It mainly has to do with the lack of exposure/availability to young kids. I'm from Southern California and when growing up, I played organized baseball, football, and basketball year 'round from the age of 5 until I graduated from high school. There weren't any organized leagues for hockey anywhere near where I lived. Furthermore, from elementary school on through high school, when we would play sports in PE, it was always baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, or some other sport aside from hockey.
For those commenting about the ease of playing street hockey, you're correct, but incorrect at the same time. My friends and I played street hockey in front of our houses, however, we were huge sports fans in general, so we played any and every sport possible. But when a kid isn't being introduced to something within PE or within their household, how exactly will they have any interest in playing street hockey when they know nothing about it? If there were more exposure to it, it would probably be just as big as other sports.
Herp derp "we play road hockey too." Probably because you're attempting to simulate the sport you play during those long winters. So with no winter in the south we're just supposed to magically adapt hockey culture big enought to get tons of guys together with sticks, blades, nets and pads. Ok.
So why is NFL the biggest sport in the US? Most fans dont play football. Thats expensive and you need many people to play.
As far as cost
Football is free to play of the Jr High, High school and College level.
To play pickup football you don't need any equipment. Just one ball for anywhere from 2-44 people
Football engrained in to the US culture. Every school a kid goes too after grade school has a team that students pretty much have to go to and school spirit is rooting for your school's team
So why is NFL the biggest sport in the US? Most fans dont play football. Thats expensive and you need many people to play.
Why is football(soccer) the most popular sport in the world? It takes literally a ball to practice/play. Hence why many third world countries love it and are really good at it.
Ice time cost money in the States(vast majority don't have the luxury of climate, which relates right back to not enough of ice time, which goes back to ice time costing money).
In america, football gear is generally provided, you don't own it, but they provide it most of the time.
Cost is the biggest factor. I'm not saying if money wasn't a factor it would be the most popular sport, but it still is a significant determinant.
I'm sure he had plenty of exposure to the sport while growing up in Canada. It's not a "I can't play it, so I'm not going to be a fan of it, situation." There are plenty of football fans in the States who didn't play it when they were younger.
Is it any wonder that basketball is more popular among people growing up in urban areas, or that Soccer is more popular in poorer parts of the world? Availability plays a large part in creating exposure for the sport, which is what makes a sport popular in a given area.
Not really. You can play with 3 people and all you need is a football and a street/grassy area. But to your answer the first question, it goes back to exposure.
Yes, "exposure" is a legitimate reason. "Cost" I dont buy.
Pretty much can only agree with what's been said. In many parts of the US, hockey hasn't been developed at a large enough stage for it to be more dominant than football, baseball, or basketball.
Accessibility is another huge issue - easier to grow lifelong fans when you get them playing the sport at a young age. With hockey, that can be difficult because it's so expensive to play and facilities can be few and far between.
Appealing to immigrant populations is also difficult because of these two factors; most immigrants have grown up with other sports, especially soccer, and a lot of immigrants aren't wealthy enough to enroll their kids in hockey programs.
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Last edited by CanadianHockey: 09-14-2012 at 05:55 PM.
Why is football(soccer) the most popular sport in the world? It takes literally a ball to practice/play. Hence why many third world countries love it and are really good at it.
Ice time cost money in the States(vast majority don't have the luxury of climate, which relates right back to not enough of ice time, which goes back to ice time costing money).
In america, football gear is generally provided, you don't own it, but they provide it most of the time.
Cost is the biggest factor. I'm not saying if money wasn't a factor it would be the most popular sport, but it still is a significant determinant.
As said many times already, you dont need ice to get into hockey.
You mean aside from the millions and millions of Americans that do appreciate hockey? Just because it isn't the most popular sport doesn't mean it isn't a popular sport.
You need to guide some of these 'millions' to a game once in awhile. Let's see this appreciation...
As said many times already, you dont need ice to get into hockey.
Correct, I started on the streets as you mentioned. I was fortunate enough though to be able to afford ice hockey after that. Not everyone can.
Do you know how much a sheet of ice costs for an hour in America? $350 US dollars. If ice time was free, I'd play every day.
It's a lot easier to become a fan of a game that you can play. Don't tell me roller/street hockey is the same as ice hockey, cause it's not.
You don't know how many times I've heard someone say they don't play/give it a chance because of the price. As an American, I know for a fact that expenses are a huge factor in why hockey is where it is in terms of popularity.
I think many Americans appreciate hockey. Most of the American franchises draw very well. The ones that don't draw well are perennially bad teams or in a specific region where hockey is not a priority to most people.
It mainly has to do with the lack of exposure/availability to young kids. I'm from Southern California and when growing up, I played organized baseball, football, and basketball year 'round from the age of 5 until I graduated from high school. There weren't any organized leagues for hockey anywhere near where I lived. Furthermore, from elementary school on through high school, when we would play sports in PE, it was always baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, or some other sport aside from hockey.
I'll add something else that is hindering that effort in California as well - the CIF (California's governing body for high school sports). As the sport has grown in the state (FYI, I've been closely following it for quite a few years, so I can tell you all that the sport has grown here), the CIF in its infinite insanity refuses to recognize ice hockey. Sad but true. I can't begin to tell you how many coaches, players and parents that I've talked to that would love to see the sport recognized by the CIF. But until the CIF gets their heads out of their you-know-whats, nothing will change. And if the CIF refuses to recognize ice hockey as a "legit HS sport", it won't get the (further) exposure that it really deserves.
Correct, I started on the streets as you mentioned. I was fortunate enough though to be able to afford ice hockey after that. Not everyone can.
Do you know how much a sheet of ice costs for an hour in America? $350 US dollars. If ice time was free, I'd play every day.
It's a lot easier to become a fan of a game that you can play. Don't tell me roller/street hockey is the same as ice hockey, cause it's not.
You don't know how many times I've heard someone say they don't play/give it a chance because of the price. As an American, I know for a fact that expenses are a huge factor in why hockey is where it is in terms of popularity.
Well, I see that as a BS excuse then, if they are using it. Sort of like my wife says she would hit the gym way more often if a membership wasnt so expensive...
I grew up a huge hockey fan and never played on ice. I logged thousands of hours on the road though.
hockey just buy sticks, nets, pucks, protective equipment and go to a rink
kinda answers the question
Hockey just buy a stick and a ball and go to the street.
We used to use logs from the wood pile as nets. Thats what happens when you have no money. You use your imagination to do the things you love instead of finding excuses not to.
Well, I see that as a BS excuse then, if they are using it. Sort of like my wife says she would hit the gym way more often if a membership wasnt so expensive...
I grew up a huge hockey fan and never played on ice. I logged thousands of hours on the road though.
You grew up in Canada, the exposure(mass exposure) was already there. I'm not saying it's not possible to get into ice hockey without playing it, but it exponentially rises the chances if you are able to play it(if you can afford it). It all relates back to cost.
You grew up in Canada, the exposure(mass exposure) was already there. I'm not saying it's not possible to get into ice hockey without playing it, but it exponentially rises the chances if you are able to play it(if you can afford it). It all relates back to cost.
And I think it's mainly due to exposure, like you mention.
There just isn't enough exposure to hockey in the US.
However it has grown greatly over the years and it will continue to become more and more popular unless something really screws that up.
Here is my personal story.
In central/southern Missouri, you will not find an ice rink, see an ice hockey team, etc.. in the mid 80's to late 90's. Schools don't promote it or play it, etc.. It is stricly basketball, baseball, football, even a little soccer. Heck our school was so out there that I took hunting, fishing, archery, etc.. for PE credits in highschool.
I begged our high school on a monthly basis to start up a hockey team, but I got every excuse in the book, "not enough people to join it, too much money, can't afford the gas for the bus to drive an hour each way to closest rink, etc..". Finally the year after I graduate they started a hockey team
I grew up not knowing what hockey was, I never heard of it in early school, tv, parents, etc.. One day when I was around 10 years old I was watching an old black and white TV in my bed room and I came across a hockey game being played on it, I was like instantly hooked as I was trying to figure out why there were sticks and gloves all over the ice with like 6 pairs of guys fighting, etc.. After they cleaned up that mess and everyone was back on the bench, I kept watching and trying to understand what the heck the rules were. What is this iceing they kept calling? What is offside? etc.. Needless to say I kept watching each game that would come on TV until I finally learned all the rules on my own. By time I was 13 I was playing after school on the parking lot with some other people in school I managed to introduce hockey to. By time I was 15 I was playing in the closest rinks to my house for amature leagues. By time I was 18... well lets say I never played again, I grew up fast.
Here I am pushing 40 now, and I have managed to get both my parents to watch hockey every season like I do. My wife and kids still don't watch it like I do but they know what it is.
The moral of all this story is I am sure there are millions of kids out there just like I was, didn't have a clue what the heck hockey was until finding it on their own. Their parents don't show them, their schools don't promote it, etc..
You need to guide some of these 'millions' to a game once in awhile. Let's see this appreciation...
Certainly.
Each NHL team plays 41 home games during the regular season. For every team that averages 15,000 home attendance, that's 615,000 during the course of the regular season. For 16,000, this number increases to 656,000. For 17,000, it goes up to 697,000.
There are 23 American-based NHL teams. Using simple math, we can deduce that something in the neighborhood of 13,000,000 people watch hockey in person in a given season. This does not include the postseason, or the preseason. Nor does it include the USHL, the college game, or any of the minor leagues.
And I think it's mainly due to exposure, like you mention.
It's obviously a combination. I guess we can put it as: exposure, cost, climate(which relates back to cost and exposure), in no specific order.
I just think of it as, if cost weren't a problem then exposure would be significant. If exposure wasn't an issue, then cost would still be a significant detractor.
Each NHL team plays 41 home games during the regular season. For every team that averages 15,000 home attendance, that's 615,000 during the course of the regular season. For 16,000, this number increases to 656,000. For 17,000, it goes up to 697,000.
There are 23 American-based NHL teams. Using simple math, we can deduce that something in the neighborhood of 13,000,000 people watch hockey in person in a given season. This does not include the postseason, or the preseason. Nor does it include the USHL, the college game, or any of the minor leagues.
Your math is a bit funny.
You assume that it's always different individuals at every game, and everyone goes once?
For the record, there are obviously millions of hockey fans in the States.
I play hockey?
