Still a bit disappointed here after yesterday (great job Team Canada!) and this morning (Congrats and impressive win Finland!). I'm not sure how you grow the game.
I grew up in the Northeast (20 miles north of Boston), and grew up with the game (it was multi-generational there)...I also spent a fair amount of my youth living in places like Florida, Colorado, and Southern California that didn't have hockey roots.
I played the game growing up and still play a pick-up game here and there as an adult. I've tried getting friends interested in hockey to no avail. I think it's a game you have to grow up with. The only friends I have that are interested in hockey are people that grew up in the northeast or upper midwest...most other people in the states seem to be only interested in NFL or MLBA (I've never been friends with anybody that follows NBA or NASCAR...go figure).
That being said, I've seen hockey (and lacrosse) grow quite a bit in the states over the past 20 years or so...out of the traditional northeast/midwest markets. That's probably how you grow the game, get more youth programs started. Hockey has always been somewhat of a middle class/upper middle class/rich kid sport in the U.S, so that's a barrier.
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