I have always liked ice hockey. The sport is incredibly exciting to watch. The players are extremely talented. And, best of all, it’s a game that can be enjoyed by all ages. Unfortunately, the sport is not as popular as it could be. It seems that people either don’t know how to play or they are simply not interested in learning. Either way, that’s a lot of potential fans that the game could be losing. Let’s take a look at the reasons why hockey might not be as popular as it could be.
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Too Cold
Hockey is probably the least popular winter sport. The average temperature in September is 11 degrees. For most people, that’s simply too cold. It’s easy to understand why. Fewer people are likely to play sports in cold weather. It’s also easy to see why the average person wouldn’t want to play hockey. The average person is going to struggle through the winter in Canada just to stay alive. It’s not a place for the faint of heart. Naturally, the temperatures get even worse in the mountains. If you live up there, you know what I mean. When the winter temperatures are combined with the wind chill, it can feel like you’re in for the worst of both worlds.
Not For Everyone
Hockey is a game that can be enjoyed by all ages and genders. It’s always great to see parents and their kids playing together. It looks like a lot of fun! If you are a small child, you’ll probably be safe on the playground. But as you get older, the game grows more challenging. It’s not for everyone. Thankfully, there are simply more kinds of hockey than there are squares on a diagram. If you don’t enjoy regular hockey, there are plenty of other options available. You could try hockey-themed mini golf or paintball. Those are a ton of fun too!
No Television Coverage
Hockey is one of the few sports that doesn’t get a lot of television coverage. Sure, there are always the big games that get a lot of attention. But aside from that, the sport doesn’t really get the coverage that it deserves. If you want to find out more about hockey, you have to look online or at small community newspapers. It’s not something that’s presented in detail on the nightly news. That’s a real shame. If you’re a hockey fan, it’s important to find ways to get your game on television. If possible, try to get a game on social media so that people can follow your adventure. Just being on the internet isn’t enough anymore. People need to be able to see you in real life as well. That way, they know that you’re just a face in the crowd. Your game might not be on television, but that doesn’t mean that nobody knows who you are. Twitter and Instagram are great for this. You can often find people who are willing to help you get your game on the big screen. Just make sure that you’re following all the proper channels. You don’t want to end up on some kind of scam site. Hockey isn’t for everyone, but it’s an incredibly versatile sport that deserves more attention than it gets. Hopefully, with some extra effort, we’ll be able to change that.
Not Enough Mature Leagues
Hockey is typically a sport for older kids and adults. It was originally developed as a way to challenge kids that were a little too rough. Since then, it’s just sort of stuck. There aren’t a lot of leagues for young kids. It’s always great when there are, but that’s mainly thanks to the great mentors those coaches can find. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a direct correlation between how old you need to be and how good you need to be to play. A lot of the top players have gone on to do great things in the NHL.
No Women’s Leagues
While men’s hockey has been around for a while, women’s hockey is a relatively new development. Even back in the 1800s, women weren’t necessarily included in the game. It wasn’t until the 1930s that women’s hockey started to become a popular sport. Unfortunately, today, there aren’t a lot of women’s leagues. If you’re a hockey fan and you want to follow the game, you’re mostly going to be following the men. That’s not exactly the most attractive proposition for the fairer sex. Hopefully, over time, more women will start participating in hockey.
No African American Players
Hockey is one of the few sports that doesn’t have many African American players. It’s always great to see more diversity in media, but it would be even greater if there were more minorities involved in the game. Even back in the 1800s, there weren’t many African Americans playing hockey. Nowadays, it seems like people of color are completely absent from the sport. If you’re a hockey fan and you want to see more minorities represented in the game, make sure that you’re participating in diversity in your area. If not, start a club with your friends. You’ll have fun!
No College Majors
Hockey is a great sport, but it isn’t for everyone. If you’re playing the sport, you’ll probably be doing it for fun. There aren’t a lot of professions that you could enter directly into after graduating from college. You could become a teacher, a nurse, or a lawyer. But, if you really want to get into hockey, you’re probably going to have to do some post-graduate studies. There aren’t a lot of options available to people who are just entering the workforce. Hopefully, as the sport becomes more popular, more majors will open up.
Limited Television Exposure
This one might surprise you. But, actually, if you’re watching television, you’re probably not seeing too much hockey. Nowadays, people aren’t necessarily watching the traditional television channels. If you want to catch an NHL game, you might have to search online or attend a sporting event that is being televised. Even then, you’re not always going to see the game that you want to follow. That just means that you have to be more mindful about what games you’re tuning in to. If possible, try to watch games involving teams that you like. It’s a lot more fun that way. Maybe you’ll even learn something. Or at least you’ll feel like you did. Just because the game is popular doesn’t mean that it’s accessible to everybody. There are certainly more options today than ever before. But finding the right game still requires a little bit of work on your part.
Hopefully, none of this was too surprising. I think that, in general, if you’re a hockey fan, you’re going to agree with nearly all of these reasons. It’s a shame that the sport doesn’t get the coverage that it deserves. There are a lot of talented hockey players out there. The sport is challenging and it’s lots of fun. It just needs a bit of an upgrade to get more people interested in it. Hopefully, with some extra effort, we’ll be able to change that.