TOUGHEST TICKET EVER ....

brookbob · January 1, 2009 6:21AM

for a regular season game in the history of chicago sports...240,000 requests for todays outdoor hockey game.....like the media is always telling us....NOBODY LIKES HOCKEY.......INDEED

lawnmowerman · January 1, 2009 6:38AM

I like hockey alot. That ball they hit around travels really fast!

Goot · January 1, 2009 7:34AM

<< <i>.....like the media is always telling us....NOBODY LIKES HOCKEY.......INDEED >>

I always find that hilarious. The NHL has the same attendance as the NBA, so that must mean nobody likes basketball, right? I think the main reason they think nobody likes it is because of a lack of a major tv contract. Hatters.

PoppaJ · January 1, 2009 7:47AM

Bob,

I grew up in the 50s and 60s loving baseball and football, but I have always had a deep respect for all sports and the extraordinary athletes that made them great.

Judging by your post, you apparently have a love for hockey over baseball, football and others.

The term "NOBODY LIKES HOCKEY" in its generic sense just means that hockey is not nearly as popular as football, baseball and basketball to name a few.

Is it because there are no major TV contracts, like Goot said? I have no idea ... maybe?

I found the following article to be interesting, though maybe not 100% accurate to date, but nevertheless ... very interesting!

Sports Popularity: Football is King!
96 Million Sports Fans Watch Football

The three most popular, most watched and most attended sporting events in America are football, baseball and basketball games. In a Portrait of America (POA) telephone survey, football is king to American sports fans. 48% watch it, 35% attend the games and 44% say it has been the �most popular� of the past decade.

Baseball takes second place in TV viewing and game attendance. 19% of sports fans watch it, 28% attend games and 17% say baseball is the most popular sport.

Basketball is watched on TV by 12% of sports fans; 16% crowd the bleachers during game time and 20% say it deserves the most popular sport title.

Although football is the big draw among sports fans in America, sports fans and non-fans alike choose to play other sports. 16% of all Americans spend time shooting hoops; 15% play golf; 10% baseball and 8% pound serves from love to game out on the courts.

The fierce challenge, a good work out and teammate fellowship are the top three reasons Americans are motivated to play various sports.

To 58% of avid sports fans, football players are the best athletes followed by basketball and baseball players. Close to half, 46% of non-fans say basketball players are the best, followed by football and soccer.

The Super Bowl is the highlight of sporting events to 41% of all Americans. The World Series is the public�s second choice with 19% and the NBA championship trails in at third with 15%.

Questions:

1. What professional sport are you most likely to watch on television? Are you more likely to watch baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, or some other professional sport? *Asked only of TV sport watchers

48% - Football

19% - Baseball

12% - Basketball

10% - Golf

5% - Some other sport

2% - Hockey

2% - Tennis

1% - Soccer

2. What professional sporting event are you most likely to attend? Is it a baseball game, basketball game, football game, golf tournament, hockey game, soccer game, or a tennis match? *Asked only of TV sport watchers

35% - Football

28% - Baseball

16% - Basketball

6% - Soccer

5% - Tennis

4% - Some other sport

1% - Golf

0% - Hockey

3.What sport has the best athletes? Baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, or some other professional sport?

23% - Football

23% - Basketball

13% - Baseball

10% - Some other sport

8% - Soccer

7% - Golf

7% - Not sure

5% - Tennis

4% - Hockey

4. Which sport championship event is the most exciting? Is it the World Series, the NBA championship, the Super Bowl, U.S. Open for Golf, the Stanley Cup, World Cup, or the U.S. Open for Tennis?

41% - Super Bowl

19% - World Series

15% - NBA championship

6% - U.S. Open for Golf

5% - Some other sport

5% - Not sure

4% - Stanley Cup

4% - U.S. Open for Tennis

3% - World Cup

5. Of the following sports, which one has been the most popular over the last 10 years? Is it baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, or some other professional sport?

44% - Football

20% - Basketball

17% - Baseball

5% - Golf

5% - Not sure

4% - Some other sport

3% - Soccer

2% - Tennis

1% - Hockey

6. During the regular season, how often do you watch professional sports?

30% - Rarely or never

29% - More than once a week

22% - Occasionally

18% - Once a week

1% - Not sure

7. What sport are you most likely to play in your free time? Are you more likely to play baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, or some other professional sport?

24% - Some other sport

16% - Basketball

15% - Golf

10% - Baseball

8% - Tennis

5% - Football

3% - Soccer

2% - Hockey

8. What attracts you to play the sport? Is it A) a good work out,

physically and mentally challenging, C) the competitiveness of the sport, D) the fellowship of the sport, or E) is it because of its easy access?

24% - Challenge

21% - Good work out

20% - Fellowship

16% - Not sure

12% - Competition

8% - Easy access

PoppaJ

Goot · January 1, 2009 9:08AM

<< <i>

6. During the regular season, how often do you watch professional sports?

30% - Rarely or never

29% - More than once a week

22% - Occasionally

18% - Once a week

1% - Not sure

>>

What a joke, are they sure this was a survey of "American sports fans"? More than half barely watch sports at all.

I don't see how hockey is ranked so low for athleticism either. The speed of the game, eye hand coordination, and the willingness to take/ give hits plus drop your gloves and throw down puts it pretty high on my list. To each their own though.

TheThrill22 · January 1, 2009 9:15AM

There is a reason why shifts are 30-60 seconds...It's a hard game! Hockey players are the best athletes.

baseballfan · January 1, 2009 9:35AM

that was a great game!!!

watched that instead of football.

rube26105 · January 1, 2009 9:49AM

<like the media is always telling us>

thats it right there, you believe what you hear on on the news

nightcrawler · January 1, 2009 10:28AM

Hockey gave us the Bullies from Broad Street

bsidegrve · January 1, 2009 10:46AM

Attendance figures for both the NBA and the NHL seem to be almost the exact same.

There will allways be diehard hockey fans no matter how much everyone says nobody likes hockey

IchiroDeported · January 1, 2009 10:53AM

hockey has lots of die hard fans, but not a broad audience, it's all about the numbers, the tv contracts and the ad money. NBA has fare more fans who wanna watch games on TV.

dan8402 · January 1, 2009 11:04AM

I think a lot of it has something to do with how much it costs to play hockey and cold weather. It is more expensive to buy all of the equipment to play hockey than it is to buy the equipment for the other listed sports. Also, there are not nearly as many areas with "hockey-weather" in the United States like there is in Canada. So, less kids play hockey, and are often not educated about the sport either. This leads to these kids, and their parents who took the above survey to be completely ignorant of anything related to hockey. They have no idea how hard it is to play hockey and don't follow it because they don't know the rules, the teams, or the players.

If more people were truly educated about hockey, I would find it very hard to believe that they would say (as shown in the survey) that tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, etc... all have better athletes that hockey.

brookbob · January 1, 2009 11:58AM

any poll that has golfers as being better athletes than hockey players has ZERO credibility....that poll must have been taken in hawaii

Ironmanfan · January 1, 2009 12:14PM

i'll start watching Hockey when the Stanley Cup Finals garner higher TV ratings than a Three's Company re-run

TheThrill22 · January 1, 2009 12:23PM

"i'll start watching Hockey when the Stanley Cup Finals garner higher TV ratings than a Three's Company re-run"

HUH? I don't understand that logic at all.

Goot · January 1, 2009 12:53PM

<< <i>I think a lot of it has something to do with how much it costs to play hockey and cold weather. It is more expensive to buy all of the equipment to play hockey than it is to buy the equipment for the other listed sports. Also, there are not nearly as many areas with "hockey-weather" in the United States like there is in Canada. So, less kids play hockey, and are often not educated about the sport either. This leads to these kids, and their parents who took the above survey to be completely ignorant of anything related to hockey. They have no idea how hard it is to play hockey and don't follow it because they don't know the rules, the teams, or the players.

If more people were truly educated about hockey, I would find it very hard to believe that they would say (as shown in the survey) that tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, etc... all have better athletes that hockey. >>

I was going to post the same thing but didn't feel like taking the time earlier! Gracias.

ripkenintheminors · January 1, 2009 2:08PM

I'll admit that I have no clue how they determine the toughest ticket ever. However, and no disrespect to hockey, but I have a hard time believing that ticket was the toughest in the history of Chicago sports. Between all of the Cubs and Sox fans I'd like to think that there would be more than 240,000 requests just for an interleague game. What about the first night game at Wrigley?

Blackborder · January 1, 2009 2:17PM

What is this haw-kay sport you speak of? I'd like to know more.

lanemyer85 · January 1, 2009 2:47PM

It's not about the TV contracts, ratings on NBC and formerly on ESPN were poor too. It's about a great product that doesn't translate well to TV. HD and cheaper big screens will help but hockey is the greatest live sporting event because there is so much action away from the puck. The game is so fast cameramen, directors, announcers can barely keep up. Plus almost no minorities like hockey...they don't grow up playing or watching the game so that's over 25%+ of the US population that is pretty much a non-factor in terms of ratings. So when you consider the attendance of NBA and NHL games being almost equal, without that minimum 25% of the US population, it just shows how loyal the fanbase of hockey fans are. I really don't care that hockey has a small following, I'm sure even football only honks realize that hockey players are tougher, more skilled, and across the board better people in general. NHL vs NBA is no comparison, the NBA is unwatchable.

rube26105 · January 1, 2009 4:46PM

i gotta admit, golf does suck, uless it is cute chicks hitting that ball, im not impressed, im lookin for the blonde pic, ya know the one i mean, shes fine all over, probably under too

TOUGHEST TICKET EVER ....

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