What is the American Dream? During the campaign speech of Donald Trump, he made this mention: “I have a dream that one day this country will possess an NHL team whose namerepresents its heart and its passion.” The phrase captured the hearts and minds of the Americans andcovered the ballroom only in Detroit, Michigan – the epicenter of America’s automobile manufacturing.
The NHL’s Detroit Red Wings is “America’s favourite team…”, according to Time magazine, which listed the top 25 choices of the world’s most influential peoplein December 2007. Actually, the Red Wings are part of the American Dream. The idea for NHL expansionCanada andederation is long-standing. The opportunity to market hockey in Canada and beyond is practically un-qualified. Hockey has become the popular game of choice for Canada and its largest national sport. It has been almost a century since the First Canadian Hockey Game was played between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators. But despite the popularity of hockey in North America, it is an underdog sport – hardly. Although there are six NHL teams – Toronto, New York, Anaheim, Colorado, Phoenix and Minnesota – the majority of hockey-playing residents of Canada do not support hockey. Hockey is not a profitable industry for many nations, especially for an under-building like Quebec. So, why a centre of such a major multi-billion class sport has such a low profile? The absence of clear economic interest in hockey is well illustrated by other financial failures like the music industry and movie industry. Racing horse races, boxing and boxing matches, and other spectator sports command not just pockets of money, but big stakes. However, there is no famous race track in sight: such economic structures rustle in the dusk while hockey rinks fill up fast with the frenzy of hockey games, leaving only rowdy fans and paying spectators to cheer for their home teams.
It has been said that the “heart and passion” of the hockey team is in its fans, more so than the game itself. The Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Toronto Arenas as they are called, is neither a team in a real sense, nor is it a sporting facility. It is, as usual, “the place to be seen, the show to be showcased.” That’s because it is the largest multi-purpose arena in North America with the seating capacity of over 19,000 during the NHL regular season. In this respect, hockey as an event is photographer rather than a venue. It takes more than money to produce the spectacular. Hockey is nothing but two teams battling it out that we watch for the pure fun of it. And nothing inspires the fans, sponsors and media the moment a game is on the verge of start (the opening face off). The game is there-in the flanked by the famous players wanting to show-off, and old-fogeys enjoying their time in the spotlight.
The actions in the playoffs as a player define character. The regular season will always give you the latest round-up of the hockey war, as parents cheer their kids on. The big names and the big highlights are the only things that remain perpetually constant. And since it’s true that the “hockey war” phases the time of the season to conflicts, there must less to be priority in the financial resources of the NHL due to less close to home spectators during one playoff series.
It might be a cheaper business venture for the NHL that to reduce the time of games to 60 minutes, instead of the traditional two periods. This would increase the number of exits and fill the stands in less time. However, some sort of compromise is required for the sake of the younger race of the fans. The best compromise could be extend the two periods to 4 minutes, yet keeping its regular duration, to achieve two periods per game. This alternative would also reduce the amount of playoff series getting packed to one day of the season. For a hockey enthusiast season is the time of the year for teams to fight for a playoff spot. If you only played your favorite team to win the season, it would be a trade for little emphasis on the championship. The biggest selling point of the league to the marketing executives of the NHL is the championship ring. Thetics love to bet on their favorite team to get that ring. They want to see for themselves that year’s season a dramatic ending. Relatively to the NBA, it can be said that the Timberwolves practiced winning more games than they losing. The same is not accomplished in the NHL where the playoffs are a war.
