Sean's Take: After a week of no games, my beloved Sharks are about to get back on the ice. I'm pumped, except that I'm not. Yes, I'm happy to have something to do at 7:30 PM once again, but it's all pretty meaningless, isn't it? Yes, yes, it's the winter doldrums, a period in which even the most dedicated hockey (and normally) basketball fans struggle to care about their team's games. For a team like the Sharks, who are all but assured of making the playoffs, there's no point in these games. The team has produced regular seasons in which they tore apart the league, yet had nothing to show for it. They've also had regular seasons in which they stunk it up and still managed to make the playoffs. And it's not as though the Sharks are alone in this, Puck Daddy had an interesting piece about this a few days ago showing that even at this early point in the season, there's only really one playoff spot up for grabs. And 5 teams have a realistic chance at that. So...there are two and a half months left in the season, and there's nothing left to do for 2/3rds of the teams in the West.
It's a testament to the San Jose fan base that tonight's game is sold out. It's a weeknight against Columbus, the worst team in the league. We have nothing really meaningful to play for. They have absolutely nothing to play for. It's two minutes into the game, and our commentators have already strayed from the on-ice action, instead preferring to speak at length about Columbus' issues. Oh Randy and Drew, I can only sit and wonder what brilliant filler you have coming our way.
The worst part is that this is supposed to be the part of the season where it gets exciting. The boring part was supposed to be that November-December-January period before the all-star game, when the gleam of a new season has worn off and the playoffs are hardly an afterthought. I can attest to the fact that it was indeed incredibly boring.
Oh hey, Marleau scored. Cool. And a fight too, nice.
There's nothing wrong with some lack of meaning, given the nature of sports it's bound to happen no matter what system you use, but when it's a tradition rather than the exception it surely is an issue. The hockey season is 9 months long. Why? The first obvious answer is the financial factor; teams want more games because people pay to see them. It's a simple answer, but not one that's complete enough to accept. Forbes Notes that 18 of the league's 30 teams are losing money currently. That seems to reflect traditional attendance patterns in the league, where the top 3rd of teams sell out every game, the next 3rd sell 90%+ seats each game, while the bottom 3rd sits somewhere under 90%.
Ooh, a goal for Thornton now. Sweet.
So there's a clear picture of the way the league works developing here in a few different senses: Only 1/3rd of teams get results that either fans or businessmen want (meaningful competition and profit respectively). As someone who cringes at the first sign of inefficiency, that notion stings my soul. So, with that somewhat supported idea in mind, I'd like to take a look at a couple of league's that do it better.
Clearly, the first place to look is the NFL, which does a far better job at exploiting American "Big-Event-itis" than any other sport in the world. In 2009, every team except for Detroit and Miami made a profit (one can assume that Detroit has fixed this to some extent given their revival) while in 2010 Forbes reported that NFL teams averaged a $30 million operating profit. Operating profit isn't everything, but we're getting at something here.
This is all despite the fact that NFL teams play 16 game regular seasons. Actually, I should say because of that short season rather than despite. By playing such a small schedule, every game becomes a must-see event with major implications. You can miss a few of your team's basketball games without much punishment, but miss a football game and you've all but ripped a chapter out of the team story. Sports media picks up on this too, as every game is filled with hundreds of subplots. One hockey game of 82 doesn't quite hold the same weight.
Soccer leagues get this right as well. English soccer manages to possess over 100 professional teams (in addition to hundreds of semi-professional sides) in a country slightly smaller than California. Seasons are long, but games matter. Finishing in the top couple of spots in a league results in the glory of promotion to the next level, or to the hugely successful European competitions. Playing poorly results in relegation, the loss of status and pride. And for those teams stuck in the middle of the standings, there are multiple in-season tournaments for the taking, each with cash rewards for advancement. There's almost always something for every team to play for.
With those ideas in mind, let me play the role of know-it-all blogger for a second and propose an NHL which speaks to both the hearts of fans and the minds of those running the game. The NBA is also free to adopt this. Here's my proposal:
58 games for each team, one home and one away against every team in the league. You can argue that this is going to "kill" natural rivalries, but it seems to me that an event which happens once or twice a year holds more luster than something that takes place once or twice a month.
8 teams make the playoffs, 4 in each conference. If you want to reap the benefits of the playoffs, you should have to put a legitimately good team on the ice/court.
And then there are a couple of more radical options. An in-season tournament to add to the excitement, looser salary caps and floors, etc.
Feel free to think of your own changes as well. The goal here is to transform useless games into something more exciting, and therefore more profitable. We're a big nation with a lot of sports fans, why are we settling for mediocrity? I'll touch on American sports structure at a later time, but we surely have to be better than what we have now. As Bill Simmons likes to say, the worst eight words in sports are "Because that's the way we've always done it."
Oh look, Pavelski scored and we're up 3-0. In an ideal league, I'd be going crazy right now. But I honestly couldn't care less
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