Blogger 1: Tim Daly
Home Ice Advantage? A look at attendance, home record, and the implications for the future of hockey in North America
For any playoff-bound team, getting one of the top-four seeds in the postseason tournament is an obvious goal. Playoff crowds can be quite raucous and there is no question that fans have had an impact on the outcome of many playoff series.
Games at home during the regular season may be just as important. Each team plays 41 times in front of its own fans and to say that it’s necessary to play effectively at home is an understatement. But just how much of an impact can fans have? This is obviously a tough question to answer, considering all of the intangibles that contribute to a winning atmosphere. However, in my experience as a hockey fan, I’ve noticed at least one thing to be fairly consistent: a high demand for tickets usually correlates with an energetic building.
In this article, we will take a look at the top 10 home teams and the attendance figures that correlate with their records, as well as the top 10 average capacity rates and the home records that correlate with their respective attendance figures. While reported attendance may not be the best barometer of just how much the crowd can impact a game, this analysis will allow us to see which buildings are toughest to get into and whether or not that demand has helped create a winning atmosphere.
Top 10 @ Home (through 3/24/08)*
Detroit (54 pts, 37 gp) – 93.7 % reported capacity
Anaheim (54 pts, 37 gp) – 102.8 %
Pittsburgh (51 pts, 38 gp) – 100.7 %
Colorado (50 pts, 38 gp) – 93.1 %
Calgary (49 pts, 39 gp) – 112.4 %
New York Rangers (47 pts, 37 gp) – 100 %
Edmonton (47 pts, 40 gp) – 98.4 %
Carolina (47 ps, 37 gp) – 87.9 %
Ottawa (47 pts, 38 gp) – 107 %
Minnesota (47 pts, 37 gp) – 102.8 %
Top 10 Capacity-rates (through 3/24/08)
Calgary – 112.4 %, (49 pts, 39 gp)
Ottawa – 107.0 %, (47 pts, 38 gp)
Toronto – 103.4 %, (39 pts, 37 gp)
Anaheim – 102.8 %, (54 pts, 37 gp)
Minnesota – 102.8 %, (47 pts, 37 gp)
Vancouver – 101.1 %, (47 pts, 37 gp)
Pittsburgh – 100.7 %, (51 pts, 38 gp)
Philadelphia – 100.2 %, (44 pts, 39 gp)
Montreal – 100.0% (tie) (46 pts, 39 gp)
New York Rangers – 100.0% (tie) (47 pts, 37 gp)
* Order was sorted out by points first, wins second.
In examination of these lists, we notice the following:
- Anaheim, Ottawa, New York, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Calgary appear on both lists.
- 8 out of the 10 buildings in terms of capacity feature teams currently holding a playoff spot (as of 3/24/08).
- Calgary’s play at home has been exceptional (anyone who hasn’t seen the Sea of Red in action, do yourself a favor and watch the games in Calgary from last year’s 2nd round playoff series vs. Detroit)
- Carolina has played lights out at home despite disappointing attendance figures.
- High capacity rates have not triggered a great home record for Toronto.
- 4 out of the top 10 home teams play to less than 100% average capacity.
- Attendance-capacity figures need to be updated; I highly doubt that there are 1000 people standing at a Flames game.
- Each of the top 10 buildings has an incredible atmosphere.
- Five of the top 10 buildings are in Canadian cities, with Edmonton close behind at #13 and a 98.4% average figure.
I consider the last point to be most important, and not because of the injustice that is the lack of Canadian teams in a sport traditionally dominated by Canadians. Rather, what is more startling are the NHL’s continued attempts to expand the game into non-hockey markets. I’m not taking anything away from the fans in places like Carolina, Atlanta, Phoenix, and other new markets; they do a great job getting to the rink and have supported their teams admirably.
However, Gary Bettman and company need to realize that continued expansion should not be an executive priority. Even though the NHL loves to boast about shattered attendance records, we all know the truth: the game means little to most people in America. If they want to get more American buildings rocking like Montreal the night the Habs came back from a 5-goal deficit, they’re going to need more casual American fans.
Four letters, Mr. Bettman: ESPN. Yes, we know most of the anchors on Sportscenter know little about hockey, and some have even publicly announced on-air that they don’t care about the game. But the casual American sports fan is an important conquest for the NHL, and there’s no better way to reach him or her through ESPN. A renewed television contract with the network would increase hockey’s exposure through televised games and increased coverage on programs like Sportscenter and ESPNEWS.
Final Thoughts
Our look at attendance figures and corresponding home records has shown us that high capacity rates generally correlate with winning. While the home-records ranking changes every night due to how close the standings have been, more fans in the building at this point in the season usually means more wins. Note that I have not implied causation anywhere in this piece; we can never be sure whether or not high-attendance is a product of success, or if success is a product of high-attendance. What we can be certain of, however, is that these buildings will be loud and they will likely have an impact on the huge games we will all be watching as the season goes down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Any thoughts, email me:
[email protected]
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Blogger 2: Sean Mcindoe
Great Obscure Moments in Leafs History - An ongoing series to honor the greatest, completely meaningless moments in Toronto Maple Leaf history.
So we all remember Nikolai Borschevsky's goal to beat the Wings in 1993. If you're like many Leaf fans, you probably spent the next fifteen minutes jumping up and down in your friend's basement, high-fiving strangers in a bar, or tipping over cars on Yonge Street. And if so, you missed out on one of the great moments in sports broadcasting history.
Today's great obscure moment in Leafs history is ...
Nikolai Borschevsky's post-game interview with Ron MacLean after game seven of the Detroit series
Borschevsky tummy pokeIn theory, this should have been a great interview. The injured rookie scores the game seven overtime winner to complete the stunning upset and knock off the original six rival, and now you've got him for an exclusive interview on live television. What could possibly go wrong?
Um... did anyone check to see if he knows how to speak english? Oops, too late!
(Actually, that's not completely accurate. Borschevsky knew one english word: "unbelievable". Or, more specifically, "un-bee-leeb-abba". More on that in a minute.)
MacLean seems to sense he's in trouble right away as he asks for an apparently non-existent translator before deciding to solider ahead. After MacLean spends several moments trying to explain the concept of "feelings" (helpfully clutching at his heart at one point), Borschevsky finally understands the question and begins a rambling answer that's completely incomprehensible, causing MacLean to start making subtle "get me out of here" faces at the camera. Borschevsky, frantically gesturing with one hand, finally punctuates his mumbling soliloquy with the classic "unbeeleebabba" line
MacLean takes that opportunity to cut the interview short, but not before inexplicably ending things by gently poking Borschevsky in the tummy.
This was quite possibly the greatest few minutes of comedy the CBC has ever aired.
I'm saying it now: Nikolai Borschevsky needs to be given his own talk show where he brings out guests, just stares at them as they talk, then finally shakes his head and says "unbeeleebabba" before throwing to commercial. I would watch this show every night. Make this happen, CBC!
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Two great entries. We will be putting up the next game around 9pm this evening. We welcome your thoughts and comment
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