After spending the better part of the last two decades vying with soccer in a race to the outermost fringe of the American sports conscience, all of those angry Canadians are finally doing things the right way and turning some heads.
The last few months have seen a drastic increase in exciting hockey highlights that have thrown ESPN and the other powers right back into nightly coverage of what is one of the most enjoyable sports to watch in person.
This is because hockey is perfectly suited for one of the most popular and time consuming activities on the planet - Youtube highlights.
I understand that hockey's rules can be difficult to get a firm grip on and that the constant action and difficulty in tracking the puck can lead to people losing interest, but the few people who are on top of all that now have a stage on which to show others the best parts of the sport.
Like to watch incredible shots? Pull up an Alex Ovechkin highlight reel.
Want to see goons beating each other's brains out? There are top 10 lists for those everywhere.
Goalie fights? Got those too.
And then there are the big hits.
I understand that those hits can be dangerous and that the league's poster boy - Sidney Crosby - has missed over 20 games because of a concussion sustained in one of those hits, but it's still worth it for the NHL.
Whether the guys in suits on SportCenter like it or not, angry white guys hitting things with sticks and getting away with on-ice agrevated assault is what gets the attention of most people. They may say that injuries and fighting are what holds the sport back, but with more people than ever getting enjoyment out of watching Zdeno Charra try to put opponents through the glass, I beg to differ.
Americans need excitement. We'll complain when a soccer match ends in a 0-0 draw, we conveniently turned our heads to pretty obvious steroid use in baseball when it started producing huge home runs and high-scoring games.
Since hockey came back from its strike four years ago and brought with it a new batch of rules that promoted more scoring, the ratings have been up. It's nothing like football, but national interest should continue to climb as soon as the league can get out of its terrible television contract and resign with a network other than Versus.
Even the All-Star game has been improved as hockey has made its showcase of talent by far the most entertaining. Choosing captains who then picked their own teams from a pool of All-Stars was the most enjoyable thing I've ever seen at an All-Star game of any kind. Can you imagine how fun it would be to see Peyton Manning and Tom Brady fill out competing teams at the Pro Bowl? It would attract millions to the TV set. Now that hockey has come up with the most innovative All-Star setup of any sport, I'll rank my personal enjoyment of All-Star activities as such:
- Home Run Derby
- NHL All-Star Draft
- Slam Dunk Contest
- MLB Celebrity Softball Game
- NHL's Fastest Goalie Skate-off
- Any of the actual All-Star Games
With ESPN, Deadspin and Youtube showing every big hit and great shot, you're going to make your way back into the spotlight one bloody nose and cracked vertebrae at a time.
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