....a few years ago when the World Junior Championships were in Boston.  The hockey was wonderful, but the
"crowds" were embarrassing."

vs

Y'all just gave an example of "hockey culture" which most of the US does
not have.  As of a couple of days ago NEXT year's World Junior games which
will be played in Halifax is virtually sold out.

No! That was an example of capital, not culture. 25% of the seats sold at the Fleet Center is probably a sellout given the size of the rinks in Halifax.

Nathan Hampton

> ----------
> From:         [log in to unmask]
> Reply To:     [log in to unmask]
> Sent:         Sunday, January 6, 2002 10:54 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: World Juniors/NCAA
>
> On Sun, 6 Jan 2002, Clay Satow wrote:
>
> > I was a volunteer helper a few years ago when the World Junior
> > Championships were in Boston.  The hockey was wonderful, but the
> > "crowds" were embarrassing.  I'd bet there was one round robin game
> > (US/Canada) that filled more than 25% of the seats.  The finals weren't
> > a sellout and the only thing that kept them from being an absolute
> > attendance disaster was that there were a lot of Canadian youth hockey
> > teams in town for Christmas tournaments.  Ain't no TV network who'd
> > pick it up with crowds like that.
> >
> Y'all just gave an example of "hockey culture" which most of the US does
> not have.  As of a couple of days ago NEXT year's World Junior games which
> will be played in Halifax is virtually sold out.  Ratings even for the NHL
> are miniscule compared to pituitary ball of the college or pro variety.  I
> am aware that UNO has a great program with a good following, but nothing
> like the Nebraska gridiron team.  The CBC just this weekend had a "Hockey
> Day In Canada" which featured a few hours of amateur hockey followed by an
> NHL tripleheader.  No over the air network would even contemplate that
> type of coverage because the US is just not hockey oriented.
>
> Yes, a few kids do grow up playing hockey, but it is not part of the
> culture like other sports are.
>
> Arthur Berman
> North Vancouver, BC
>
>