Canucks & Beyond
Next entry: Little Darcy on the Prairie
Previous entry: Summer Time Hockey Podcasting
Hockey Sufferance
by Alanah McGinley on 07/17/07 at 07:25 PM ET
Comments (5)
It’s July 17th.
The weather is running in the plus-30c (or plus-90F) range in most of North America.
People are camping or swimming or whatever; generally kicking back a bit.
And, sure, that includes hockey fans—there’s other things in life you know, besides hockey. (Really! Someone told me.)
So, let’s look at what’s going on in the world that doesn’t wear skates… and more importantly, whether it’s likely to distract any of you. For instance:
There’s a first-timer showing off his skills in the Tour de France; there’s Michael Vick and his love of dogs keeping plenty of folks occupied; Britain and Russia are doing their very best to re-enact a Robert Ludlum spy novel; the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears to be having fun with Latin American economics; and then there’s Victoria Beckham’s new television show out there, apparently a major crash & burn.
All entertaining or important in some ways, perhaps. Regardless, it would seem that most people have other stuff on their minds besides the NHL.
But are hockey fans on hiatus from their favorite sport? Well SOME are getting out of the rink for a little while… but I think it’s fair to say that a whole hell of a lot of fans still think it’s the mid-point of the NHL season.
Today I received an email from a friend—and rabid hockey fan—which sort of makes the point:
“Despite there being nothing happening in hockey, I’m still checking TSN/Spector’s/Kukla 20 times a day. I think there’s a touch of the penitent in hockey fans. When I’m watching football, it’s all thrill of victory/agony of defeat/drunk. For hockey, I SUFFER for it.”
Yep. And he isn’t the only one. Sure, things are a little quieter, but it’s not at the standstill you would think (or we expected around here). There’s still a ton of blogs keeping busy with updates; there’s podcasts going up as normal; there’s hockey news, news, news everywhere. And even if it’s not news that matters to anyone else? It sure as hell matters to hockey fans.
In the first 16 days of July, Kukla’s Korner has had well over 4 million page views. 4 million!
That’s some serious traffic for any sport website, much less one covering a sport during the off season—a sport that gets less respect than a Pauly Shore movie, for godsakes.
So, thank you for visiting Kukla’s. But more importantly, thanks for being hockey fans.
You may suffer for your sport, but wow, you guys are dedicated.
Filed in: business of hockey | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Comments
That’s an interesting observation that hockey fans are rabid in following news in the off season. I myself (being from the UK) am also a big soccer fan, and there is probably more soccer news at this time of the year, more trades, more gossip…
But I don’t go religiously checking soccer sites and blogs as soon as I get on the PC like I do with those for hockey. I don’t get pissed off when there’s no news like I do with hockey, and I don’t laugh out loud at suspect trades and contracts in soccer either. I think there is a lot of cynicism, hype and PR blurb in soccer and other sports that hockey doesn’t have so much, and there is so much change every off season, at least in soccer, in comparison that nothing really surprises anymore.
I don’t know, for me, it’s a difficult phenomenon to explain. I never grew up with hockey. I’d never even seen a game until 4 or 5 years ago, not even played an NHL video game or seen one of the ‘Mighty’ Ducks films. But now hockey is like my religion. I’ve still never even worn a pair of ice skates. This sport really is like no other, and for me the proof is in my devotion to it in such a short time, from not even knowing how many players are on each team to in a few years being able to lecture on the nuances of the CBA, know every difference between pre- and post-lockout NHL rules, and know every single player on the Canucks roster and a lot on other teams like were my next door neighbour.
Posted by Sternip on 07/18/07 at 06:50 AM ET
Great read Alanah - you hit the nail on the head. Hockey fans don’t stop talking/thinking/reading about hockey just because it’s the summer. I’m still hopelessly addicted to hockey news. I can’t help it. I’ve tried watching baseball, the tour de france and golf for God sakes. And all I end up doing is whining about how hockey doesn’t start again until October.
I’ve been watching hockey related movies to keep my hockey appetite under control. I suggest Bon Cop Bad Cop. Great impersonation of Gary Bettman!
Posted by Trini on 07/18/07 at 12:24 PM ET
Mental derangement <------> Hockey fandom
Which is the cause, and which is the effect?
(Whatever, we are all demented beyond hope of redemption around here. But that’s okay, because we aren’t alone!) 
Posted by Baroque on 07/18/07 at 07:35 PM ET
My friend Der Willi, a sock puppet, says it’s the hockey. 
Posted by Georgeums from South Lyon, MI on 07/18/07 at 08:40 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Wellwood Returning to Vancouver
In Defense of Dany Heatley (sort of)
Sedin’s Agent Not Optimistic About a Vancouver Deal, but is Anyone?
Mike Keenan Joins the Canucks?
GM Place Keeps its Name; Disaster Averted
What’s Trevor Linden Been Up To?
About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
Email:
Alanah’s Twitter: Not really hockey-ish. [LINK]
Other Canucks Blogs
Lugovoi did it, FTR...the man’s got an alpha-emitting trail a mile wide…
Otherwise, I think there’s a simple truth about most hockey fans: we wake up thinking about hockey, we think about hockey all day long, and we go to sleep thinking about hockey, both in January and July
Posted by Georgeums from South Lyon, MI on 07/18/07 at 04:29 AM ET