same. Regardless of which team you root for, or if you just consider yourself a casual fan, this is as compelling as sports ever get. If you aren't watching, we'll then your approach to life saddens and confuses me.
Throw in the fact that the NHL inked a new TV deal last week that will guarantee all playoff games are televised next season, and I'm on cloud nine with my second favorite professional league. Hopefully the confluence of this great playoff action and the improved ratings for it will push hockey back into the public consciousness somewhat, the sport has been wandering in the wilderness too long.
No comments:
Post a Comment