Channel 122 = My Personal Death Knell for Hockey
By Cecilio's Scribe on Apr 11, 2008 with Comments 2
Sharks-Flames? We Used to Love This Stuff.
So, last night I was home and scanning the tube for playoff hockey. I was pumped. The beards, the fans, the intensity. I may not be the biggest puck fan around, but I appreciate the viewing pleasuredome that is the NHL postseason. In particular, I still have fond memories from my youth of the great Tom Mees and Gary Thorne broadcasting games from the ESPN booth. That was the balls.
This was long before the Canucks had some ridiculous green-and-blue color scheme with some angry-looking Dolphin coming out of their logo…before there was hockey in cities like Nashville, Carolina and Columbus…before the NHL was reaching for C-list stars to blog about the playoffs…heck, it was even before blogs took over the world.
In those days, I’d find myself time and again watching late-night, third-period action from the Shark Tank or fanatacism from up in Montreal. It didn’t matter the team or the fact that I probably couldn’t name three players on the roster (now, I probably couldn’t name more than one on most teams, if that). The action was great and every night there were multiple games on. ESPN had it covered, and the guys in the booth did exactly what they’re supposed to…tap into whatever natural juices you had flowing for the game and inject them with a shot of adrenaline mixed with equal parts knowledge and entertainment value.
All of this has of course changed. Much of it has been in motion long before I grabbed the remote last night. The decline of hockey, the strike and countless articles over the past several years have battered the topic of the NHL’s popularity struggles to a pulp. But, for me, last night drove it home. That one solitary event of channel surfing…instinctively going to ESPN, ESPN2 hoping against hope…climbing and climbing until I reached Channel 122.
If there was ever a barometer of your sport’s health, a metaphorical bright, shiny, flashing red “WARNING” sign, channel 122 might as well be it. Let’s set aside for a moment the fact that the network that resides at 122 is still a work in progress (and that’s being polite). Pay no never mind that the place broadcasting your sport’s greatest annual showcase lists Fishing, Hunting and Bull Riding before the NHL in its header…let’s just pay attention to the fact that it’s channel 122!
If you’re a major pro sport in the U.S. and your playoffs are underway, they can’t be on channel 122. Simply CAN NOT. So now, hockey is officially even more dead to me than before (and it was already on life-support). It’s a damn shame, too. Because playoff hockey is a sight to behold.
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It’s sad that they killed hockey. Moving a ton of teams from real hockey towns like Quebec to places like Nashville, which have no history of the game. Thrashers? Come on.
Aghhh, the horror. I love hockey, but it’s so far in the crapper. The Sabres offseason (losing Drury AND Briere) was so crushing that I haven’t really follwed the NHL at all this season. My Sabres didn’t even make the playoffs this year. It was too painful a season to follow, but I’ll pick things up again next year.
I’ll tune in for the playoffs because they rock, and especially if the Caps and number 8 continue to amaze like they did today by scoring 3 times in the 3rd to beat the Flyers. I’m a firm believer in the hockey playoffs, and thank God you took the time to find it on Channel 122