In The Future

The future ‘aint what it used to be.

In The Future header image 2
← →

The future of ice hockey …

June 3rd, 2008 · 275 Comments

“I don’t think anybody really watches hockey any more,” said Tiger Woods today when asked about the NHL Stanley Cup.
Hockey fans patiently and politely sit through golf news for a few tidbits of hockey, and then Woods tells us that nobody watches hockey anymore.

Nobody watches hockey?

It’s a miracle that so many people are interested in golf! Of course, its relative popularity has more to do with Nascar-like familiarity than with outright sportsmanship. Everyone who upgrades their car’s exhaust system and passes a Winnebago on the interstate is suddenly a Nascar fan. Likewise, anyone who drags a few clubs around the green and takes a client out for a loop or two is suddenly a golf fan. Why not? In their mind, they all could have been professional golfers, if their daddy would have bought them better clubs or moved closer to the course.

But hockey is obviously not that.

We love hockey — I think — precisely because we know how much better an average NHL skater is from our best day of boot hockey. We drag our kids to 6:00 am practice on a frigid January morning because of the love of the game, with 99% probability that there is no way in hell that our kid is going to go pro.

So “nobody” watches hockey, Tiger?

In 2108, when the world is a different kind of place from today, and most every golf course from 2008 has been converted to suburban housing, then swallowed by the neighboring metropolis … when this happens and golf is a computerized affair with velocity-sensing net in the neighborhood tavern …

When all of this happens, there will still be a few hundred thousand mommies and daddies that drag their kids to hockey practice on frigid January mornings, with 99% probability that their kids will never go pro.

Hockey has been through a lot since the first images of field hockey survived 4000 years from Egypt. And it seems fairly certain that field hockey is golf’s great granddaddy. But there is one thing that is undeniable — ice hockey is clearly the most international sport in North America. A typical NHL team might have skaters from Russia, Canada, U.S.A., Croatia, Norway, Sweden, Finland and a few dozen other countries where parents fight January mornings at 6:00 am. If international participation is any indication, there will be two overwhelmingly popular sports in the future, ice hockey and soccer.

So “nobody” may watch hockey in the clubhouse on the ninth hole, but the world is  paying a bit more attention to the Stanley Cup than anyone in Tiger’s house knows.

Tags: Articles

275 responses so far ↓

Leave a Comment