If Cam Ward fell in the forest ...
... and nobody was there to see it on the Outdoor Life Network, then did the NHL playoffs ever really happen?
As I eagerly await tonight's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes -- OK, not nearly as much as I would if the Capitals were playing -- I wonder how many others in the Triad will be tuning in.
There was at least some mild interest in Greensboro four years ago when the Canes made the Stanley Cup finals, but it was mostly a bandwagon-jumping phenomenon mostly, I think, which was basically reflected in this paper's coverage of the series.
But, as it stands, few in the area, and few in the U.S., seem to give a hockey mullet about the NHL's first playoffs back from a year-long lockout. According to last week's Triad TV ratings, no hockey games on OLN cracked the top-10 most-watched sporting events on cable TV. You had eight NBA games, a Busch race and a Yanks-Sox game. The Mavs-Spurs on May 22 had a 5.7 rating; hockey apparently isn't even cracking the 1.0 barrier.
From what I heard on the Jim Rome Show today, this is the trend nationally. Even Monday-night pro wrestling is drawing more viewers. So can hockey make it in non-traditional U.S. markets? Is OLN just too hard to find on most TV's? Or are these matchups -- Buffalo-Carolina/Edmonton-Anaheim -- just too lame to draw in moderate, borderline hockey fans.
Too bad. I suspect it will be seriously high drama at the RBC Center tonight, particularly if we have overtime. And the Finals should be very compelling. Folks in Canada certainly will be enthralled to see the Great One's old team trying to relive past glory.
Just don't miss it next year when the dynamic Alex Ovechkin leads the Caps to the Cup. OK, that's a pipedream. Sorry, it's all I can muster right now.
Comments (2)
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It was watched on at least one TV in Central Florida. Time-shifted, but the drama was the same.
I also noticed that today, Saturday, you could still buy lower level seats and better in pairs for the RBC game on Monday. Kinda makes one wish they'd never left the state.
Posted on June 4, 2006 12:53 AM
Jeff,
You write about Monday Night wrestling's higher ratings - that's Monday Night Raw, by the way - as if that's a surprise. Dude, what world have you been living in? Wrestling in the Sports Entertainment era - i.e. after they admitted that lots of it is staged, but hey, so what? - has been a huge draw, particularly in the coveted 18-34 male market. If you don't believe me, just go out to the Coliseum sometime when Raw or Smackdown is in town for a show.
Posted on June 5, 2006 12:47 PM