Maybe it’s just that the “Canada’s sport” thing is incredibly overrated.

This happens every year when a Canadian team isn’t in the Finals.  There are way too many Canadian hockey “fans” whose interest stops outside of the Canadian 6 teams.  They’re not hockey fans, they’re Canada fans.

Posted by Primis on 06/09/09 at 08:03 AM ET

Personally, I think hockey is way overrated in Canada. It should be more popular than it is since its a one sport country afterall. I also think Canadians are F-ed in the head about the USA. They have this thing about American teams always winning the Cup and how they are getting screwed by Bettman and everyone else because they don’t have a team in Losapeg anymore. Basically they have this huge inferiority complex regarding the USA and they always will. It’s like if only Toronto or Montreal could win the Cup everything would be great….except both those teams are about 60% Europeans…they need to give up on the nationalism bs…In America 50% of the baseball players are latins like 70% of the hockey players are non Americans but nobody really cares. We just want to see the best for our money

Posted by kevin from boston on 06/09/09 at 08:04 AM ET

It’s the cognitive dissonance of it all.

When you have people convinced by their national icon, Don Cherry, that you can’t win the Cup unless your roster is 95% Canadian, and Europeans and Russians are weak and can’t match the North American desire to win Lord Stanley’s Cup, yet the team with the most European players and least amount of Canadian players is on the verge of winning 5 in 12, well, it produces confusion and anger in the general populace.

So the best way to get rid of the confusion and anger? Tune out.

Xenophobia in sports is never pretty. And the blame is squarely with Don Cherry, for whipping a country that is usually not prone to xenophobia to be possibly the most xenophobic people on the planet when it comes to hockey.

Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 06/09/09 at 08:22 AM ET

I can only imagine how Don Cherry could become so powerful as to sway all of Canada, I don’t think he creates the xenophobia, but reflects it. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of where you are from, but that shouldn’t delude you into thinking that where you come from makes you inherently superior.

I’m just curious to see how much the ratings dropped from the start of the game through the second period. This was a tied series going into the game and I would find it hard to believe that the viewers that didn’t tune in were so savvy that they knew beforehand that this was going to be a blowout.

Posted by Hockey1919 from Montreal on 06/09/09 at 08:53 AM ET

As a Canadian, I think the Stanley Cup should be presented to the victorious team in May, not June (i.e. the season is too long).  I consider myself a diehard hockey fan, but when the weather turns beautiful, I’d much rather get nine holes in or go for a bike ride with my kids than stay indoors in early June and watch hockey.

It would also be interesting to see the breakdown of these ratings by region and city.  It has been known for some time that the majority of metro Toronto people are Leafs fans, not necessarily hockey fans, and that is going to skew the numbers nationally.

Posted by dash_pinched from Rumour Mill Bay on 06/09/09 at 09:43 AM ET

I’m guessing Canadians are a lot like me - if your team isn’t in the playoffs, and the weather outside is nice, why stay inside and watch?  I know I don’t really watch if I don’t have a team in the race anymore.  Why should Canadians be any different just because the official line is that they are more fans of the game than their individual teams?

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/09/09 at 10:28 AM ET

Three words:

THEME SONG’S GONE.

Needs no other explanation.

Posted by mud on 06/09/09 at 10:36 AM ET

I consider myself a diehard hockey fan, but when the weather turns beautiful, I’d much rather get nine holes in or go for a bike ride with my kids than stay indoors in early June and watch hockey.

I think you just explained why you are NOT a dieheard hockey fan. (New topic for The Puck Stops Here???)

Die hard hockey fans will watch the SC Playoffs no matter who is playing.  If you’d rather golf than watch once your team falls out, then you may be diehard for your team, but I wouldn’t consider you a diehard hockey fan.

Just my oppinion…no offense Baroque.

I’m guessing that we’re rapidly finding out that the notion that Canadians are all diehard hockey nuts isn’t true to the extent that some would like to beleive…but in fact, is more like you’re fan from the US, who watches when their team is playing, but goes for twilight golf when they get knocked out.

Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 06/09/09 at 10:42 AM ET

The games are played at 8 pm to 11 pm….what exactly are Canadians doing outside at that time…..????....Personally, I think the ratings are down for the same reason they are down a little in the USA. Too many weekend games…I know its a “tradition” in Canada for HNIC Saturday nite…but I have to believe people go out on Sat night just like they do in America. The other thing is the French do not give a damn unless Montreal is playing. They look down on the rest of the planet and are probably insulted to watch a team with English on their jersey

Posted by kevin from boston on 06/09/09 at 10:53 AM ET

I would love to see what would happen to NBC’s ratings if two Canadian teams played in the final.

Posted by Josh from Fort St. John, BC on 06/09/09 at 12:28 PM ET

@kevin from boston: What are we doing outside? Patios and decks. We only have a few months to use these things here, and we take advantage of them.

Posted by Josh from Fort St. John, BC on 06/09/09 at 12:32 PM ET

Well I can tell you personally that I have watched every game of the Stanley Cup playoffs but I’m finding it difficult.

To my mind the officiating is ruining what otherwise should have been a great series. It’s difficult to watch the game when you no longer know what does and does not constitute a penalty.

I’m tired of hearing the commentators including Don Cherry say what a great job the officials are doing at every break when almost every period there has been a blown/missed call.  It’s insulting to true fans of the game that know the difference between how the game was called 2 months ago and what is happening now.

  The fact is the ratings are up in the US and down in Canada. A whole new generation of bandwagon American fans have been added to the demographic thanks in large part to the success of Chicago’s run, Pittsburgh fan’s finally believe they have a team that’s for real and Detroit fans are unemployed and can’t afford to go out.

As for Kevin In Boston, you appear to be the smartest American I have ever had the pleasure to read comments from. You have it all figured out, from our obvious inferiority to the US right down to those venomous french that despise the greatest language on the planet. Bill O’Reilly has nothing on you, looking forward to your late night show. Oh BTW, games are played from 5pm to 8pm, I know you see I live on the other coast….not the center of my own universe

Posted by Kevin from Vancouver on 06/10/09 at 10:24 AM ET