Does hockey bring you joy, or is it becoming a drag

[Buff]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

I realised a long time ago that my having the Flames as the team I cheered for was totally arbitrary and that you can start to be a fan of another team pretty easily if you allow yourself to, so I looked at the league and figured the best team to cheer for was going to be Pittsburgh and I started cheering for them. That was before their last three cups, and I'm pretty glad I made that choice. I cheer for the Flames, but also cheering for the Pens has meant that I've had a lot more joy than I would have otherwise. Also, I think watching players who excel and you can admire the talent of is what really being a fan is about, and watching success makes it easy to be a fan. So, come the playoffs I'll be cheering for the Pens again and enjoying it a lot more than I have cheering on the Flames in the regular season.

I did love watching the Flames two seasons ago when they would continually come back late in games and were exciting. But the last two seasons have sucked to watch.

In the late 90s and early 2000s I was also a Dallas Stars fan. It was very easy. They had my favorite player, Joe Nieuwendyk, and they beat the Oilers in the playoffs nearly every year!

My interest in the team slowly started to wane when Nieuwy went to Dallas and a year later it was all gone.

It is convenient that the Flames weren't so good and the Stars were and then after Nieuwendyk was dealt to Dallas the Flames started to trend up again.

Once again, I'm finding myself becoming a VGK fan. I love Las Vegas and follow many things Vegas and they're doing good and the Flames are not.

[DiracSpike]

I won't judge people for picking other teams to cheer for as it really doesn't matter all that much, but I can't imagine the elation you would feel if your adopted team wins the Cup would compare at all to my elation if the Flames were to ever win it in my liftime. I have 20 years of sweat equity put in to the Flames, sure it sucks when they disappoint like this year but even just winning a round in 2015 was awesome and makes up for all the crappy times.

[Manhattanboy]

^^ That game six come-back win against VAN at home was epic. Stajan's goal was electric. It was a Saturday night and the party was on after.

[SuperMatt18]

I feel like I used to take it more personally during the Iggy/Kipper failure era (06-13) and would really let the frustration get to me. There was a time where my then girlfriend (now wife) didn't really like hanging out with me on gamedays because she knew I'd be cranky if the Flames lost.

Really then though it was when a I made a conscious effort to be more positive about the team because I was letting the negativity impact other areas of my life.

For me it started with trying to assume that the players & coaches cared as much as I did, and were giving 100% each night.

In that case I didn't have to agree with every decision they made or every move the team made but it at least made me think twice about trashing them at every turn. These guys didn't like losing either and a loss wasn't always because of "not trying".

Personally I can still get pretty frustrated about a loss (specifically games like the last Buffalo game where it was a bit of a no show) but I find that for the most part I'm pretty level headed and don't take it too hard.

Especially games like the 2-0 Dallas loss or the last Penguins loss. The process was there, they played well, but you don't always get the result you need. Really try not to get too down on the losses, especially when they play well enough to win.

And in the end the joys are still just as good. The series win against Van, clinching a playoff spot against Sharks last year. It was still just as enjoyable as the good time were back when I took the losses more personally.

[Frequitude]

Watching hockey brings me boredom. I'm just not that entertained by the product these days and its been that way for a while.

If I go to a game, which is rare, it's just for the social outing and only on a Friday or Saturday.

If its on TV, I just PVR and fast forward until I see a goal or a powerplay. Basically extended highlights. Its been years since I watch a full regular season game on TV live.

I get my joy of hockey through hockey pools. I love my fantasy hockey.

[activeStick]

I also disagree with the majority here about the game today as I think it's more exciting now than ever. I watched the 04 run a while ago and boy the hockey was bad. Tons of water skiing and chips off the glass to get the puck out.

There's a lot more speed and skill today compared to even 15 years ago.

As for reffing, there's always been bad calls to fans and I don't feel that's changed.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I also disagree with the majority here about the game today as I think it's more exciting now than ever. I watched the 04 run a while ago and boy the hockey was bad. Tons of water skiing and chips off the glass to get the puck out.

There's a lot more speed and skill today compared to even 15 years ago.

As for reffing, there's always been bad calls to fans and I don't feel that's changed.

I agree with you here.

For me watching hockey is still just as enjoyable and the product is pretty good. There is lots of skill in this league. Tampa, Nashville, Vegas, Winnipeg, Flames (at times) are all fun teams to watch.

What has changed for me is the enjoyment I get from going to the games live.

Ticket costs, traffic getting in and out of the arena, later start times, etc have made my urge to go to "every" game less necessary. I still like going 6-8 times a season, and mostly on weekends, but that is more than enough for me.

[colbym72]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I also disagree with the majority here about the game today as I think it's more exciting now than ever. I watched the 04 run a while ago and boy the hockey was bad. Tons of water skiing and chips off the glass to get the puck out.

There's a lot more speed and skill today compared to even 15 years ago.

As for reffing, there's always been bad calls to fans and I don't feel that's changed.

Everyone has revisionist history about their favourite players and teams from their youth. 80s hockey looked wonderful but I appreciate today that goalies look like they know what they are doing and teams actually play defense.

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

So I've been thinking about this for a while and it comes back to the discussion. Does Hockey and specifically NHL hockey bring you the same joy and satisfaction as it used to. This isn't about how good or bad the team is, that's really irrelvant to the discussion.

Let me put it this way.

When I was a young lad in the mid 80's I was a fantatic. I used to watch every game that I could. I had a little radio digital wrist watch and when I had to take my dog out for a walk, I had that plugged into my ear. I knew every Flame, I knew their win loss record, I knew their schedule off by heart. Even in the days without Internet, I would race out and spend my hard earned money on the hockey news, and the hockey digest. Stay up late to watch Sports at 11:30 to see stories on the team.

It all lead up to the Win in 89, sitting in a bar watching the Flames hoist the cup. At least I think I did but I was far too drunk.

My fanaticism, continued into the 90's, with the pushing forward of the Internet and information at your finger tips. I became even more of a fan. I could follow prospects better, and do draft preparation, I knew more about other teams. All the games were being televised, and I would make time to either watch them or record them to watch later. From October to June it was hockey time. I participated in virtual hockey leagues like APBA leagues (Remember those).

Maybe it was the long years of bad hockey, maybe the game has changed too much for me.

But now, I just don't know if there's that hockey passion anymore. Even in a tight playoff race its not like I want to rush home, just to watch a game. I have a tablet with NHL.com's app on it, so I can see the highlights and even the stats. I can't remember the last time, I dove super deep into the prospects forum or the farm teams stats. I get excited about certain games.

But even last night watching that Pittsburgh game, halfway through I had a book in my face and I half listened.

Look I want to be clear. This isn't about the whole argument that you see on this board about the Flames sucking or not sucking.

I've just come to the realization, that somehow this game has gotten too monotone, in a way too serious, too stats oriented, and pretty passionless.

What do I think has happened to make the season too long and dropped my interest from super fan to fan to interested bystander

1) Advanced Stats discussion - I get it, and I applaud people who follow them. But I can't subscribe to it. It makes the game too video gamish and too dispassionate. I also wonder about the over all worth in adding to the entertainment value of the game. I guess I'm too old for it. But when someone goes into a lengthy discourse about Corsi, or Fenwich, or Possession, and all I can think about is why that player pulled off of a hit, or my eyes glaze over while the Golden Grahames theme song echo's in my head, it makes me think that I'm not the intended audience.

2) Passion Play - I just don't see it anymore. Hockey has become a systems game. It started in the 80's when coaches for bad teams took the concept of late game Kitty Bar the Door and spread it to the whole game. When coaches defensive strategies were to put a shadow on the best player for the opponents team, maybe it lost me. At some point, hockey has become too much like slot hockey. Its probably caused by coaches trying to hold onto their jobs by playing caution based systems, but what made hockey fun to follow was that it was a fast (for its time) mistake filled game with lots of hitting and passion. I'm not saying its sucks or its bad, but its a disconnect to me.

3) Money - The internet was/is great for getting information. But at this point, it just seems like the fan experience has shifted off ice and there's more excitement around things like Cap Management, and player salary levels and points per dollar. We spend out time talking about arena deals and TV deals. Its almost become like a business meeting when people talk about dollars.

4) Has hockey become a perimeter game? - I think that the move to get hockey off the boards has gone too far. Because hockey is now a donut game to me, it starts two feet from the boards and 10 feet from the slot. Its all about circle like basket ball around the key.

Ayways, is it me, I would happily accept that the game has left me behind. That my groaning when the calendar turns to march that I'm the only one saying, "I'm out of gas on these things".

For the most part, I love this community and the people here, but it seems to be that for the most part, I come to this board for the off topic stuff, the other sports stuff and because I love playing a over the top Oiler hater (Don't worry folks I actually do dislike the Oilers).

Does hockey need to worry about people like me, that have steadily decreased the dollars spent on actually watching the game (C class fan represent Yo).

And no, I 'm not saying, bring back goons and fighting because that's what I want to see.

Is the league missing the boat here by becoming too much like a robot hockey league?

Anyways, I thought it would merit a discussion.

[pylon]

A lot of people bemoaning the boringness of this years team. I can tell you straight up, that is a byproduct of Gulutzan. The dude is beyond boring and lame, and it reflects in what he is getting from the team. He looks boring, he sounds boring, he coaches boring. And I don't blame him, he took the job being what he is, it's the people that offered it to him that are responsible. They knew what they were getting.

Could anyone have used the word boring to describe a Hartley or D. Sutter team? No. The sooner Gluegun wanders off into the sunset and into a pit of quicksand, the better.

[Stanley]

My overall passion for hockey in terms of that pure love for the game, especially playing Rec and skating outdoors - that hasen't changed much.

But the spark for NHL hockey in general has gone down considerably. I'll miss games without caring much, or when we lose I no longer let it affect my life so emotionally. Plus the reffing/rules like goalie interference and offside challenges are downright irritating and ruin the flow of the game.

There's also age/time of your life to consider, I mean, when you're in your late 30's with kids and other priorities, NHL hockey tends to slide down the priority list.

[Stanley]

Come to think of it, I think the tinkering with coach's challenges and rules are what really grind my gears lately.

Fart on a goalie and it's interference. Oh but we want more scoring...hellooooo?!!

Offside by a half hair and it's no goal, even if it happened several minutes before the goal. Did I mention they want more scoring?!!

Face-offs - DROP THE F-ING PUCK!!!

A good legal shoulder hit and you have players whining and trying to fight over it - sit the heck down and take it like a man.

Inconsistent calls, period.

Just a few things that grind my gears

[Rollin22x]

the start of a game.... joy!
3rd shift in the game... less joy
The rollercoaster continues from there.

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I also disagree with the majority here about the game today as I think it's more exciting now than ever. I watched the 04 run a while ago and boy the hockey was bad. Tons of water skiing and chips off the glass to get the puck out.

There's a lot more speed and skill today compared to even 15 years ago.

As for reffing, there's always been bad calls to fans and I don't feel that's changed.

I agree that there has always been bad calls. The fact that they don't ever do anything about it is the problem. We're not far off from having humans living on Mars, but this multi-billion dollar industry still hasn't found a way to use technology to tell if a round disk has crossed a fixed line. Fix that one problem, and it frees the refs up to do a lot more actual reffing instead of puck following. It removes the need for boring and time sucking goal reviews etc etc.

Then move on to using technology to call offsides and icings, and suddenly you don't even need to have linesmen on the ice, making more room for the players to make plays. Things like this aren't hard to implement in the 21st century, but things are still pretty much being done the same way they were 100 years ago in the NHL.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I also disagree with the majority here about the game today as I think it's more exciting now than ever. I watched the 04 run a while ago and boy the hockey was bad. Tons of water skiing and chips off the glass to get the puck out.

There's a lot more speed and skill today compared to even 15 years ago.

As for reffing, there's always been bad calls to fans and I don't feel that's changed.

Totally, who cares about games that don't matter? This is high drama now.

If watching hockey is a chore, take a break or accept that you are not really a fan. That's OK.

I'd rather listen to a person that watched all 60 minutes complain about how bad the game was, than listen to someone tell me how they didn't watch because they are tired of the game in general.

It's a freaking game, stop being so emo.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

I agree that there has always been bad calls. The fact that they don't ever do anything about it is the problem. We're not far off from having humans living on Mars, but this multi-billion dollar industry still hasn't found a way to use technology to tell if a round disk has crossed a fixed line. Fix that one problem, and it frees the refs up to do a lot more actual reffing instead of puck following. It removes the need for boring and time sucking goal reviews etc etc.

Then move on to using technology to call offsides and icings, and suddenly you don't even need to have linesmen on the ice, making more room for the players to make plays. Things like this aren't hard to implement in the 21st century, but things are still pretty much being done the same way they were 100 years ago in the NHL.

Sometimes you win when you suffer from bad calls, sometimes you lose when you benefit from bad calls.

I agree that NHL officiating can sometimes suck, but it really is the same for every team through a whole season.

Compared the Gellinas winning the Cup and having it taken away everything since then has been small potatoes. As long as people are making the decisions there will be mistakes, even with tech.