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Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle
I agree with you on all accounts. But the point is, that even with the smaller US viewership than the summer games, it's significantly bigger than anything hockey could generate on its own.
And getting the Americans to tune in and watch the "guys in the jersey" is what the NHL wanted,to then try and make those guys in the jerseys house hold names that people would care about and start to follow (and therefore care about) and watch them in the NHL.
Never really thought about it before, but how much did Canada winning the Salt Lake and Vancouver games over the US cost the NHL? Imagin if Kane, Roenik or Hull had netted a golden goal for the US. Not trying to say it would have launched the NHL into a brand new realm, but if an US hockey star could have been associated with a moment, it would have been huge.
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I dont think Americans watch the Olympics as sport. They watch it like a drama like a tv show. This is seen by showing the Olympics as a taped delayed tv show with 100 commercials. Just like any tv show the heros are in US Jerseys and the villians are the rest. The US wins and they cheer for a second cause the hero won. To then go watch the sport of hockey after that? That would actually require work.