Hockey Renaissance?
Thursday, February 19, 2009 21:22
The last fifteen years have not been king to hockey. The labor dispute may be the most devastating in American professional sports history. Coming on the heels of a period during which the NHL overexpanded–not in terms of talent, but in terms of the rate of growth of the potential fanbase–coupled with the relocation of franchises away from traditional hockey hotbeds, the labor strife put the league in a terrible hole.
But could the sport finally be primed for a resurgence?
New star players can energize a sport like nothing else. Babe Ruth revolutionized baseball with his mammoth blasts. Michael Jordan elevated basketball to new heights, both figuratively and literally. Tiger Woods has enthused interest in golf not just with numbers, but by crossing racial and cultural boundaries.
Now I’m not saying any current NHL player has even begun to make a mark on the scale of the aforementioned athletes, or ever will. But the emergence of Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has brought an excitement to the sport that hasn’t been seen since the days of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Gretzky and Lemieux. Two legendary names. Talent above and beyond everyone else of their generation. Excitement every time they took the ice.
Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin have those same qualities. Unbelievable talent, the ability to electrify the crowd at a split-second’s notice on any shift-change.
Just like this incredible goal that Ovechkin scored last night:
ernessa
says:
February 25th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Also their starting to date starlets: Carrie Underwood, Hillary Duff, and Elisha Cuthbert have all been linked to hockey players. I still remember when actresses started dating basketball stars back in the 80's — fairly good indicator that a sport's popularity is on the rise.
Nate Barlow
says:
February 26th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Considering how the tabloid press picks up on such relationship stuff, that may garner more attention for the sport overall.