Good topic Cap. I'm on board with many that are just not as interested in NHL hockey as they used to. There are many reasons for this.
I'm older now and just not willing to invest as much time in watching sports like I used to. This is not only with hockey, but all sports. I'm in my mid 40s and grew up in eastern Canada (NB). When I was younger, many a weekend went like this: Saturday night, back to back Hockey Night in Canada games. The east game (Toronto or Montreal) and the west game (Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver). Sunday, 3 NFL games. That's about 15 hours of sports, not to mention pre and post-game coverage. I used to eat that stuff right up. I can't even remember the last time I did this type of thing during the football and hockey seasons. I also have the same non-committal time issue with watching NBA and MLB. Between kids and other options where I can entertain myself, my overall interest in watching sports has diminished greatly. I play around 60 to 65 hockey games a year. That I enjoy. Great workout too. Actually, I watch little television at all. If it's not sports, I don't watch. Next.
The game is not what it used to be. You can find other threads where people point out reasons and areas the game has changed. Personally, I like my hockey fast-paced, physical and teams able to generate a good number of scoring chances per game. Some may say this happens every game, and to a certain extent, that's true. However, there seems to be an overall lack of passion to the NHL game. It seems I care more about what goes on during a game than some players. A lot of fly-byes, no contact bug me. I'm not saying I need to see players go flying, get their heads knocked off, everyone trying to throw bone-crunching checks, etc. Just hit players when the opportunity comes up, wear these guys down. Anyone who's ever played defense knows what it's like chasing down a puck in your zone with an opposing player on your heels. I know I expected contact, a lot more often than not. Anyway, just a bit of a gripe I have. Someone can disprove this and great for you. I am just not as entertained. Maybe age-related again.
I know this isn't supposed to be about the Flames necessarily, but as a long-time fan of the club, it has been a frustrating time indeed. I remember the cup run in 86, the cup win in 89 and the great run in 04. Having said that, since the Flames won the cup in 1989, they have made it out of the 1st round of the playoffs what? twice? I'm just going by memory here, maybe 3. That's... Yikes... that's deplorable. It sure puts your love and commitment in this team to the test. Still a fan, even out here in the Atlantic time zone.
Work stoppages / Lockouts. The MLB one in the 90s killed a lot of enthusiasm I had for baseball. Yes, I liked the Expos. What could have been for that franchise... anyway. The NHL has more than it's fair share. This has been killer for me. It's amazing the things you can find to do when you are basically forced to. And to top it all off, the talk I hear is don't be surprised if there is another work-stoppage once this deal is up. Ugh. People who follow hockey get sick of it. However, younger people seem to be like, meh, who cares. The younger generation seem to be less willing overall to spend their dollars on sports in general. Isn't this an issue with television watching overall? Either way, lockouts cannot be helping this cause.
There are other reasons but these are my main ones. Age, interests, lack of entertainment, apathy. Take care everyone. Enjoy your Tuesday.
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