Bam_Margera wrote:
Fan standards in Europe still differ from NA. While in North America 99% would cheer for any team in their city, in Europe people are linked to their clubs, which have their own club history, their own youth program and so on. This american franchise-system is not that much etablished here, you have inner city rivalries when there are multiple teams. What I mean to say is: It's not always top-notch-hockey people are craving for, but they get brought to a hockey game by their fathers for example when they are young and then they stick to that team. There is not as much gloryhunting. If the Oilers get moved to somewhere else and after a couple of decades the Edmonton Carbondioxes (got to stay true to the oil industry
) get awarded an NHL franchise people will jump on it, because it is about NHL-hockey and not the team.
I disagree...you're not describing the North American sports world that I know
The history of NA sports clubs/leagues goes back 100 years or more too
There's city rivalries in North America too, regardless of the sport (like Edmonton/Calgary), and large cities have inner city rivalries, and teams having their own "youth program" is what the NHL was until the 1960s (and Edmonton FC, the NASL team I've fallen in love with, have their own youth program), and I don't think fans in Canadian cities and the US cities with a hockey history are "gloryhunting" (just like European fans, they support "their team" while the US cities with little to no hockey history could pretty much care less about hockey); Edmonton fans supported "their team" long before they made the NHL
I think a problem with the "youth program" idea in NA is I don't think a team can legally "own" a minor like that (but trust me, there are similar "programs" in NA, just not as connected to the top professional teams); also worth noting is it seems many top European hockey players (including prejunior) come to NA to play, just like the pros come to NA to play
I've lived in Edmonton for 26 years and have never been an Oilers fan; I grew up in B.C. and was a Flyers fan in my youth; whenever the Leafs or Habs play in any other Canadian city there's support for them.....outside of the top football/soccer leagues in Europe any comparison about sports cultures shouldn't include the NHL IMO (anything outside of the top football/soccer leagues isn't even in the same league as the NHL)
And I totally get the "not always about top notch" as that's why I've fallen in love with the NASL...I love the "small time" atmosphere and connectedness/localness and talking to those around me about the game without blaring music/etc ruining the experience (that's how hockey was when I was growing up, and how small town Major Junior still is - maybe you don't know, but I'm not an NHL fan, and part of the reason is because of the "entertainment" that ruins the atmosphere/environment IMO)
There's many, many other examples I could give that would show the similarity between NA and Europe (most not at the NHL level).
And imagine if in European countries, like in North America, you could easily get TV/reporter coverage of any team in any league in primetime (and much of it on basic TV)...then people would have a real choice, and may not always support the local team (when I was a preteen I'd be lucky to see the Flyers play a handful of times a year, and had to rely on the weekly Hockey News for what little I got while now if I wanted I could watch every Flyer game and read the coverage from the local reporters/opinions from the local fans)
I've seen the attendance and financial figures of the hockey in Europe, and it's likely high school football in the states does better (most definitely all the college/pro sports do) - so
IMO if you want to say what you're saying, you need to keep in mind in NA only a small fraction of fans need to be the same as what you're describing to have the same number of the type of fans you're describing
you basically explained why North Americans don't care much about the Worlds (it's not "best on best")