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NHL Needs the Rangers
by Alanah McGinley on 04/19/08 at 02:14 AM ET
Comments (6)
From Steve Edelson at APP.com,
Having the Rangers as the top team in the metropolitan area, and in a position to possibly challenge for a championship in the coming years, is the best thing that could happen to the NHL right now.
A league still trying to pull itself back from the brink of extinction, with television ratings mired somewhere between a test pattern and Bonanza reruns, needs the Rangers and their fan base, infinitely larger than the Devils.
They need Madison Square Garden hosting a Cup final, and Sean Avery doing his best Ken Linsman impressions in front of a national audience. They need recollections of Mark Messier’s guarantee and replays of Howie Rose blurting out “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau.’’
Now more than ever, they need the Rangers.
Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
I agree w/above. Is this the person that has been saying for the last decade that for hockey to succeed the Rangers need to be the best? What a bunch of crap. Why the Rangers....because its New York? How about the california teams??? This guys an arse.
Posted by DrW from Detroit on 04/19/08 at 06:49 AM ET
You guys don’t understand; deep inside every one of us is a New York Rangers fan just dying to get out. In fact, I’m gonna head to the bathroom right now and liberate mine…
Posted by The Forechecker from Nashville on 04/19/08 at 07:14 AM ET
Whether people outside of NY care or not, isn’t it the biggest (or 2nd to LA?) market in the league? So, even if just NY likes the Rangers, it means more people will watch....
Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 04/19/08 at 07:39 AM ET
It would probably depend on who the Rangers faced in a final series.
If it was a team with a lot of history and viewership of its own, then yes, the ratings could be high. If it was a team much less well-known to fans, the viewership might be quite a bit lower, even in New York. Some fans might think it would be a foregone conclusion that the Rangers could beat the stiffs and not bother tuning in, or think that the games would be boring because of the style of play of the other team.
Either way, they have a long way to go and two more series to win to even get there.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/19/08 at 08:17 AM ET
SA is what the NHL really wants to promote?
Posted by Dale Stewart from Moosejaw on 04/21/08 at 02:24 PM ET
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I love how people in the New York area are under the erroneous impression that people outside New York follow New York sports teams. Someone should tell Edelson that non-hockey fans don’t care about the Rangers and hockey fans will, if anything, be less likely to watch a Ranger final due to the Rangers’ boringness of style.
Posted by Steve from Pittsburgh on 04/19/08 at 02:00 AM ET