There are a lot of things that drew me into hockey. Among them was that it was the last sport to sacrifice entertainment value in exchange for marketability. In other words, they were the last to sell out. Notice the use of the past tense.
The most obvious component of selling out was the rule changes after the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season. The rules padded goal scoring stats. They also slowed the game down while reducing the value of skill and work ethic. I’m not going to go into detail here because I have already been ranting about the damage that the rules have done to the game.
The league has also tried to create an outdoor showcase event. What is this event? It’s a day that the league can promote one of the few teams they like by changing the rules of a game in the middle of the season. Since outdoor stadiums can seat more than indoor arenas, they can also brag about attendance for those games. Ultimately, the games are about as disappointing as every Super Bowl ever played (I assume based on the insane hype. As a non-conformist, I don’t actually watch the Super Bowl).
I even remember watching a hockey game just for the camera to pan over to Vince Vaughn. He had a stupid smile on his face and seemed to acknowledge the camera more than the game. It’s just too bad that the fans are being stabbed in the back for the benefit of mediocre actors.
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