The National Hockey League (LNH) doesn’t have the right to appear in the major international media every day, but on Wednesday the Guardian newspaper devoted them to an article on Wednesday, to say the least of them was a disapproval of Bateman’s selection. Circuit not participating in the Olympics.
In the eyes of the daily, the NHL and the Players’ Association completely mistook the boat by making a “malicious and lacking vision” decision, believing that such a withdrawal would further undo their sport in front of others. Sports disciplines on the international scene as well as on North American soil.
Instead of getting a chance to see the best in action, the public should content themselves with watching the youngsters and young players (in English, “pioneers”), as was the case at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.
Moreover, the “Guardian” remembered the words uttered by the players’ union at that time. He believed that the absence of the NHL in South Korea would prove detrimental in the long run. The letter still stands four years later, in the newspaper’s eyes.
A unique opportunity looms with the 2018 and 2022 Games in Asia. The NHL may think it will sanction the IOC or the players, or both, if the league owners don’t get major concessions to allow them to let the players go to Pyeongchang. No, in fact, it hinders the development of our beautiful sport. “We are giving up joining supporters around the world by letting this opportunity slip away,” the association noted, as reported in Wednesday’s newspaper.
The author of this week’s text is Beau Dure, a Virginia columnist who has published three books about football. Certainly, he explained that the round ball has the wind in the sails of the North American continent, unlike hockey.
“The NHL has always been part of the ‘Big Four’ of sports leagues in the United States. Today, the Premier League and other broadcast football compete well with the NHL in the rankings. The attendance rate for Major League Soccer is higher; yes, stadium capacity is larger, and the matches that Held on weekdays at night is rare, he wrote. Women’s soccer and basketball are on the rise. Mixed martial arts and other sports – even pocket game – crack the crowd. The “Big Four” could easily become the “Big Three and a Half” or “Big Three and All” the rest.”
“Some sports are bigger than the Olympics. Tennis and golf have major tournaments. Basketball has the NBA. Men’s soccer has the World Cup. […] Hockey is not one of those sports. It has a great North American tradition and the finest trophy, the Stanley Cup. But in the rest of the world it is much smaller. The annual World Series takes place during the National Hockey League playoffs and struggles to attract the best players,” the outlet also said.
On the topic of international appearances, the author believes that big competitions encourage the audience to be more interested in sports and stir up emotions. The NHL exemption will prevent people from seeing any anticipated encounters, whether it’s a Sidney Crosby-Alexander Ovechkin classic or a youth struggle like Conor McDavid-Auston Matthews.
Viewers respond well to the competitions, something the NHL appreciates very much. Any meeting involving two of the following three nations: Canada, Russia and the United States is a must. “The February game between the Arizona Coyos and the Los Angeles Kings is not,” the columnist wrote.