Doing The Right Thing

Full Disclosure...
 - I hate the Rangers.
 - I was rooting for the Rangers today.

No, I'm not one of those weak-willed saps who "likes all New York teams" or rides bandwagons.  That's not me.  However, I love hockey and I'm more than willing to do what's necessary for the good of the game.  And let's face it - a good Rangers team is a very good thing for the game.

Even though the New York media would rather report on a ferocious bowel movement by Hank Steinbrenner than anything the local hockey teams do, the league needs a strong team in the Big Apple.  There are certain teams that just need to be good in order for their respective leagues to thrive.  The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are the teams that make the NBA float, just like the success of the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers is essential to Major League Baseball.  You may remember that the NHL's most successful season was 1993-1994, which was the year the Rangers won their last Stanley Cup.  Sure, Gretzky's Kings had a hand in that success, but it's no coincidence that the Rangers breaking their 54-year drought resulted in record ratings for the NHL.

What's the point?  Well, since the Rangers had a legitimate shot at reaching the Finals (though they would have gotten killed had they gotten there), I was hoping the Rangers could do the NHL a solid.  I was hoping they'd get as far as they possibly could, generating some ratings, buzz, and controversy along the way.  They actually accomplished all three things, though ten playoff games hardly constitutes a deep Cup run.  Now, the Rangers are done, meaning all New Yorkers have left to watch is an awful Yankee team and the inconsistent Mets.

Thankfully for the NHL, the Rangers' loss means Pittsburgh advances to the conference finals, which means Mike Emrick can gush over Sidney Crosby the way John Madden worships Brett Favre.  That part is fine.  The problem is, they're playing the Flyers.  Not that the Flyers are a bad team or that Philadelphia is a bad hockey city, but imagine how off-the-charts a Rangers-Canadiens conference final would have been.  Flyers-Pens is sort of a step back, considering the alternative.

All in all, it could be worse for the NHL.  There are no more Edmontons or Carolinas in this year's bunch, no weak markets that turn off casual fans.  Even San Jose has sort of paid its dues and have enough exciting players to woo non-traditional hockey fans.  And the other markets are pretty sweet, too.  Detroit's appeal is almost on the level of the Rangers, and Pittsburgh has a lot of credibility due to its star talent.  And you could do much worse than Philadelphia or Dallas.

I know it's sort of weird and even sad to be talking about the Stanley Cup Playoffs in terms of the media markets that are left.  But this is the NHL we're talking about here.  It doesn't have the cachet of baseball or football, and it doesn't have the shoved-down-our-throats ESPN marketing machine the NBA has.  Hockey needs all the help it can get right now.  The game itself is better than it has been in a long time, but if nobody knows about it, what good is it?  The only way to get the word out is to get people to watch the games, and big media markets help make that happen.  Hell, I don't even regret rooting for the Rangers for the past month; in fact, I actually sort of enjoyed it.  Even though most people didn't understand it, I was doing what I thought was right and in the best interest of hockey.

When was the last time you put the sport ahead of your team?