Flyers vs. Blackhawks: Who exactly is watching?
It’s very easy to say that hockey is Canada’s game.
But as the Stanley Cup Finals carry on between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks, the question that needs to be asked is “who cares?”
In cities across Canada, it’s nothing to see millions of hats and shirts of Canadian teams and then some Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins clothing. Not very often do you see a Flyers or Blackhawks logo.
They say that sex sells, and the same can be said in sports. In hockey’s mecca – Canada – Flyers vs. Blackhawks isn’t as sexy as any of the Cup finals in the last three years. This year, NBC brought in the highest rankings in 11-years, but that’s NBC. Not even Don Cherry kissing Bobby Orr – again – could bring most hockey fans to watch the series on CBC.
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Sure the finals are having great numbers in the states, but stats are like bikinis; they show you a lot, but not everything. What they’re not showing here is what kind of fans are watching. There’s a good chance it’s not the avid hockey fan, but rather the casual fan from the City of Brotherly Love or the Windy City taking a break from their struggling NFL or NBA teams in hopes of cheering on a winner.
Greg Wyshynski, editor of Puck Daddy on Yahoo! says that the number of comments – which have ranged in the past from heated to downright war-inspiring – are down from last year when the Pittsburgh Penguins knocked off the then-reigning champion Detroit Red Wings.
“Our comments on some posts are down compared to last year,” said Wyshynski. “I think we have a lot more Penguins and Red Wings fans, who read us and actively comment, getting into arguments and such.”
You would think that if the people watching the Cup Finals are actual hockey fans, they would know about the top hockey blog on the internet and would flock there to defend their team. Keep in mind that the Flyers and Blackhawks series hasn’t been the friendliest of battles, either on the ice and off the ice.
Those battles have made for a pretty entertaining Stanley Cup final, it’s just too bad that not many true hockey fans care.
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