I didn’t realize how much I had missed hockey until I sat down to watch the game.
I had been looking forward to this game since I first heard about the lockout. Sitting alone in my room, decked out head to toe in the Chicago Blackhawks’ team’s colors, the anticipation was overwhelming.
When the puck finally dropped, I think I may have screamed. I know it’s pretty pathetic but that’s how much I wanted to watch a hockey game. I had forewarned my friend that if they disturbed me during this game, they would be sorry.
My favorite player, Patrick Kane, scored the first goal of the game. It was the perfect way to start off the season. It could only have been better had I been there in person.
As I sat on my bed watching the game, screaming at my TV as the teams made close plays, I couldn’t help but think how much damage the lockout had caused the NHL. Besides missing over half of a season, many fans were not happy with the owners, players and league.
I wondered, if the fans would come back, and if so, would they be as crazy and into it as they used to be? Had too much damage been done? Before the lockout, the NHL was seeing a huge peak in interest. More and more games were being played on major TV networks.
When the lockout was in full force, a different person was to blame each week. One day it was the team owners, then it was the hockey players and many times it was Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner.
For many, Bettman became the face of evil. Following all the shifts during the lockout was exhausting.
So would the fans come back? Had too much happened and left them feeling disgruntled and angry? Or would the fans welcome the sport back into their lives with open arms, ready for the beginning of a surely exciting season?
As I sat watching the game, I wasn’t sure. But they did. They came back in full force. That first week saw record viewing for NBC. Even the blacked out games had high viewership.
According to SBNation.com, the network averaged 507,000 veiwers over the first week of the season. This is 27 percent better than last season’s average for the first four games.
I should not have been worried. In the weeks right before the beginning of the seasons my Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter pages were full of hockey spam. On my Tumblr pages all I saw for a while were posts with pictures of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and many other Chicago Blackhawks’ players.
So why did the fans remain so loyal to the NHL and their teams?
After all, there were some very unhappy people in the hockey world. Hockey is a very exciting and intense sport. You can be up close and into the action even if you have seats far away.
All players say they care about their fans, but the NHL players actually do. Players, coaches and owners throughout the lockout apologized for having to cancel games and not being able to resolve their issues quickly. Now that the lockout is over and the season has begun, many of the teams have put out promotions and videos thanking fans for their patience.
Hockey is my favorite sport, and I am so happy it is finally back and stronger than ever.
Column by Jaci Kohn, Sports editor.