Hockey is the best sport because the athletes are top notch and the game actually flows

Great skill in hockey may be tough to discern for the untrained eye, but anyone that has actually been to a game will quickly appreciate the pace at which the game is played and the amazing athleticsm that the players demonstrate. Ultimately what makes the sport superior to football, baseball, basketball and also soccer is that the end to end action is continuous and always exciting. A goal can happen in the blink of an eye, which always keeps you on your toes, and you get long stretches of play without a whistle. You watch a 20 minute period of ice time in about 25 minutes. Maybe 30. All the other sports have so much down time that I usually need to multi-task (needle point or maybe a few emails on my Blackberry) while I watch them.

I love hocky- I really do! I’m not here to suggest that it isn’t a great game... because it IS a great game. But it will never hold a candle to the “Big 3” in the United States. Why?

1) The majority of Americans cannot appreciate the game because they cannot play the game themselves. Most Americans can’t even lace up a pair of skates let alone play (me included!). Other than the basic rules (which are, let’s face it... pretty basic!) few understand many of the intricacies which make it a great game.
2) No one has done more to destroy the integrity of a sport than Gary Bettman (another smack for another day, anyone?). In the race to expose the game to as wide an audience as possible, he is overexpanding and there are, as a result, too many bad teams. If I hear about another hockey team opening in the middle of a desert, I’ll scream.
3) Too many international players (read not enough Americans!). The worst names we used to have to deal with were LaFleur, Roy, and LaFontaine- they were Canadians which was tolerable. Now we’ve got to deal with names like Nemchinov, Kasparov, Khabiboulin, etc. How can we idolise these guys when they were our sworn enemies 20 years ago?!?
4) Bettman has decided to “clean up” the game for mass appeal. That’s right... fewer fights and less physical play- bad idea! Fans love hockey because of the physical play and the ever-present possibility that a couple of goons will settle their differences with their fists. This isn’t MMA- no one ever gets hurt; it simply adds to the excitement.

Hockey did itself a major disservice when it recently lost an entire season due to a labour dispute. What little fan following it had in the United States before that continues to erode and the NHL is doing little to help itself. Hockey, sadly in my opinion, is gone!