Coming from a young long time hockey fan, a lot of the issues you brought up are at least partially a result of hockey tending to have an older, opposed to change, core audience. As long as the NHL keeps brining in younger fans and stops catering to those who want the game to go back to how it was 30 years ago, it will definitely help start to solve these issues.
Hockey is pretty close to religion here in the Czech Republic. I always wanted to be a goalie but my parents didn't even have a car back in the day so that sh*t got sorted pretty quick and I feel the heartbreak and emptiness to this day. Hats off to the hockey parents.
It's never too late to start my man. I wanted to play as a kid myself but my parents could never afford it... but I now play as an adult and is a huge part of my happiness. Idk if your area has any adult leagues but I guarantee you that if they do they have some other beginners playing just like you. It'd be even better if there was some kind of learn to play program in your area. I'd at least look into it. Especially as a goalie... leagues are ALWAYS in need of goalies.
Hockey is not a school sport.... SO parents have to buy all the equipment and usually have to drive their kids to practice at 5 am. Also, because kids grow fast, you need to buy new equipment every year. The reason people don't play hockey is because it requires a lot of wealth, resources and the parents have to really be into it.
it IS a school sport in most of the Northern states, but it's a lot like lacrosse - only the wealthiest of public + private schools tend to have it and those teams still make you pay for all your own gear, making it even more discriminatory than it already is.
yea! i know schools that had it but just like only up north, just some of them- but def super expensive & hard sport to play, around me was mostly club
@@FlamesEnjoyerin Montreal, high school hockey is very popular. So much so that they are recruiting the best players away from minor hockey associations. Our local minor hockey associations have had to consolidate their double letter programs to stay competitive.
I am proudly a diehard Florida Panthers fan since long before they won the cup. They said hockey wouldn't make it in South Florida. For me it is a dream come true with how far hockey has come in Florida. 1992 and 1993 when the Panthers and Lightning entered into the league. If you live in Florida and want to get into hockey, choose your team. You can't cheer for both Lightning and Panthers. I want to play my role in intensifying the Panthers vs Lightning Rivalry.
I'd suggest looking into the PWHL is you haven't already. It's the latest attempt at creating a women's hockey league. They stream the games onto UA-cam (unless your're in Canada) and the players who've been interviewed by podcasts show a lot more personality than your typical NHL player, IMHO. Plus all the teams are filled with talent from the national level. With Aerin Frankel and Hillary Knight playing on the Boston Fleet to Marie-Philip Poulin and Anne-Renee Desbiens playing for the Montreal Victoire and Sarah Nurse and Renata Fast on the Toronto Sceptres.
Couple of thoughts 1) As a 40-something Flyers fan, there was a time when the team owned the city and I’m not just talking about the 1970’s. Since last winning the Cup in 1975, the Flyers have been to the Stanley Cup Final 6 times (only to lose to the most dominant team of that era). Nevertheless, people were excited Flyers, you saw black and orange jerseys everywhere. Names like Poulin, Tocchet, Hextall, Lindros, LeClaire, Desjardins, etc. were household names. The 2010 run had the city buzzing. The lack of success over that past decade coupled with the success of the Eagles and Phillies have made the Flyers and hockey in general on the back burner on the city’s sports scene. And Philadelphia is not alone, in a lot of American cities, unless the local team is doing well, hockey is going to be an afterthought. This is even true in hockey cities like Boston and Detroit. 2) I’m a person of color who also played hockey in high school. I was able to do so, because my school provided equipment, outside of skates and stick. At the time, if you had a modicum of talent, the private schools recruited you, so my school would take anyone who can ice skate. Also I had the unconditional love of my immigrant parents, because they thought this sport is insane. 3) My interest in hockey did not start on the ice, but on the street. Street hockey was very popular, and it was something we did after school. We played on feet, sometimes rollerblades. We had minimal equipment, just gloves and stick. Some of us had extra sticks for kids who didn’t have one. We would have some goaltending equipment or we would just put a garbage can in the goal. You don’t necessarily have to be skating at the rink to get into it. Ball hockey is an affordable alternative to ice hockey 4) The NHL is focused on marketing teams and not players. It’s why we see the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers play on national TV all the time. What I like about NBA fans is they will watch games that don’t involve their team, because they know it is going to be a good game. Flyers’ will only watch Flyers’ games, they will not watch an Oilers vs. Capitals game, even though it will have two of the biggest names in the sport. The NHL’s fortunes really depend on the success of the big market teams. The current player you should know is Connor McDavid, he’s to hockey what Steph or Mahomes are to their respective sport. However, McDavid plays for the Edmonton Oilers, he doesn’t have the same notoriety is he plays in a provincial Canadian city instead of New York, Philly, Chicago, etc.
That’s even an issue here in Canada. It’s ridiculously expensive. Also, your climate in Philly is the exact same as the majority of Canadians. Just sayin…
Really interesting video. I'm an NHL fan from the UK. My team is the Boston Bruins. My local team here in the UK is the Nottingham Panthers. I'd love the sport to become more popular here in the UK. But I feel sometimes you have to make decisions that might make some people stop watching, but the number of people showing enthusiasm in the sport will be much greater than the number switching off from it.
As a Quebecker i dont think a sports team as ever given such cultural power and strenght to its nation like the Habs did. Like 100+ years and for a long time they represented us and lived with us like a religion and when the Nordiques were here, it was like politics man. At the family table we dont talk about religion, politics and if you like the Habs or the Nordiques it tore famillies appart, thats how much the Habs matter in our culture. Hell les Canadiens de Montreal, its in french ffs.
I’m black and from Detroit, for all my life hockey’s always been my favorite sport over football or basketball. Obviously the best years of the Red Wings were a huge part of my life. Even played the sport for a while until life changed. None of the people around me were fans of the game. I was that “whitewashed Oreo cookie” people used to call me as a kid. Hell even grew up on rock music instead of hip hop, grew up playing EA Sports NHL every single year too. But yeah I’d say one big change to make the sport more appealing would be the marketing efforts. But I don’t feel that’ll happen unless Gary Bettman steps down as commissioner. Which needs to happen, but will it? Nobody knows unfortunately.
If you really like the game, I'm sure you'll love the World Juniors it goes on every year from December 26 to Jan 5th, they're in the Semi Finals now and it's Sweden v Finland, and USA v Czechia! Would suggest watching next year tho, since you need to know the stories beforehand and watch this tourney in full to love it to it's fullest content! Sad to see my Country lose but they didn't choose their best players and the team this year was so undisciplined that it came back to bite them! This was supposed to be the year we took back Gold in the Nations Capital/Home Soil! But oh well, next year when it's in Minnesota I'm sure they'll bring it back!
@ yea the World Juniors will showcase the Worlds top prospects the best 17-19 year olds sometimes even occasionally 16! Jett Luchanko who’s a part of the Flyers organization was in it this year playing for his home nation of Canada! Last years World Juniors the USA won, but prior years since 2020 Canada has won 3 gold that being ‘20, ‘22, and ‘23! And then USA gold for ‘21 and 24’ I’m hoping that Sweden will take it this year tho and get their redemption since USA embarrassed them last year when they played on home soil and lost 6-2 in the final! The World Juniors is amazing, the tourney has lots of upsets and the games could go either way, and see potential Cinderella stories! Like Latvia almost did this year, they won against my nation for the first time ever in the tourney with a 3-2 win in shootout, they just fell one goal short to winning against Sweden in the Quarters!
I’ll second this. I find the World Juniors the second best hockey to watch behind the playoffs. Always great rivalries like Canada vs US and Cinderellas every year. You can cheer for whichever team has your team’s prospects. Always fun when 2 of your prospects are on a team like Slovakia, and now you’re a Slovak hockey fan for the next couple years! In all it’s a great way to see young stars before they’re in the NHL.
Nah... the US will win it again in Minnesota for sure. Canada has alot more problems than just "not choosing their best". I've heard that excuse a million times since they lost. Czechia eliminated them last year as well. Czechia is a great team and deserves the recognition of being an annual contender now instead of Canadians giving their team every excuse in the book as to why they lost. They were outplayed period.
@@Remmy0930 lmfao that’s just not factual whatsoever! First of all the last year was factual to know they weren’t gonna make it far because of the mid roster they gave! This year they could’ve sent two full own teams that could’ve competed, no 5 on 5 goals came from the opposition the times they caught up, they were undisciplined and did not stay out of the box and that’s due to the coaches fault for not discipling his team not surprising because he’s a crap coach in the minor league, and since Anholt the GM of Hockey Canadas contract expired today, you’re gonna expect a lot of changes, especially if Dale Hunter is at the helm! Even before this tourney USA fans MBonHockey and Graveith saw Canada taking it this year since they had good depth, but due to the organizations decisions and coaching they failed if they were coached properly they would’ve at least made it to the medal round games! And next year since changes are gonna be made due to Anholt not getting extended is a clear sign that there’s gonna be changes, and not have galaxy brains running the show, even folks of other nations agree with that from other social media platforms! MBonHockey even just posted a story earlier about it, he’s scared because he knows if it’s the guys that played the U18 World Juniors that won the gold last year, he knows they’re powerful, most of the US guys aren’t gonna be in next years due to them being too old for it, you’re only gonna see a few guys returning
Agreed with everything you said here. I'm a Flyers fan that lives in Tampa. You're right about the cost but I thought the Snider Youth Hockey & Education was helping with that. I too am frustrated how piss poor the marketing is. I named dropped Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. Nothing but crickets. Silver lining hockey has it's own Pat McAfee in Paul Bissonette. What's trending on the Bleacher Report channel is that football players (LA Chargers/Dallas Cowboys/Buffalo Bills) go to a hockey game and put a mics on them. It turned out great, finally someone is trying. I wouldn't worry too much about going to a game. When I went to a Lightning v. Flyers game in Amalie Arena I low key practiced my judo chop. Overall it was a great time pretty sure you would too. I truly think people go to Flyers games to see Gritty. Apologies for the Novel Keep doing what you're doing
thanks so much for the comment! i totally agree the hockey just isnt marketed well and it’s sad bc the sport is really fun to watch- hopefully i’ll be at game soon with gritty!
In what world is hockey the most boring sport? Coz it sure the hell ain't this one. I also have no idea where you got this unwelcoming fan base, not flashy and no stars points from. You are confusing popular with quality. Lots of people are lowest common denominator simpletons, there's your answer.
That thumbnail seems to be a bit click baity. She doesn't even mention it being boring once in the actual video, so I don't think she actually thinks that.
@@KellyTakesSports Here's my take on this, the thumbnail here markets the sport as "boring" which I'm fine if you think that, but nowhere in the points you make does it mention or give actual reasons the sport can be boring. In reality Hockey is one of the most action packed games out there. On another note the inclusivity is much more of a local thing then a league thing, the NHL has no control over which people attend games more or are involved, it's much more the cost and where it is more than anything. Someone shouldn't be turned off by a sport because in shorthand terms, less "insert ethnicity here" people go. Although I do wish it was more "inclusive", this is much more of a problem that can only be solved when you get rid of corporations. The marketing stars is definitely a critique I agree with. You see the people do more marketing for the sport than the league itself. But I will say that the sport being a predominantly cold sport, a predominantly white sport, and other such critiques don't hold ground when it's much more of a city issue than a league issue. Plus, none of these critiques other then the "there's not enough stops in play" contribute to it being boring. And I can't even agree with that critique, because stopping the play more often would make the game a slow sport. Imagine the 2 line pass was brought back. You'd get more stoppages of play, yes. But it just slows down the game to a point where it isn't as arcady as it is due to the fact that its a boarded game, unlike football where play must happen within a certain point of time, and basketball and soccer where the game is rarely brought to a complete halt. The style of hockey completely ruins the critique. I do agree with some criticism about the game, but with the context you gave it making it look like a NHL problem, when it's more of a community problem. And the fact the thumbnail said the sport is boring other than unpopular, is tough to watch. Love your content though, just thought id clear things and maybe give you some construction for the future built on anything other than misunderstanding
As a former hockey player from Grand Forks, ND, it's an expensive sport. And hockey here is everything, it's practically a religion. Although the season isn't so great, Sioux hockey games are electrifying. Since I'm in college right now, I don't get much time to watch the NHL, every year I try to watch the playoffs though, and that's insane to watch altogether. That and the NCAA tournament. Me and my dad watch until the end, no matter if our team gets knocked out of the tournament or not, we love to see who wins. And our town has three big high school hockey teams, Red River (my own former school), Central, and EGF (East Grand Forks). And I do have to agree, the marketing needs to be better, the game itself is seriously expensive, and it takes a while to get the hang of the game. And everyone I have spoken to about the game, the first time they watch the game, they get hooked immediately. Also, it's incredibly rare for my town to even be mentioned anywhere. One last thing to note, it won't be for everyone for how physical the game is, I've known some people who get genuinely scared because of the physicality of the game, and just all the motion of the game in general.
I'm Canadian and I can name exactly two NFL players, and one of them is retired I think (not 100% sure about that). But yeah, the main issue with hockey is definitely the accessibility. It's expensive, and requires ice to be played. The marketing of the players is also an issue, but I feel like the league has gotten better at that these past few years. I'm hoping it continues to grow among people my age, I'm only 21 (which I'd say is fairly young for a passionate hockey fan). This is awesome to see though, I think you might fall under three different hockey-fan minorities lmao
The main reason is that in the 90s and earlier 2000s it was a promoted because less conducive to gambling as there is no large "upset" factor that bookies could exploit and thus less Vegas advertising promotions.
Hockey is affordable when played on a local frozen pond for zero dollars. When you have to pay for maintenance of a rink, the game becomes much less accessible. Affordability is the reason so many kids play the game in places like Minnesota and northern Michigan, and why Canada considers itself to be hockey's natural home.
I totally understand where you're coming from but I will push back on your take some. I believe that it's a region bias and if you grew up in Toronto or the Twin Cites you'd have a different opinion which is just human nature. One's environment obviously affects our perspective greatly. You're final take is straight up $$! Once you go to that first live game (maybe do a Penn St or a Boston/Boston College game), you have to sit lower level. Not talking about the most $$ next to glass but in the middle of the lower level. You'll think like myself and feel their isn't anything else that con compare.
playing the sport (even at a recreational/bascic level; whether that's skating or playing road hockey) is the easiest way to connect with it and a lot of people haven't had that experience. F1 and UFC are popular because a lot of people have either driven before or been in a care and people have fought lol
I also feel like people have the perception that ice hockey can only survive in the colder locations. And in terms of playing outside of school/college/university, this would be pretty true. But there's another video I watched about ice hockey in Kenya, Africa, and how they are showing interest in the sport. In terms of an arena, if they have quality air filtration systems, quality ice and all else, if professional sports are good in a specific location and have proven success, ice hockey could also stand a chance of success. I feel like with the globalisation of the NHL, that even with crazy different time zones, it could work in locations such as Amsterdam, Stockholm, Dubai, and Helsinki, as well as other North American locations like Houston. I know Houston tried ice hockey in the past, but I sometimes feel there's not enough energy put into generating success in certain places.
Hey! I watch hockey! Go to 15+ Flyers games a year. Follow lots of hockey podcasts and vlogs. Stream ESPN+ just for hockey, and headed to Montreal next month for a week of 4 Nations games. AA/NA female, 70, from south, played field hockey in high school. And I do all that alone! Also live in Philadelphia.
I think its not as much about they way people who watch hockey look, but more about the vibe the fans/its culture gives. I’ve realized hockey fans really like to gatekeep the sport sometimes, and aren’t the most welcoming to new fans who maybe said something that doesn’t make sense or have an unpopular opinion because they don’t know much about the sport. Instead of gently correcting them or helping to teach, some fans will just get all condescending and hate on these new fans, making it less likely for them to come back, watch the sport, and keep participating in the community, which I don’t blame them for. Obviously this isn’t everyone but I’ve definitely seen it multiple times.
I Played in a Floor Hockey League in middle I wanted to play Ice Hockey but like u said have to start very young and It's Expensive that's why I stuck with Soccer
I play AA hockey in Canada, but I don't really watch it because I just don't feel the need to, and I find watching sports to be boring because it's just as fun as playing them.
Your observations are definitely valid and stuff that has been recognized by others as well as areas to improve on, but change is hard because of the "how things have always been done" mob and other factors. - There is definitely too many games in the regular season, but those 41 home games generate so much sweet sweet revenue for the owner that I doubt that would change. And the players wouldn't probably take less money to play less games either. - Hockey not having any marketable stars has been a talking point over the years and they've been trying to address it but it doesn't help that most hockey players (like Connor McDavid) just want to play hockey and don't seem to care or have the personality to be a marketable star. On the other hand the NHL marketing department will also need to do a much better job, and maybe think more out of the box. - In the end, hockey being an expensive sport to play will be always its downfall in the US. More kids will play football, baseball, basketball and also soccer in school and are therefore more likely to watch those sports as well. And it will be pretty much impossible to change that due to how easy those sports are to pick up compared to hockey. - On a more positive note, the upcoming 4 nations tournament and NHL players playing in the Olympics 2026 are good opportunities to market and grow the game.
lol a lot more people watch hockey than basketball football or baseball. Its the third most popular sport on Earth behind soccer and cricket. Just because people in alabama dont watch doesnt mean anything.
Honestly I love hockey. I think the only thing that annoys me is the paywall now to watch nhl/nba even NFL. You need to subscribe to the apps or get a package when you already pay for cable (if you even do that).
Honestly, I only started seriously following hocket after I'd read one too many hockey-centered MM romance novel. That's how not around the sport is in so many markets 😂😂😂😂
Hockey is a lot more inclusive that American football. Hockey is popular in dozens of different countries, nationalities, languages, etc. That is true diversity. Look beyond the skin colour. American football is popular in one country, all the players are from one country, basically all the same. No real diversity beyond skin colour.
Sure, but American football has kids of all socioeconomic backgrounds playing it. Hockey has trended towards being an upper-middle class sport for decades
Also, on the podcasts note, I love the steve dangle pod, and if you don’t get offended too easily and love the joking around aspect what chaos is also a great one
The hoopla is a poison pill. The NBA is absolutely collapsing on itself because of “superstar” “player empowerment” era. So much of the NBA revenue has been outsourced to shoe deals and China.
@ when that star is still just a “player” the players in the NBA want the drama and WWE storyline now. Especially since the league is a nepobaby rich kid 3 chucking fest. They also control the league and how it’s run. Yes is NHL too far the other way? Yea the cliche, hardworking, daughter dater thing is not how you sell a league. It also doesn’t help the “2 YT” issues, because those cliches have been returned to being stereotypes that black commentators have used to mean “un-athletic” or “niche skills sports”. Yes I understand there is an issue with “black QB” “athletic QB”, but the point was to remove the term, not to just relabel everything you don’t want to compete with as “un-athletic”.
@@mramisuzuki6962 Dude. If you wanna talk WWE drama, hockey is literally the only major team sport that glorifies fighting. They're even trying to bring back the enforcer hype now -- just look at Matt Rempe. Also, I'm not sure you really wanna level the nepo baby charge at the NBA because the NHL is absolutely STACKED with nepo babies. They're literally everywhere. Finally, I don't think anyone smart has ever accused NHL players of being unathletic. That's not the issue reasonable people point to when they say the league is too white. They just mean the show severely lacks diversity and is therefore not appealing to many demographics, which in turns looses it viewership and money. Also, it makes it look racist.
I feel like the NBA doesn't have enough of those "superstars". Guys like Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, etc. just don't move me like the era of guys like Lebron, Steph, Kobe, etc. Even though they're immensely talented, I just couldn't care less for them.
somewhat agree but the no defense and chucking up 500 three pointers a game is hurting it more than the diva players. i remember last year being on espn and they have the game results at the very top of first page and just randomly noticing a 140 - 145 game , at first i was like oh must of been two overtimes , out of curiosity i look and that was the score to a normal four quarter game. i think that is more so hurting the league more than anything.
5:06 I think player marketing is probably the biggest thing. In recent years they’ve done a good job, I think as many people know Bedard as Webanyama. The Documentary of the playoffs last year (called Faceoff) was a great step forward as well. There are other things like how for the past decade the best NHL players weren’t in the Olympics or other international events. This has changed, like, this year, and now the NHL is leaning into it with the 4 nations cup (Best of Finland, Sweden, USA, and Canada playing against each other) this February. I think the game has a good future.
thanks for the comment! yea i think a little more player marketing would help viewership plus it’s nice for the players to get recognition for their crazy talent
i think that's a American thing about marketing of players. in Canada you can't watch tv for a whole 10 minutes without seeing a hockey player promoting a company and it gets even worse when you're watching local broadcasts. i made the mistake of watching Montreal game on a Toronto channel and got bombarded by Austin Mathews promoting things. they even gave him his own song and it was as you guessed cringe
Hey, hockey fan here. So glad you decided to talk about my favourite sport 😊 I can totally see where you're coming from. I don't necessarily look at it the same way, but that only reminds me of how culture matters. I'm not from the US and I can totally see how we might weigh some factors quite differently. I actually love hockey isn't over-marketised. My number 1 nightmare is they turn a game into a chaos of advertisement and sideshows taking attention and effort away from the main thing: what is actually happening on the ice 😅 the whiteness factor of hockey is something that gets mentioned all the time, I totally understand why and I genuinely hope to see more diversity being welcomed into the beautiful game. However, my own cultural perspective just doesn't allow me to understand why this should be such an intimidating factor for non-whites approaching the game (again, I can totally see how different cultures may look differently at the same thing). By US standards, I'm not considered white. I fell in love with hockey from literally the first time I watched a game. I couldn't care less about the skin colour of players, I loved the sport, I decided I wanted to play. In the country I live in, hockey isn't traditional at all, and every time I find a hockey player from my country, we all dream to see it spread down here, even if our ethnicity is underrepresented in the NHL and other major hockey leagues out there. We don't feel intimidated, quite the opposite, we tend to wish to be pioneers of the game we love in our country :)
Doesn't make sense to point out the ethnicity thing as if that's something the league has much control over. What do you want them to do? Give out free tickets to games based on ethnicity? That's not really fair and would rub a lot of people the wrong way. You can't make people go to these games. And as far as on the player side of things, there have been some really good black players for example; Jarome Iginla, Grant Fuhr, P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmons, Evander Kane, Anthony Duclair. But it's a league of best on best. If there isn't as much representation for one specific group then its because not enough are playing at that high of a level. I will say though there are some programs to make the sport more accessible, but not nearly enough. My family was poor and we didn't have anything like that, so I couldn't try playing until I was older and by then the skill gap is too much.
I live in the Philadelphia area and I'm confused as to how it's not popular. There are rinks, programs, and leagues everywhere, and for all levels. I'm a figure skater and there's two or three area high school teams using our rink during the season. Maybe it's more popular in the suburbs than the actual city?
@KellyTakesSports I'm from ChesCo and we have quite a few rinks. I do live in a more affluent suburb, which might be part of it. But we definitely have a lot of hockey and figure skating around here.
As I Canadian hockey fan/someone who used to play, I gotta say I'm quite the opposite. I know next to nothing about football and basketball. I can name Patrick mahomes and that other guy who won like 5 super bowls? Tom Brady (I had to look him up again). And for NBA I can name steph Curry and Lebron, not including Micheal Jordan. I couldn't even tell you all the team names. We're also very multi cultural in Canada so it's more normal to see people of colour care about the sport. I like that you like the fights tho! A lot of people just getting into hockey think it's a problem, and I find it quite upsetting when they do. It's a part of the sport's culture/soul
I'm from Minnesota, where people eat, drink, sleep hockey. Our high school hockey tournament is as big as Texas football and we have hockey day Minnesota every year. The thumbnail with the "most boring sport" got me to click on it haha, cuz it's easily the best sport to watch live, but could see how it could be boring on TV. Now that being said, as a Minnesotan, I never even thought about hockey not being popular, but you make some good points that I hadn't thought about. Subscribed! I hope you cover some PWHL as well, it's some fun hockey!
Nah girl there's actually many lightskins that follow hockey, including me and you, but here in canada its more normal I'll say lol. And there's a bunch in the nhl, ahl, europe. Its the same thing why it's people in cold areas from the south aren't exposed to it, including most white folks from most of europe.. but here in multicultural montreal every race likes hockey lol.
If you're looking for some great hockey content, I highly recommend the UA-cam channel Hockey Psychology. He provides weekly recaps where he talks about what happened in the NHL during that particular week, mixed in with some humour related to different storylines and things like that
Good points. I grew up in VT. Everyone loves it. People who don't play organized still play pickup. We'd drive to Montreal to see games. The team has a history like the YANKEES. Players are the biggest celebrities in town. NHL put too many teams in warm climates. Loses it's culture
@@KellyTakesSports phillies are quite possibly the only team in the league who have enthusiastic/hyped atmospheres all year round. for most all teams that only shows up in the playoffs or down the stretch in playoff race games. but phillies games seem to be always rowdy and lots of extremely loud cheering for basically every home game. i'm sure if they get low in the standings that stops but if they're keeping a decent record the fans are really into every game.
Even as a Canadian, hockey never caught on for me during my childhood. Not only is it expensive as hell to play, but there's also this "it's a white kids game" type of stigma around it. I eventually came around to it, but only as a viewer. When it comes to the game itself, it's honestly one of the most fair and entertaining sports. Coming from someone that mainly watches soccer, it's refreshing to see a sport that isn't so dominated by certain teams winning just because they have the richest foreign owner.
Seems like a lot of very shallow and subjective takes... my thoughts on a couple; 1. Ethnicity: such an odd take... "F1 feels inclusive because black people watches it" - F1 has 1, past and present, black driver and has never had targeted advertising towards african americans. NHL doesn't have a lot of black athletes either, but they've had advertisement meant to encourage diverse viewership and trying to be more open and inviting (see; Hockey is for everyone campaign). So since you mentioned your marketing degree, in your expert opinion, what's missing here? one doesn't care one way or another, and it feels inclusive to you, other makes an effort and you feel like you have to mentally prepare yourself to go into a stadium with a majority of white people (would you consider yourself racist? i personally wouldn't even notice a person of color enter the stadium, because we're there to enjoy our favorite sport. And if i went to a Basketball game i wouldn't think twice about it or who might be there. Seems like kind of a racist mindset, just saying). 2. Superstars: you can tell me so many of *your* team's stars? i could tell you all of mine, stars or not, i'm a Detroit Lions/red Wings/Tigers fan (trying to get into Pistons, but i'm norwegian so i follow a LOT of ski sports too, and there's only so much time in a day and season when you're not really all that into the sport to begin with. but i'm coming around to it) And i can tell you all the players, of the past 10 years of players, I can even name 10 players on every other team in the NHL. If you're in the fandom bubble, you definitely get exposed to the superstars. But on the flipside, i could possibly mention 5 basketball players (Shaq, Lebron, Kobe, Muggsy Bogues, Jordan, Rodman, that co-host with Shaq i could probably name some other day, feel like i've heard the name Sakic? Cunningham is the only name i know on the Pistons). Why is it like that? who knows, feels like the hockey guys are more reserved and low-key, like have you ever watched an interview with Connor McDavid? That's the best player in hockey, possibly ever, and no amount of pushing and advertising would make that man seem like a megastar. 3. Mentions in public; You said you can't go anywhere in philly without seeing eagles logos. Well in 1975 you probably would feel the same about the Flyers logo. first of all, NFL is WAY bigger than the NHL, and the Eagles have had a lot more recent success than the Flyers. But the Eagles have had 1 championship parade, the Flyers have had 2. and their popularity were likely flipped during their respective parades. Lastly i'll say this; Hockey isn't less popular because it's not being advertised, inclusive or doesn't have interesting enough superstars. It's less popular because they land in the middle of the barriers to entry. You're never, ever, going to be a F1 racecar driver, and you might not even want to, but the sheer cost of it is staggering. But you can pick up a ball and find a hoop to shoot it through, or a patch of grass to run around on. what you CAN, but not very easily, is learn to skate at a high enough level where you can start holding a stick and move freely in all directions, buy very expensive gear and have enough friends to shoot the little vulcanized rubber disc around a couple of hours. This has been known and talked about for ages, it's a high barrier of entry to do yourself, so it becomes a peripheral sport until you truly check it out, and almost anyone who does loves it, but it's not so high the barrier of entry is inconsequential in and of itself so you can go ahead and just enjoy it as a viewing experience.
I mean, you made some points, but I still think mine are all valid critiques; the NHL is nowhere near as popular as the NFL & NBA in America, so these were just the reasons that I feel are holding back the league. And F1 feels inclusive because SO many cultures watch, not just black people😭 and like yeah the flyers WERE popular not so much now... these are my takes to make it popular now!
There is not a single time in recorded history where the Philadelphia Flyers were more popular than the Philadelphia Eagles. The Philadelphia Phillies were basically one of the best teams in baseball from 2007 to 2011 and won a World Series and they weren't more popular than the Eagles, either.
Good vid. As a hockey player and fan, I agree with many of your takes here especially low accessibility, low diversity, and poor marketing. On accessibility, yep it can make you feel part of a club and that is cool in SOME ways. But, as to the other two points, there’s no advantages there. My team has 3 African Americans.. and that is not typical at all; even slightly better marketing would hopefully bring more people in and in turn maybe make the game more accessible
Too expensive to play, cable cutting, poor marketing, worst officiating in pro sports, naturally partial to cold climates (hence more white players) My fav player of all time was Jarome Iginla, black Canadian player who was the best goal scorer of the late 90's and 2000's and they never even tried bothering using that to market to the black community.
Just a correction F1 isn't just rich ehote guys. There are drivers frm different countries.in F1. F1 is diverse and very invlusive. Now Nascar is lgit like one black guy at the top level with one black guy on the second level. There are no female drivers at all.
Um... but we do gatekeeper. Funny how 90% of NHL teams have to thrive in the states for the big league to survive and make as much money as it does, but gatekeeping Canadians like yourself keep pissing all over the American fanbase and players. And you should care after that embarrassing ass whooping the Americans put on you again in the WJC. It's all good, Canada will be another state of ours soon anyway and maybe you'll start winning gold again. Stop with the "bUt iT's oUr SpOrrrrrT" shit because clearly if you've been keeping up the game has outgrown Canada and keeps expanding. And if you TRULY loved the game you would WANT that, not gatekeep and keep dissing other countries and their love of the game. A little fact for you, without Scotland and England ice hockey would have never been a thing. Hockey is international and created with the help of multiple cultures.
Hockey is a niche sport and should stay that way. It doesnt need to be "bigger". The players are normal, intelligent guys, not the ego maniacs of other sports. They have been expanding into warm markets trying to get more money, but it has killed the spirit of the sport. Hockey is a cold winter sport and always should have stayed that way.
Happy 2025. I've been an NHL fan on & off for a few years now. I've always been more of a MLB fan, but following two teams The Oilers & The Flyers has got me more interested in the sport as a whole. Watching in 🇬🇧 ❤🏒
Coming from a young long time hockey fan, a lot of the issues you brought up are at least partially a result of hockey tending to have an older, opposed to change, core audience. As long as the NHL keeps brining in younger fans and stops catering to those who want the game to go back to how it was 30 years ago, it will definitely help start to solve these issues.
thank you for this comment! yeah that definitely makes a lot of sense
Exactly!!!
Unfortunately you’re right, they have to focus on bringing in kids and younger fans before they grapple onto other sports
Hockey is pretty close to religion here in the Czech Republic. I always wanted to be a goalie but my parents didn't even have a car back in the day so that sh*t got sorted pretty quick and I feel the heartbreak and emptiness to this day. Hats off to the hockey parents.
It's never too late to start my man. I wanted to play as a kid myself but my parents could never afford it... but I now play as an adult and is a huge part of my happiness. Idk if your area has any adult leagues but I guarantee you that if they do they have some other beginners playing just like you. It'd be even better if there was some kind of learn to play program in your area. I'd at least look into it. Especially as a goalie... leagues are ALWAYS in need of goalies.
Similar to in 🇨🇦 😊
Hockey is not a school sport.... SO parents have to buy all the equipment and usually have to drive their kids to practice at 5 am. Also, because kids grow fast, you need to buy new equipment every year.
The reason people don't play hockey is because it requires a lot of wealth, resources and the parents have to really be into it.
it IS a school sport in most of the Northern states, but it's a lot like lacrosse - only the wealthiest of public + private schools tend to have it and those teams still make you pay for all your own gear, making it even more discriminatory than it already is.
yea! i know schools that had it but just like only up north, just some of them- but def super expensive & hard sport to play, around me was mostly club
@@berke2336 my school has a rink next door and no team. High school hockey isnt a thing in Canada or its super rare
@@FlamesEnjoyerin Montreal, high school hockey is very popular. So much so that they are recruiting the best players away from minor hockey associations. Our local minor hockey associations have had to consolidate their double letter programs to stay competitive.
I am proudly a diehard Florida Panthers fan since long before they won the cup. They said hockey wouldn't make it in South Florida. For me it is a dream come true with how far hockey has come in Florida. 1992 and 1993 when the Panthers and Lightning entered into the league. If you live in Florida and want to get into hockey, choose your team. You can't cheer for both Lightning and Panthers. I want to play my role in intensifying the Panthers vs Lightning Rivalry.
I'd suggest looking into the PWHL is you haven't already. It's the latest attempt at creating a women's hockey league. They stream the games onto UA-cam (unless your're in Canada) and the players who've been interviewed by podcasts show a lot more personality than your typical NHL player, IMHO. Plus all the teams are filled with talent from the national level. With Aerin Frankel and Hillary Knight playing on the Boston Fleet to Marie-Philip Poulin and Anne-Renee Desbiens playing for the Montreal Victoire and Sarah Nurse and Renata Fast on the Toronto Sceptres.
Couple of thoughts
1) As a 40-something Flyers fan, there was a time when the team owned the city and I’m not just talking about the 1970’s. Since last winning the Cup in 1975, the Flyers have been to the Stanley Cup Final 6 times (only to lose to the most dominant team of that era). Nevertheless, people were excited Flyers, you saw black and orange jerseys everywhere. Names like Poulin, Tocchet, Hextall, Lindros, LeClaire, Desjardins, etc. were household names. The 2010 run had the city buzzing. The lack of success over that past decade coupled with the success of the Eagles and Phillies have made the Flyers and hockey in general on the back burner on the city’s sports scene. And Philadelphia is not alone, in a lot of American cities, unless the local team is doing well, hockey is going to be an afterthought. This is even true in hockey cities like Boston and Detroit.
2) I’m a person of color who also played hockey in high school. I was able to do so, because my school provided equipment, outside of skates and stick. At the time, if you had a modicum of talent, the private schools recruited you, so my school would take anyone who can ice skate. Also I had the unconditional love of my immigrant parents, because they thought this sport is insane.
3) My interest in hockey did not start on the ice, but on the street. Street hockey was very popular, and it was something we did after school. We played on feet, sometimes rollerblades. We had minimal equipment, just gloves and stick. Some of us had extra sticks for kids who didn’t have one. We would have some goaltending equipment or we would just put a garbage can in the goal. You don’t necessarily have to be skating at the rink to get into it. Ball hockey is an affordable alternative to ice hockey
4) The NHL is focused on marketing teams and not players. It’s why we see the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers play on national TV all the time. What I like about NBA fans is they will watch games that don’t involve their team, because they know it is going to be a good game. Flyers’ will only watch Flyers’ games, they will not watch an Oilers vs. Capitals game, even though it will have two of the biggest names in the sport. The NHL’s fortunes really depend on the success of the big market teams. The current player you should know is Connor McDavid, he’s to hockey what Steph or Mahomes are to their respective sport. However, McDavid plays for the Edmonton Oilers, he doesn’t have the same notoriety is he plays in a provincial Canadian city instead of New York, Philly, Chicago, etc.
philly fans were insane, they wanted to see a dead body every game.
Hockey psychology is really good
That’s even an issue here in Canada. It’s ridiculously expensive. Also, your climate in Philly is the exact same as the majority of Canadians. Just sayin…
hmmm maybe, i feel like we’re not super ice sport heavy
Really interesting video. I'm an NHL fan from the UK. My team is the Boston Bruins. My local team here in the UK is the Nottingham Panthers. I'd love the sport to become more popular here in the UK. But I feel sometimes you have to make decisions that might make some people stop watching, but the number of people showing enthusiasm in the sport will be much greater than the number switching off from it.
Nothing is better than playoff overtime and staying up after midnight waiting for that winning goal.
As a Quebecker i dont think a sports team as ever given such cultural power and strenght to its nation like the Habs did.
Like 100+ years and for a long time they represented us and lived with us like a religion and when the Nordiques were here, it was like politics man. At the family table we dont talk about religion, politics and if you like the Habs or the Nordiques it tore famillies appart, thats how much the Habs matter in our culture. Hell les Canadiens de Montreal, its in french ffs.
true! i’m mainly focusing on how like america specifically watches hockey tho
@@KellyTakesSportsyeah sad that such a beautiful and dynamic sport isnt more on the forefront. Specially because in my culture its so prominent .
To be fair... The Flyers fans are notoriously horrible.
haha most philly fans are 😭
As a Flyers fan... yes. I am so over the fanbase
I’m black and from Detroit, for all my life hockey’s always been my favorite sport over football or basketball. Obviously the best years of the Red Wings were a huge part of my life. Even played the sport for a while until life changed. None of the people around me were fans of the game. I was that “whitewashed Oreo cookie” people used to call me as a kid. Hell even grew up on rock music instead of hip hop, grew up playing EA Sports NHL every single year too. But yeah I’d say one big change to make the sport more appealing would be the marketing efforts. But I don’t feel that’ll happen unless Gary Bettman steps down as commissioner. Which needs to happen, but will it? Nobody knows unfortunately.
If you really like the game, I'm sure you'll love the World Juniors it goes on every year from December 26 to Jan 5th, they're in the Semi Finals now and it's Sweden v Finland, and USA v Czechia! Would suggest watching next year tho, since you need to know the stories beforehand and watch this tourney in full to love it to it's fullest content! Sad to see my Country lose but they didn't choose their best players and the team this year was so undisciplined that it came back to bite them! This was supposed to be the year we took back Gold in the Nations Capital/Home Soil! But oh well, next year when it's in Minnesota I'm sure they'll bring it back!
i’ll have to watch next year!
@ yea the World Juniors will showcase the Worlds top prospects the best 17-19 year olds sometimes even occasionally 16! Jett Luchanko who’s a part of the Flyers organization was in it this year playing for his home nation of Canada! Last years World Juniors the USA won, but prior years since 2020 Canada has won 3 gold that being ‘20, ‘22, and ‘23! And then USA gold for ‘21 and 24’ I’m hoping that Sweden will take it this year tho and get their redemption since USA embarrassed them last year when they played on home soil and lost 6-2 in the final! The World Juniors is amazing, the tourney has lots of upsets and the games could go either way, and see potential Cinderella stories! Like Latvia almost did this year, they won against my nation for the first time ever in the tourney with a 3-2 win in shootout, they just fell one goal short to winning against Sweden in the Quarters!
I’ll second this. I find the World Juniors the second best hockey to watch behind the playoffs. Always great rivalries like Canada vs US and Cinderellas every year. You can cheer for whichever team has your team’s prospects. Always fun when 2 of your prospects are on a team like Slovakia, and now you’re a Slovak hockey fan for the next couple years! In all it’s a great way to see young stars before they’re in the NHL.
Nah... the US will win it again in Minnesota for sure. Canada has alot more problems than just "not choosing their best". I've heard that excuse a million times since they lost. Czechia eliminated them last year as well. Czechia is a great team and deserves the recognition of being an annual contender now instead of Canadians giving their team every excuse in the book as to why they lost. They were outplayed period.
@@Remmy0930 lmfao that’s just not factual whatsoever! First of all the last year was factual to know they weren’t gonna make it far because of the mid roster they gave! This year they could’ve sent two full own teams that could’ve competed, no 5 on 5 goals came from the opposition the times they caught up, they were undisciplined and did not stay out of the box and that’s due to the coaches fault for not discipling his team not surprising because he’s a crap coach in the minor league, and since Anholt the GM of Hockey Canadas contract expired today, you’re gonna expect a lot of changes, especially if Dale Hunter is at the helm! Even before this tourney USA fans MBonHockey and Graveith saw Canada taking it this year since they had good depth, but due to the organizations decisions and coaching they failed if they were coached properly they would’ve at least made it to the medal round games! And next year since changes are gonna be made due to Anholt not getting extended is a clear sign that there’s gonna be changes, and not have galaxy brains running the show, even folks of other nations agree with that from other social media platforms! MBonHockey even just posted a story earlier about it, he’s scared because he knows if it’s the guys that played the U18 World Juniors that won the gold last year, he knows they’re powerful, most of the US guys aren’t gonna be in next years due to them being too old for it, you’re only gonna see a few guys returning
Agreed with everything you said here. I'm a Flyers fan that lives in Tampa. You're right about the cost but I thought the Snider Youth Hockey & Education was helping with that. I too am frustrated how piss poor the marketing is. I named dropped Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. Nothing but crickets. Silver lining hockey has it's own Pat McAfee in Paul Bissonette. What's trending on the Bleacher Report channel is that football players (LA Chargers/Dallas Cowboys/Buffalo Bills) go to a hockey game and put a mics on them. It turned out great, finally someone is trying. I wouldn't worry too much about going to a game. When I went to a Lightning v. Flyers game in Amalie Arena I low key practiced my judo chop. Overall it was a great time pretty sure you would too. I truly think people go to Flyers games to see Gritty.
Apologies for the Novel
Keep doing what you're doing
thanks so much for the comment! i totally agree the hockey just isnt marketed well and it’s sad bc the sport is really fun to watch- hopefully i’ll be at game soon with gritty!
In what world is hockey the most boring sport? Coz it sure the hell ain't this one. I also have no idea where you got this unwelcoming fan base, not flashy and no stars points from. You are confusing popular with quality. Lots of people are lowest common denominator simpletons, there's your answer.
i like hockey! i just think the nhl would be more popular if they fixed some problems
That thumbnail seems to be a bit click baity. She doesn't even mention it being boring once in the actual video, so I don't think she actually thinks that.
@@KellyTakesSports Here's my take on this, the thumbnail here markets the sport as "boring" which I'm fine if you think that, but nowhere in the points you make does it mention or give actual reasons the sport can be boring. In reality Hockey is one of the most action packed games out there.
On another note the inclusivity is much more of a local thing then a league thing, the NHL has no control over which people attend games more or are involved, it's much more the cost and where it is more than anything. Someone shouldn't be turned off by a sport because in shorthand terms, less "insert ethnicity here" people go. Although I do wish it was more "inclusive", this is much more of a problem that can only be solved when you get rid of corporations. The marketing stars is definitely a critique I agree with. You see the people do more marketing for the sport than the league itself. But I will say that the sport being a predominantly cold sport, a predominantly white sport, and other such critiques don't hold ground when it's much more of a city issue than a league issue. Plus, none of these critiques other then the "there's not enough stops in play" contribute to it being boring. And I can't even agree with that critique, because stopping the play more often would make the game a slow sport. Imagine the 2 line pass was brought back. You'd get more stoppages of play, yes. But it just slows down the game to a point where it isn't as arcady as it is due to the fact that its a boarded game, unlike football where play must happen within a certain point of time, and basketball and soccer where the game is rarely brought to a complete halt. The style of hockey completely ruins the critique.
I do agree with some criticism about the game, but with the context you gave it making it look like a NHL problem, when it's more of a community problem. And the fact the thumbnail said the sport is boring other than unpopular, is tough to watch.
Love your content though, just thought id clear things and maybe give you some construction for the future built on anything other than misunderstanding
Hockey fans are notorious for disliking newer fans
As a former hockey player from Grand Forks, ND, it's an expensive sport. And hockey here is everything, it's practically a religion. Although the season isn't so great, Sioux hockey games are electrifying. Since I'm in college right now, I don't get much time to watch the NHL, every year I try to watch the playoffs though, and that's insane to watch altogether. That and the NCAA tournament. Me and my dad watch until the end, no matter if our team gets knocked out of the tournament or not, we love to see who wins. And our town has three big high school hockey teams, Red River (my own former school), Central, and EGF (East Grand Forks). And I do have to agree, the marketing needs to be better, the game itself is seriously expensive, and it takes a while to get the hang of the game. And everyone I have spoken to about the game, the first time they watch the game, they get hooked immediately. Also, it's incredibly rare for my town to even be mentioned anywhere. One last thing to note, it won't be for everyone for how physical the game is, I've known some people who get genuinely scared because of the physicality of the game, and just all the motion of the game in general.
I'm Canadian and I can name exactly two NFL players, and one of them is retired I think (not 100% sure about that). But yeah, the main issue with hockey is definitely the accessibility. It's expensive, and requires ice to be played. The marketing of the players is also an issue, but I feel like the league has gotten better at that these past few years. I'm hoping it continues to grow among people my age, I'm only 21 (which I'd say is fairly young for a passionate hockey fan). This is awesome to see though, I think you might fall under three different hockey-fan minorities lmao
The main reason is that in the 90s and earlier 2000s it was a promoted because less conducive to gambling as there is no large "upset" factor that bookies could exploit and thus less Vegas advertising promotions.
Hockey is affordable when played on a local frozen pond for zero dollars. When you have to pay for maintenance of a rink, the game becomes much less accessible. Affordability is the reason so many kids play the game in places like Minnesota and northern Michigan, and why Canada considers itself to be hockey's natural home.
I totally understand where you're coming from but I will push back on your take some. I believe that it's a region bias and if you grew up in Toronto or the Twin Cites you'd have a different opinion which is just human nature. One's environment obviously affects our perspective greatly. You're final take is straight up $$! Once you go to that first live game (maybe do a Penn St or a Boston/Boston College game), you have to sit lower level. Not talking about the most $$ next to glass but in the middle of the lower level. You'll think like myself and feel their isn't anything else that con compare.
playing the sport (even at a recreational/bascic level; whether that's skating or playing road hockey) is the easiest way to connect with it and a lot of people haven't had that experience. F1 and UFC are popular because a lot of people have either driven before or been in a care and people have fought lol
I also feel like people have the perception that ice hockey can only survive in the colder locations. And in terms of playing outside of school/college/university, this would be pretty true. But there's another video I watched about ice hockey in Kenya, Africa, and how they are showing interest in the sport. In terms of an arena, if they have quality air filtration systems, quality ice and all else, if professional sports are good in a specific location and have proven success, ice hockey could also stand a chance of success.
I feel like with the globalisation of the NHL, that even with crazy different time zones, it could work in locations such as Amsterdam, Stockholm, Dubai, and Helsinki, as well as other North American locations like Houston. I know Houston tried ice hockey in the past, but I sometimes feel there's not enough energy put into generating success in certain places.
Hey! I watch hockey! Go to 15+ Flyers games a year. Follow lots of hockey podcasts and vlogs. Stream ESPN+ just for hockey, and headed to Montreal next month for a week of 4 Nations games. AA/NA female, 70, from south, played field hockey in high school. And I do all that alone! Also live in Philadelphia.
My team is Chicago. Wah wah! But I’m following Ovechins race to beat Gretsky’s goal record. And whatever teams stream on ESPN+. All of them?
I think its not as much about they way people who watch hockey look, but more about the vibe the fans/its culture gives. I’ve realized hockey fans really like to gatekeep the sport sometimes, and aren’t the most welcoming to new fans who maybe said something that doesn’t make sense or have an unpopular opinion because they don’t know much about the sport. Instead of gently correcting them or helping to teach, some fans will just get all condescending and hate on these new fans, making it less likely for them to come back, watch the sport, and keep participating in the community, which I don’t blame them for. Obviously this isn’t everyone but I’ve definitely seen it multiple times.
I Played in a Floor Hockey League in middle I wanted to play Ice Hockey but like u said have to start very young and It's Expensive that's why I stuck with Soccer
I play AA hockey in Canada, but I don't really watch it because I just don't feel the need to, and I find watching sports to be boring because it's just as fun as playing them.
Your observations are definitely valid and stuff that has been recognized by others as well as areas to improve on, but change is hard because of the "how things have always been done" mob and other factors.
- There is definitely too many games in the regular season, but those 41 home games generate so much sweet sweet revenue for the owner that I doubt that would change. And the players wouldn't probably take less money to play less games either.
- Hockey not having any marketable stars has been a talking point over the years and they've been trying to address it but it doesn't help that most hockey players (like Connor McDavid) just want to play hockey and don't seem to care or have the personality to be a marketable star. On the other hand the NHL marketing department will also need to do a much better job, and maybe think more out of the box.
- In the end, hockey being an expensive sport to play will be always its downfall in the US. More kids will play football, baseball, basketball and also soccer in school and are therefore more likely to watch those sports as well. And it will be pretty much impossible to change that due to how easy those sports are to pick up compared to hockey.
- On a more positive note, the upcoming 4 nations tournament and NHL players playing in the Olympics 2026 are good opportunities to market and grow the game.
good takes, good vid, hockey community is really an ifykyk crowd sometimes and i kinda like it but if the league blew up that would be so good.
yea! it feels very like if you know you know
lol a lot more people watch hockey than basketball football or baseball. Its the third most popular sport on Earth behind soccer and cricket. Just because people in alabama dont watch doesnt mean anything.
i mean i was kind of talking about america specifically
@@KellyTakesSports They're thinking of field hockey which isn't quite at third, but is very popular in India.
Honestly I love hockey. I think the only thing that annoys me is the paywall now to watch nhl/nba even NFL. You need to subscribe to the apps or get a package when you already pay for cable (if you even do that).
Honestly, I only started seriously following hocket after I'd read one too many hockey-centered MM romance novel. That's how not around the sport is in so many markets 😂😂😂😂
lollll
Hockey is a lot more inclusive that American football. Hockey is popular in dozens of different countries, nationalities, languages, etc. That is true diversity. Look beyond the skin colour.
American football is popular in one country, all the players are from one country, basically all the same. No real diversity beyond skin colour.
Sure, but American football has kids of all socioeconomic backgrounds playing it. Hockey has trended towards being an upper-middle class sport for decades
Also, on the podcasts note, I love the steve dangle pod, and if you don’t get offended too easily and love the joking around aspect what chaos is also a great one
The hoopla is a poison pill. The NBA is absolutely collapsing on itself because of “superstar” “player empowerment” era. So much of the NBA revenue has been outsourced to shoe deals and China.
hmmm i just think having more star players would make more people want to watch
@ when that star is still just a “player” the players in the NBA want the drama and WWE storyline now. Especially since the league is a nepobaby rich kid 3 chucking fest.
They also control the league and how it’s run.
Yes is NHL too far the other way? Yea the cliche, hardworking, daughter dater thing is not how you sell a league. It also doesn’t help the “2 YT” issues, because those cliches have been returned to being stereotypes that black commentators have used to mean “un-athletic” or “niche skills sports”. Yes I understand there is an issue with “black QB” “athletic QB”, but the point was to remove the term, not to just relabel everything you don’t want to compete with as “un-athletic”.
@@mramisuzuki6962 Dude. If you wanna talk WWE drama, hockey is literally the only major team sport that glorifies fighting. They're even trying to bring back the enforcer hype now -- just look at Matt Rempe.
Also, I'm not sure you really wanna level the nepo baby charge at the NBA because the NHL is absolutely STACKED with nepo babies. They're literally everywhere.
Finally, I don't think anyone smart has ever accused NHL players of being unathletic. That's not the issue reasonable people point to when they say the league is too white. They just mean the show severely lacks diversity and is therefore not appealing to many demographics, which in turns looses it viewership and money. Also, it makes it look racist.
I feel like the NBA doesn't have enough of those "superstars". Guys like Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, etc. just don't move me like the era of guys like Lebron, Steph, Kobe, etc. Even though they're immensely talented, I just couldn't care less for them.
somewhat agree but the no defense and chucking up 500 three pointers a game is hurting it more than the diva players. i remember last year being on espn and they have the game results at the very top of first page and just randomly noticing a 140 - 145 game , at first i was like oh must of been two overtimes , out of curiosity i look and that was the score to a normal four quarter game. i think that is more so hurting the league more than anything.
5:06 I think player marketing is probably the biggest thing. In recent years they’ve done a good job, I think as many people know Bedard as Webanyama. The Documentary of the playoffs last year (called Faceoff) was a great step forward as well. There are other things like how for the past decade the best NHL players weren’t in the Olympics or other international events. This has changed, like, this year, and now the NHL is leaning into it with the 4 nations cup (Best of Finland, Sweden, USA, and Canada playing against each other) this February.
I think the game has a good future.
thanks for the comment! yea i think a little more player marketing would help viewership plus it’s nice for the players to get recognition for their crazy talent
Hockey is just kinda different and hockey culture. I love it, big hockey fan especially when it’s the Stanley cup playoffs
i think that's a American thing about marketing of players. in Canada you can't watch tv for a whole 10 minutes without seeing a hockey player promoting a company and it gets even worse when you're watching local broadcasts. i made the mistake of watching Montreal game on a Toronto channel and got bombarded by Austin Mathews promoting things. they even gave him his own song and it was as you guessed cringe
yea this was more about hockey in america! i could of clarified
Hey, hockey fan here. So glad you decided to talk about my favourite sport 😊 I can totally see where you're coming from. I don't necessarily look at it the same way, but that only reminds me of how culture matters. I'm not from the US and I can totally see how we might weigh some factors quite differently. I actually love hockey isn't over-marketised. My number 1 nightmare is they turn a game into a chaos of advertisement and sideshows taking attention and effort away from the main thing: what is actually happening on the ice 😅 the whiteness factor of hockey is something that gets mentioned all the time, I totally understand why and I genuinely hope to see more diversity being welcomed into the beautiful game. However, my own cultural perspective just doesn't allow me to understand why this should be such an intimidating factor for non-whites approaching the game (again, I can totally see how different cultures may look differently at the same thing). By US standards, I'm not considered white. I fell in love with hockey from literally the first time I watched a game. I couldn't care less about the skin colour of players, I loved the sport, I decided I wanted to play. In the country I live in, hockey isn't traditional at all, and every time I find a hockey player from my country, we all dream to see it spread down here, even if our ethnicity is underrepresented in the NHL and other major hockey leagues out there. We don't feel intimidated, quite the opposite, we tend to wish to be pioneers of the game we love in our country :)
Doesn't make sense to point out the ethnicity thing as if that's something the league has much control over. What do you want them to do? Give out free tickets to games based on ethnicity? That's not really fair and would rub a lot of people the wrong way. You can't make people go to these games. And as far as on the player side of things, there have been some really good black players for example; Jarome Iginla, Grant Fuhr, P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmons, Evander Kane, Anthony Duclair. But it's a league of best on best. If there isn't as much representation for one specific group then its because not enough are playing at that high of a level. I will say though there are some programs to make the sport more accessible, but not nearly enough. My family was poor and we didn't have anything like that, so I couldn't try playing until I was older and by then the skill gap is too much.
yea i mean tbh im not sure how to fix it, i just think if they did have a more diverse fanbase it might bring in more viewers
get Duclair outta here lol
I live in the Philadelphia area and I'm confused as to how it's not popular. There are rinks, programs, and leagues everywhere, and for all levels. I'm a figure skater and there's two or three area high school teams using our rink during the season. Maybe it's more popular in the suburbs than the actual city?
im actually from the burbs in montco! but idk i feel like the most popular sports growing up were are basketball, football, soccer and lacrosse
@KellyTakesSports I'm from ChesCo and we have quite a few rinks. I do live in a more affluent suburb, which might be part of it. But we definitely have a lot of hockey and figure skating around here.
As I Canadian hockey fan/someone who used to play, I gotta say I'm quite the opposite. I know next to nothing about football and basketball. I can name Patrick mahomes and that other guy who won like 5 super bowls? Tom Brady (I had to look him up again). And for NBA I can name steph Curry and Lebron, not including Micheal Jordan. I couldn't even tell you all the team names. We're also very multi cultural in Canada so it's more normal to see people of colour care about the sport. I like that you like the fights tho! A lot of people just getting into hockey think it's a problem, and I find it quite upsetting when they do. It's a part of the sport's culture/soul
yea this was more about hockey in america, i should have made that a little clearer!
I'm from Minnesota, where people eat, drink, sleep hockey. Our high school hockey tournament is as big as Texas football and we have hockey day Minnesota every year. The thumbnail with the "most boring sport" got me to click on it haha, cuz it's easily the best sport to watch live, but could see how it could be boring on TV.
Now that being said, as a Minnesotan, I never even thought about hockey not being popular, but you make some good points that I hadn't thought about.
Subscribed! I hope you cover some PWHL as well, it's some fun hockey!
Nah girl there's actually many lightskins that follow hockey, including me and you, but here in canada its more normal I'll say lol. And there's a bunch in the nhl, ahl, europe. Its the same thing why it's people in cold areas from the south aren't exposed to it, including most white folks from most of europe.. but here in multicultural montreal every race likes hockey lol.
lol i was more talking about america! i know it’s super popular in colder areas / countries
If you're looking for some great hockey content, I highly recommend the UA-cam channel Hockey Psychology. He provides weekly recaps where he talks about what happened in the NHL during that particular week, mixed in with some humour related to different storylines and things like that
Hockey playoffs are the most exciting by far. If you're not watching, you're missing out.
Good points. I grew up in VT. Everyone loves it. People who don't play organized still play pickup. We'd drive to Montreal to see games. The team has a history like the YANKEES. Players are the biggest celebrities in town. NHL put too many teams in warm climates. Loses it's culture
"Boys club" culture is genuinely killing the game. It's so sad to see
@@thegoon8159 32 teams 9 coaches? I’m not seeing an issue.
I know many ladies probably don't like it but I love the play-off hockey beard tradition/superstition.
hockey superstitions are make me loll
6:23 MLB has over 100 games every summer 💀
yea they’re schedule is even more insane😭 i’m waiting for baseball soon tho to really get into and start reporting on it #gophillies
@@KellyTakesSports Yeah I used to watch baseball but I stopped after I quit playing I get bored when I watch it
@@KellyTakesSports phillies are quite possibly the only team in the league who have enthusiastic/hyped atmospheres all year round. for most all teams that only shows up in the playoffs or down the stretch in playoff race games. but phillies games seem to be always rowdy and lots of extremely loud cheering for basically every home game. i'm sure if they get low in the standings that stops but if they're keeping a decent record the fans are really into every game.
Even as a Canadian, hockey never caught on for me during my childhood. Not only is it expensive as hell to play, but there's also this "it's a white kids game" type of stigma around it. I eventually came around to it, but only as a viewer. When it comes to the game itself, it's honestly one of the most fair and entertaining sports. Coming from someone that mainly watches soccer, it's refreshing to see a sport that isn't so dominated by certain teams winning just because they have the richest foreign owner.
ty for this comment! completely agree
I watch hockey every day during the season.
Seems like a lot of very shallow and subjective takes... my thoughts on a couple;
1. Ethnicity: such an odd take... "F1 feels inclusive because black people watches it" - F1 has 1, past and present, black driver and has never had targeted advertising towards african americans. NHL doesn't have a lot of black athletes either, but they've had advertisement meant to encourage diverse viewership and trying to be more open and inviting (see; Hockey is for everyone campaign). So since you mentioned your marketing degree, in your expert opinion, what's missing here? one doesn't care one way or another, and it feels inclusive to you, other makes an effort and you feel like you have to mentally prepare yourself to go into a stadium with a majority of white people (would you consider yourself racist? i personally wouldn't even notice a person of color enter the stadium, because we're there to enjoy our favorite sport. And if i went to a Basketball game i wouldn't think twice about it or who might be there. Seems like kind of a racist mindset, just saying).
2. Superstars: you can tell me so many of *your* team's stars? i could tell you all of mine, stars or not, i'm a Detroit Lions/red Wings/Tigers fan (trying to get into Pistons, but i'm norwegian so i follow a LOT of ski sports too, and there's only so much time in a day and season when you're not really all that into the sport to begin with. but i'm coming around to it) And i can tell you all the players, of the past 10 years of players, I can even name 10 players on every other team in the NHL. If you're in the fandom bubble, you definitely get exposed to the superstars. But on the flipside, i could possibly mention 5 basketball players (Shaq, Lebron, Kobe, Muggsy Bogues, Jordan, Rodman, that co-host with Shaq i could probably name some other day, feel like i've heard the name Sakic? Cunningham is the only name i know on the Pistons). Why is it like that? who knows, feels like the hockey guys are more reserved and low-key, like have you ever watched an interview with Connor McDavid? That's the best player in hockey, possibly ever, and no amount of pushing and advertising would make that man seem like a megastar.
3. Mentions in public; You said you can't go anywhere in philly without seeing eagles logos. Well in 1975 you probably would feel the same about the Flyers logo. first of all, NFL is WAY bigger than the NHL, and the Eagles have had a lot more recent success than the Flyers. But the Eagles have had 1 championship parade, the Flyers have had 2. and their popularity were likely flipped during their respective parades.
Lastly i'll say this; Hockey isn't less popular because it's not being advertised, inclusive or doesn't have interesting enough superstars. It's less popular because they land in the middle of the barriers to entry. You're never, ever, going to be a F1 racecar driver, and you might not even want to, but the sheer cost of it is staggering. But you can pick up a ball and find a hoop to shoot it through, or a patch of grass to run around on. what you CAN, but not very easily, is learn to skate at a high enough level where you can start holding a stick and move freely in all directions, buy very expensive gear and have enough friends to shoot the little vulcanized rubber disc around a couple of hours.
This has been known and talked about for ages, it's a high barrier of entry to do yourself, so it becomes a peripheral sport until you truly check it out, and almost anyone who does loves it, but it's not so high the barrier of entry is inconsequential in and of itself so you can go ahead and just enjoy it as a viewing experience.
I mean, you made some points, but I still think mine are all valid critiques; the NHL is nowhere near as popular as the NFL & NBA in America, so these were just the reasons that I feel are holding back the league. And F1 feels inclusive because SO many cultures watch, not just black people😭 and like yeah the flyers WERE popular not so much now... these are my takes to make it popular now!
There is not a single time in recorded history where the Philadelphia Flyers were more popular than the Philadelphia Eagles. The Philadelphia Phillies were basically one of the best teams in baseball from 2007 to 2011 and won a World Series and they weren't more popular than the Eagles, either.
Good vid. As a hockey player and fan, I agree with many of your takes here especially low accessibility, low diversity, and poor marketing. On accessibility, yep it can make you feel part of a club and that is cool in SOME ways. But, as to the other two points, there’s no advantages there. My team has 3 African Americans.. and that is not typical at all; even slightly better marketing would hopefully bring more people in and in turn maybe make the game more accessible
thank you for this comment! i think some tweaks will really bring in more ppl
Too expensive to play, cable cutting, poor marketing, worst officiating in pro sports, naturally partial to cold climates (hence more white players)
My fav player of all time was Jarome Iginla, black Canadian player who was the best goal scorer of the late 90's and 2000's and they never even tried bothering using that to market to the black community.
Funny, Nhl keeps expanding. Las Vegas, Seattle, and now Utah…. obvious they are making money I mean c’mon Florida has 2 teams.👍🥶
Nobody watches baseball and football in canada. I haven't seen an eagles fan in canada because they suck.
SUPERBOWL 2025 GOOO BIRDSSSS🦅
Or maybe because Philadelphia isn’t in Canada?
If you've been to Canada you know this is a lie
deadass just yap to myself about hockey all day cuz I have no one else to talk to about it hehe…
well you’ll have my videos soon lol!
Just a correction F1 isn't just rich ehote guys. There are drivers frm different countries.in F1. F1 is diverse and very invlusive. Now Nascar is lgit like one black guy at the top level with one black guy on the second level. There are no female drivers at all.
Thanks for being fun hockey shit 😊… and get after your flyers! Matvei Michkov is going to change that team, he’s a superstar in the making.
Dallas! Stars! Wooooooo
Haha I don't think the Flyers are gonna make it to the playoffs
hahah probs not😅
fyne shyt who watch hockey>>>>>
😭
We don’t care if Americans don’t like hockey!
Um... but we do gatekeeper. Funny how 90% of NHL teams have to thrive in the states for the big league to survive and make as much money as it does, but gatekeeping Canadians like yourself keep pissing all over the American fanbase and players. And you should care after that embarrassing ass whooping the Americans put on you again in the WJC. It's all good, Canada will be another state of ours soon anyway and maybe you'll start winning gold again. Stop with the "bUt iT's oUr SpOrrrrrT" shit because clearly if you've been keeping up the game has outgrown Canada and keeps expanding. And if you TRULY loved the game you would WANT that, not gatekeep and keep dissing other countries and their love of the game. A little fact for you, without Scotland and England ice hockey would have never been a thing. Hockey is international and created with the help of multiple cultures.
lol okay
@ Half of your area as are empty, you call that support.
yo.
yo
Hockey is a niche sport and should stay that way. It doesnt need to be "bigger". The players are normal, intelligent guys, not the ego maniacs of other sports.
They have been expanding into warm markets trying to get more money, but it has killed the spirit of the sport. Hockey is a cold winter sport and always should have stayed that way.
nba .soccer are the most boring sports
lol its clickbait
In love with you girl. Keep doing what you're doing!
aha thanks!
I agree I do indeed not watch hockey lol
Stupid video. You can say the same for every sport.
lmao did you watch the video?😭 i watch hockey and like it, it’s just about why it’s not as popular
Happy 2025. I've been an NHL fan on & off for a few years now. I've always been more of a MLB fan, but following two teams The Oilers & The Flyers has got me more interested in the sport as a whole. Watching in 🇬🇧 ❤🏒
thanks for commenting! happy new years too🎉