HockeyMan2000
New member
Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever
I am looking at it from a wider perspective. The NCAA ought to be happy it has a core group of "pure hockey fans" who are willing to travel to any venue to watch the Frozen Four every year, because the sport itself doesn't seem to be sustaining its existence as well as it used to. Some programs have folded up over the last few years. Attendance issues seem to be more prevalent even in hockey hotbeds than they used to be, etc. There's certainly no problem with "access" for the NCAA regional round when most venues over the last couple of years are not even functioning at half capacity. So thinking that this sport is ever going to become widespread or popular enough to really bother "increasing awareness" as opposed to maintaining what they have, and improving upon, their current "model" is just baffling to me. The demand for this sport really isn't there outside of traditional regions where the game is played and watched. Look at the history of professional and collegiate hockey in terms of popularity, ratings, attendance, etc. -- the college game is a regional one and that's never going to change.
Outside of selling more tickets and making money (which, I'd be interested to know, how much more profit they really made since there was more "production" involved in staging this Frozen Four), the main reason they did this was basically for publicity, no? And what kind of publicity did it generate -- scores of articles, discussion and even ESPN announcers like Gary Thorne bad-mouthing it on a national telecast that I'm going to guess delivered no more "casual fans" than it would if it were held anywhere else?
Irritating the very core group of fans who go to great expense to travel to venues every year, not to mention making your "showcase" Frozen Four less than optimal from a sheer performance standpoint because the ice isn't good enough -- just seems to be an ill-conceived notion. I would disagree holding it in Detroit did anything for the game's "awareness" and "access." The sport can't even fill half a venue for its prior playoff round in most parts of the country -- where the game IS played.
I think the NCAA looked at this as a trial, to see how it would work, etc. I highly doubt it's going to be attempted again anytime in the near future, thankfully.
I am looking at it from a wider perspective. The NCAA ought to be happy it has a core group of "pure hockey fans" who are willing to travel to any venue to watch the Frozen Four every year, because the sport itself doesn't seem to be sustaining its existence as well as it used to. Some programs have folded up over the last few years. Attendance issues seem to be more prevalent even in hockey hotbeds than they used to be, etc. There's certainly no problem with "access" for the NCAA regional round when most venues over the last couple of years are not even functioning at half capacity. So thinking that this sport is ever going to become widespread or popular enough to really bother "increasing awareness" as opposed to maintaining what they have, and improving upon, their current "model" is just baffling to me. The demand for this sport really isn't there outside of traditional regions where the game is played and watched. Look at the history of professional and collegiate hockey in terms of popularity, ratings, attendance, etc. -- the college game is a regional one and that's never going to change.
Outside of selling more tickets and making money (which, I'd be interested to know, how much more profit they really made since there was more "production" involved in staging this Frozen Four), the main reason they did this was basically for publicity, no? And what kind of publicity did it generate -- scores of articles, discussion and even ESPN announcers like Gary Thorne bad-mouthing it on a national telecast that I'm going to guess delivered no more "casual fans" than it would if it were held anywhere else?
Irritating the very core group of fans who go to great expense to travel to venues every year, not to mention making your "showcase" Frozen Four less than optimal from a sheer performance standpoint because the ice isn't good enough -- just seems to be an ill-conceived notion. I would disagree holding it in Detroit did anything for the game's "awareness" and "access." The sport can't even fill half a venue for its prior playoff round in most parts of the country -- where the game IS played.
I think the NCAA looked at this as a trial, to see how it would work, etc. I highly doubt it's going to be attempted again anytime in the near future, thankfully.
