The National Hockey League (NHL) in North America has always taken a backseat to other sports leagues. The NHL ranks 15th in average attendance among sports leagues worldwide at 17,500 people per game, compared to a monstrous 68,800 people at the average NFL game. This often means that ticket prices for hockey games are a little bit higher: for example, a Los Angeles Kings fan can expect to pay about $170 for their ticket, whereas a Los Angeles Angels fan might pay closer to $32. NHL players even earn a salary significantly less than players in the NBA and MLB and just slightly more than those in the NFL. And to be honest, none of this really makes sense to me. I’ll admit that I am more than just a little biased: I was raised watching ice hockey and even had the chance to play it throughout middle school and high school. Over the years, I have come to terms with the fact that in the United States, ice hockey just isn’t that popular, but to me it is a religion. I would absolutely accept the opinion of anyone that told me that their favorite sport is football/baseball/basketball without argument. I understand the feel of a baseball park and the thrill of the gridiron. However, I would argue vehemently with anyone that says that their sport is more exciting and thrilling than ice hockey. Here’s why.
1. In ice hockey, there are almost no breaks in the action.
Even though hockey games take two fifteen minute intermissions between periods, during the play fans can enjoy the game virtually nonstop. Games are temporarily halted for injury, penalties, minor infractions such as offsides, goals, and when the puck is frozen or goes out of play. There are only three commercial breaks during each period; other than that, it’s game on. Ice hockey is the only major sport in North America that allow player substitutions during gameplay, meaning that once the game gets going there are not many things that will stop it. At a hockey game, there is always something going on, always something for the eye to follow, always something going on behind the play, and always something to cheer about.
2. Gameplay in the NHL is more intense than in any other sports league.
No, I’m not joking. I truly believe that. Professional ice hockey is a full contact sport played by people who need to be in great physical shape to compete, and all it takes is one well placed hit to send some of its best players crashing down on the cold, hard ice. I know that this is a contentious statement that many people, especially American football fans, will disagree with; nevertheless, I maintain my position. The thing that I find less exciting about football is that you know that someone will get tackled, and you can generally get a sense of when they will get tackled because the play won’t stop until they do (unless someone scores or runs out of bounds). In ice hockey, you know that someone will get hit at some point, but there is an added anticipation of not knowing when, or who, or how big it will be. Besides that, when NHL players lose teeth or take a flying puck to the face, most of them have clauses written into their contracts requiring them to go back out and play once they have received their stitches. And although I don’t condone this behavior, the NHL is the only North American sport in which fist fights between the players happen frequently and are generally allowed. I don’t know if any football fans could point to something demonstrably more exciting than that.
3. The Goal Horn.
That’s it. Point made. Done. I’m honestly a little surprised that the rest of the sports world hasn’t caught onto this one yet, because it’s genuinely amazing. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I cannot urge you enough to attend an NHL game. In this case, Googling “NHL goal horn” and watching a video online simply isn’t good enough.
4. Speaking of Goals, A Shout Out to the Goalies
There is something both inherently brave and unbelievably stupid about people who willingly put themselves in front of solid discs of plastic flying at them at more than 100 mph. With talent and the proper training, hockey goaltenders are easily some of the most athletic people on the continent, and everything about them is genuinely impressive, from their jaw-dropping flexibility to the fact that even a mediocre goalie over the course of his career usually stops more than 90% of the shots that he faces. And that’s not even getting into the rest of the skaters that routinely drop to their knees to block shots that the goaltender might not see or might not be able to stop. Plus, because goalies routinely stop most (if not all) of the pucks that come at them, the goals that are scored become so much more exciting.
5. The Playoffs
The Stanley Cup Playoffs might be the most gruelling postseason contest of all sports leagues in the USA and Canada. NFL teams generally must win 3-4 postseason games to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. MLB teams must win 11 to win the World Series. NHL teams must win a total of 16 games before they take the title of Stanley Cup champions. It takes a lot of determination, skill, and sweat to win it all, and teams that do well in the regular season get home ice advantage but do not get any bye weeks or games. 16 wins; no exceptions. And even though good teams can certainly do well in the playoffs as well, on occasion teams in the sixth or seventh seed in their conference can make a great turn around. Who will win the championship from year to year is anyone’s best guess.
So before you tell me how boring ice hockey is compared to every other sport, I would urge you to sit down and watch just one game. You may be surprised by how much you like it!
