by Brian Williams

Created on: May 06, 2009   Last Updated: May 08, 2009

As a hockey fan and a US citizen, I realize that baseball isn't the nation's pastime, football is. No sport will ever topple the big pigskin; that's why Congress will probably declare Super Bowl Sunday a new federal holiday in the coming seasons. That said, although it scrapes the bottom of America's sports viewing barrel, hockey suffers from middle child syndrome. It tries to get attention, sometimes acts out, sometimes plays the sweetheart, but goes largely ignored. So what's making it less popular than the other sports? There's more than one answer.

Hockey is less popular in the US, but not so in other countries. Besides Canada (obviously), Europe is hockey mad, and now Asia is getting into the game as well. The NBA has grown with leaps and bounds in those countries, and the NHL is following their marketing model with some grassroots programs. In our own backyard, at least in the continental US, hockey is stagnant, despite the NHL's best intentions. Dying? No. The northern parts of the country still have and will continue to have excellent hockey programs on all levels. Southern states like Florida and the Carolinas enjoy active participation on the ice and on the roller rinks as well. Attendance to pro games in those areas aren't what they could be though, and the NHL's TV viewership is shaky at best. That's the major problem, exposure. The NHL has bounced from network to network, recently landing respectable slots on NBC's and Versus schedules, but regrettably not for long. Once that contract expires, what's next? Sports live and die on the tube, and the media starved NHL can't seem to build it's house on solid ground. FOX, ESPN, ABC, they've all given up on the NHL's potential ratings draw, and the blame lies on the NHL's shoulders.

No doubt hockey fans are attuned to Bettman and Company's dealing to make the NHL a viable product in an overcrowded sports market. In recent seasons, things have gotten better, although still moving at a snail's pace toward positivity. They've considered making major changes to the game itself by tinkering with tradition and playing with the rules, have gotten gimmicky (I'll take my pucks non-glowing, thank you) and even messed with player safety to an extent. Some of those things are on track, some not. Back in the 70s, the US loved hockey. That love affair was rekindled twenty years later, thanks to a LA based guy named Gretzky. Things fell flat later when the NHL failed to do what all other sports make a priority:

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