Let\u2019s move off of baseball and (gasp!) football for a second and focus on another professional sport, or, more accurately, a \u201cprofessional\u201d sport.\u00a0 Why throw up dick fingers around professional, you ask?\u00a0 Simple.<\/p>\n
The NHL and its union are in the middle of another labor battle, the second in eight years.\u00a0 The league has already canceled games through November, and, since the league and the union can\u2019t even agree to meet with each other (each side has stated that they are willing to meet but blamed the other for not wanting to \u2013 how is that possible?) more games will certainly be canceled, possibly the entire season.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the problem:\u00a0 Nobody gives a shit.\u00a0 At least, nobody in America gives a shit, and that\u2019s all The Machine cares about (suck it, Canada).\u00a0 Seriously, no one cares.\u00a0 The Machine\u2019s willing to bet if you ask 10 regular Americans their thoughts on the NHL lockout, 6 will have no clue there is one, 2 won\u2019t even know the season\u00a0should\u2019ve already started, and the other 2 will have heard about it, but still wouldn\u2019t be able to tell you who won the Stanley Cup last year.<\/p>\n
Complicating matters is the fact that players have other options.\u00a0 Unlike the NFL, there are other professional leagues players can turn to.\u00a0 There are over 140 NHL players currently playing in other professional leagues.\u00a0 And not just scrub NHL players\u2026names like Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane, Daniel Briere, Zdeno Chara, Jaromir Jagr, the heavyweights of the NHL.\u00a0 That poses a big problem.\u00a0 Since the risk of injury is so high, these players run the risk of damaging their NHL careers by playing in smoked filled arenas in Moscow, which in turns runs the risk of watering down the competition when (read: if) the labor fight ends.<\/p>\n
But I digress.\u00a0 Another, perhaps bigger,\u00a0problem is there is no pressure to get a deal done.\u00a0 The owners, you know, the rich, old white guys that buy sports franchises for fun, are already rich as shit and thus will not sign a deal just to sign a deal.\u00a0 The players, unlike the NFL, have other, good paying jobs to seek refuge to.\u00a0 And, to top it off, the public by and large doesn\u2019t care (contrast this with the NFL last year, when people went ape-shit after the Hall of Fame pre-season game was canceled).\u00a0 All of this combined leads to no incentive to get back on the ice anytime soon.<\/p>\n
Hey, if there\u2019s any professional athlete that deserves to make bank, it\u2019s an NHL player.\u00a0 These guys risk their lives every game.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve ever been to an NHL game (watching it on TV doesn\u2019t really do it justice) you see firsthand the speed, power, and bone-crushing hits that define the NHL.\u00a0 It\u2019s an amazing contrast of finesse and force.<\/p>\n
However, that alone won\u2019t get you paid.\u00a0 Size matters, and in professional sports, the size that matters is the size of your TV deal, endorsements, merchandise sales, and ticket sales.\u00a0 And, in these areas, the NHL is light years behind the rest.\u00a0 The NHL ranks fifth in total revenue, behind the NFL, MLB, NBA, EPL (that\u2019s English Premier League, America); just above perennial last place league the MLS).<\/p>\n
Bottom line:\u00a0 get your asses in a conference room and get a deal done.\u00a0 Shit, go to any city in Canada where you will actually feel pressure from the public to end this.\u00a0 Two lockouts in eight years is unacceptable for any sport, and even more so for a sport with fleeting public interest and low revenues.<\/p>\n
And while the league and the union continue to blame each other, here\u2019s something they both can take credit for.\u00a0 A Tuesday Teabag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s move off of baseball and (gasp!) football for a second and focus on another professional sport, or, more accurately, a \u201cprofessional\u201d sport.\u00a0 Why throw up dick fingers around professional, you ask?\u00a0 Simple. The NHL and its union are in … Continue reading