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In the fall this article along with
This article got me thinking. A general malaise seems to be hitting sports, while we look at rising revenues but shrinking audiences. At some point, a “make good” comes and in this sport the players pay it back (for now, we’ll see come next CBA). So the journey to my love for the greatest game on earth came to mind. Here it is.
In late 1976, at a small hospital on Fort Street in Trenton, MI I came into the world just under the wire. Sent home in a red Christmas stocking and into a world where about the only sport I never heard about was hockey. Step dad was from England, we played Cricket in the front yard, football and baseball in the back yard and basketball in the driveway. My parents worked for Bill Davidson, so when the Pistons were winning as the “Bad Boys”, we had a vested interest. All of a sudden I start hearing about “the Russian 5” at a high school that didn’t have a hockey team. At this point, we now lived about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor. I literally knew 2 hockey players who played pee-wee in the “big city”.
Then, everyone cared. Briarwood Mall had more Winged Wheels than almost any other single logo. A Senior in 1995, i was being fed the game with a fire hose and the payoff was pretty darn quick compared to fans who waited 40ish years. Good luck getting a ticket, but everyone was happy. If you want to know why you can’t get swag at the mall, the shop owners are all friends. They got first pick of the shipments. All those stores are gone so, should be free from lawsuit.
The point is, I got sucked into a Red tornado and everyone was willing to get you up to speed. Some of you saw dad or grandpa watching Don Cherry from the recliner in a segment that was more “can’t miss” than the game some nights. Then came the disconnect. After 2009, it got harder and harder to grow fans. There were the incumbents but it’s 16 years later. So the 10 year olds who were raised on video game nostalgia are now gaming for hours at a time. Add a time where people don’t go outside and that exploded.
The NHL is experimenting. Move the Winter Classic one day, 4 nations, adjust the All Star Game. Add a “goal bot” to Twitter to have every goal up ASAP using AI. In the end, the game still has to be gifted. First, (opinion) seeing it live at any level changes how you perceive it. Growing up playing it does the same. At close to 50, never had kids, and realize that most conversations and blogs are with people who are already fans. I was spoiled to have a community ready to bring me in and get me up to speed. There are a few more options in 2025 than in 1995 and sports almost across the board are getting a smaller piece of that attention.
It’s on the think tank now. Who gave you the greatest sport on earth, and how to you give it to the next generation? Some of you have already done it. We’re heading into a lengthy break with some time to step back. I have a boxed set of championships and highlight reel games waiting to be re explored. I may start with 2002, the year that may have invented the salary cap.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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