Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
Two misconceptions of yours require addressing:
1. The league's mandate to expand across the US predated Bettman by several years. (in fact, if you want to get right down to it, it predated Bettman by about 25 years).
2. As I have noted above, this is not 'free' publicity for the NHL. The NHL is not paying out of pocket to have the Olympics promote the sport of hockey, no. But this is an interruption to their business, and that costs. The risk of injury costs. The inability to use coverage or highlights costs. The ridiculous start time of the games dramatically stunts whatever ancillary benefit exists.
Once again, you are trying to take your emotional want as a fan and extrapolate it into the business realm. It doesn't work that way. And most of the emotional impact is driven by the desire for a best-on-best tournament. A revived World Cup takes care of that need easily. It would also take away most of the above concerns while resulting in a tangible financial benefit for both the owners and players - not to mention the federations of the participating nations.
And now you are taking your emotional argument and transforming it into an ad hominem attack. That is not an argument that will sway me, and it certainly won't sway anyone in the NHL.
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Thanks for taking time out of your day in an attempt to prove me wrong.
1.It's well known that Bettman was pushing for the Atlanta franchise to stay in the US. Seattle was talked about a lot. It's no secret that they'd rather have more American teams as they know Canadians will have access to and watch hockey across the country. How else do you explain the Phoenix Coyotes franchise (owned by the NHL) remaining in Phoenix? They are doing what they can to grow the sport in the US.
2. Got me on a technicality there.. IMO what they're gaining long term far exceeds what they lose short term. By the way the majority of people (especially sports fans) have this sweet invention called a PVR.
Why is a World Cup so much different? There's still the risk of injury. There's already a best on best tournament called the Olympics. The World Cup is for HOCKEY so only HOCKEY fans will be watching opposed to the worldwide coverage/involvement of the Olympics. This does very little to grow the sport which has been my point all along.