With almost four weeks completed in October, it seems as if a large part of the local sports media is concerned with asking one question: Why aren't we playing hockey yet? As a Canadian sports fan, & self-proclaimed pessimist, I've found myself asking a different question as of late: Who cares?
One sports story that continuously has been making headlines is the current NHL lockout; which is odd because little ever happens in regards to it. On one hand we've got billionaire owners claiming they're not getting enough of the profit generated by the league. On the other, there are millionaire players who don't appear to be interested in earning less money from the arduous task of playing a game for a living. Between these two sides, it seems three stories make it to the beginning of most sports broadcasts I've come across: Side A extends an offer to Side B (which gets rejected), Side B will make a counter-offer to Side A (which gets rejected) & (my personal favourite) "Talks have broken off & aren't scheduled to recommence until next week".
It seems to me that if the owners didn't want players to have super-long contracts, they'd
stop offering them super-long contracts. If the league didn't want to
have franchises that lost money season after season they'd give up on
places like Phoenix (Sorry, 'yotes fans) & at least appear willing
to move these teams to cities in southern Ontario or Quebec. Also, if you really wanted there to be a season you wouldn't be spending time away from the bargaining table days before the deadlines that you agreed to.
Does the average person actually care about the percentage of hockey related revenue the owners will get when compared to the previous collective bargaining agreement? Are my personal decisions going to be affected by the amount that player salaries are going to be rolled back? If both of those are a no, why is it constantly among the lead stories in sports? The noon baseball show on local sports radio came off the air in the
playoffs to make room for the hockey show that talks about the fact that
there is no hockey. Meanwhile there's soccer, basketball &
playoff baseball. I'm not even a football guy & not only am I about ready to hear about the exploits of Tim Tebow but I'd be willing to hear more about the Canadian version of the game. Yet somehow what should be a case study in a business class is the biggest thing in sports.
The media cares more than we do about this dispute. While the average person can change the channel when hockey isn't on, they are the channel. They need to fill time & sell advertising space. It sucks that they won't shine their spotlight on the other sports in this country but they want hockey news because it's what's got them to the point that they are now. Until then, I'll be fine watching other sports where games actually get played. Call me when your pucks drop.
No comments:
Post a Comment