How Big Is Hockey In The US of A?

[SFDMALEX]

So how big is it there? You guys got more teams then the Canadians, your teams are very good which is quite ironic...So how big is hockey in America? How popular? Do you see people with flags of their favorite teams on their cars and such?

Because here in Canada Toronto hockey is as big as soccer was back home. People wearing jerseys, Leafs flags on their cars, leafs bumper stickers, crazy fans....

[Vansquish]

Hockey can be quite a big thing here...Hockey is huge in Detroit, we're one of the original teams and have one of the fiercest rivalries (with the Avs who also have a huge fan base), so when there's a game, JLA is almost always sold out, and there are hundreds of thousands of people who watch each game. It's probably as big if not bigger than the Pistons are I'd say.

As for High School and college hockey, they're pretty exciting and well-watched as well. (it helps that U of M and MSU both have excellent hockey clubs)

I guess the answer is, it's big...but it depends on where you are and what team you root for.

[nthfinity]

dont forget that in most cases (not this year unfortunately) WMU has a better hockey team then both msu, and U of M :)

god i love hockey!
Red Wings are doing ok at 2 games a piece... and curtis joseph is starting in game 5

legacy is great, but, perhaps tired in the away battles?

lovin hockey!

[crazidude]

heh just to tell you its Legace not Legacy.
I was thinking that hockey down in the states was eclipsed by other sports like baseball and football.

[Vansquish]

Legace was a bit off his game in Nashville, and he's had a bit of a rough time there in the past (got injured etc...) but he's been rock solid at home. I'd like to see him take the reigns for most of the playoffs, but I think maybe it is Cujo's turn right now, Legace needs to rest up and regain some confidence. Either way, the next few games should be pretty interesting.

[666fast]

Minnesota is called the state of Hockey.
Both college and Pro hockey are huge here in Minnesota.
We used to have the Stars, known as Northstars here, but they left for Dallas a long time ago.
Now we have the Wild. The NHL awarded a franchise to Minnesota Hockey Ventures Group on June 25, 1997. Fans of the State of Hockey embrace its new club - the Minnesota Wild - by setting an NHL expansion team attendance record during its inaugural 2000-2001 season.
Want season tickets? Get in line, you'll get them in a few years.
Twelve sons of the “State of Hockey” led by St. Paul’s Herb Brooks bring the United States an improbable gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Nine of the 12 go on to play in the NHL.

So yea, lots of people have flags and jerseys and whatnot. During every game, never go to a sportsbar or a restaruant that plays the game. It'll take hours to get a seat. It's definately huge here.

[mitsu_3kgt_ads]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think the order goes like this.
1. Football (American type)
2. Baseball
3. Basketball
4. Hockey

I'm not including college sports.

[dingo]

You guys are lucky you get any hockey. I'm a fan but here in Australia you get next to nothing whihc sucks. I was in Vancouver over Xmas and watched a Canucks-Hurricanes game live which was awesome.

[DMbaseball1604]

Hockey is pretty popular here, even in the south were it isnt all that cold. I love going to the Stars games (The Dallas Stars) they are awesome!

[FoxFour]

About 25 years ago, hockey in my home town would have been laughable. Now, with all the people from up north migrating in Charleston, hockey is big down here. Has been for over ten years, the local fans eat it up. Guess what- almost all of the players are Canadian. Here's the local site http://www.stingrayshockey.com/
Oh, we have a soccer team as well, the Charleston Battery. http://www.charlestonbattery.com/welcome.asp
Oh, by the way; we have the Family Circle Cup, featuring world renowned female Tennis players. I think the series ends on Sunday. http://www.familycirclecup.com/

[alex_jean22]

I leave at 5 hours in car from Montréal and during the winter we don't hear a lot of hockey but now that the Canadiens( the name of Montréal's hockey team) do the series, a lot of people in the school are dressed with canadien's shirt or hat and we can hear that evry conversations the morning after a game are about it. Even the teatchers talks to us about it. C'est la fièvre du Hockey.

[spitfire6000]

honestly hockey is only big in a state where the team is good....

Look at New York for example...the Rangers used to be amazing but after they started sucking ass, the people forgot about them...same for the islanders.

[crazidude]

The Islanders aren't that bad... atleast they made it to the playoffs. I'm curious about the Rangers though. They have a pretty good line up and yet they're sukcing like hell. Why is that?