Can somebody explain to me why does the NHL hate Minnesota so much? Do they dislike the Minnesota Wild logo? Did Nordy not wave at someone’s kid? Is everyone at the NHL staunch Starbucks people? While I’ll assume most of the schedule makers do in fact call it a casserole, I’ll also assume they hate us.
Tonight is another 8:30 pm start time for the Wild in the playoffs. This is actually a recycled blog from last year when the Wild opened the playoffs at 9:30 pm in Las Vegas. And this is common at this point. For years now, even when the games are in Minnesota, we get bent over on our start time.
Didn’t you hear? 9:30pm is the new 7:00pm no matter where you live!
2013, Blackhawks versus Wild? 9:30 pm. 2014 versus Colorado? Yup, 9:30 pm… on a freaking Wednesday. 2015? Yeah, 9:30 pm games then as well. 2016 versus the Stars? 9:30 pm. 2017? You bet your ass we played at 9:30 pm. Last year versus the Knights? 9:30 pm! This year I’m pretty sure there’s a game against the Blues that they’re going to start shortly after Cowboy Jack’s yells for the last call.
Is every schedule maker in the NHL related to Norm Green? Do they hate state fairs, meat raffles, and stay seated if you call them a gray duck?
Or do they know that they don’t have to cater to our schedule needs because we’re too passive-aggressive to do anything about it, no matter how tired we are? I feel like Bruins fans would burn the NHL offices to the ground if they were treated the way the Minnesota Wild fans have been.
It’s honestly pathetic. This is very much a product of my age but by 9 pm, I’m thinking about going to bed; not throwing in a pizza, cracking open some beers, and getting ready to enjoy playoff hockey. I also assume plenty of adults like to cheer for their team by using their voice–which can be a hard thing to do if you have kids with a bedtime. Starting games past a lot of kid’s bedtimes is also an awful way to grow your sport. Yes, some parents will let their kids stay up and watch. That’s great–but plenty won’t as well. That’s an opportunity missed.
This is a rant-blog so I’m not going to get heavy into statistics but I find it wild the number of excuses we’re willing to throw out there as to why TV viewership of sports continues to decline. I won’t lean into most of them but I would venture to say the fact that leagues continue to make their product less and less accessible is a massive reason. They shuffle games all over various and expensive TV channels, they make going to a game cost the same as a damned vacation, and it’s cheaper to grab dinner and a drink at Manny’s than it is at the stadium. Are the late start times the end of the world? No. But they are inconvenient and making your sport inconvenient to watch is bad business.
I love the Wild, I’m excited that they’re in the playoffs… and I might fall asleep by the 2nd period.
Stop doing this to us, NHL. I’m sorry if your car once got lost in the Mall of America parking lot or you dislike Spam. We’re the State of Hockey. Sure, we have zero Stanley Cups but I don’t care, show us some god damned respect and give us some normal start times for a change. I’m sick of waking up after our hockey games and feeling like Flossie Dickey. I am tired.
I was in at least 3 people’s Myspace Top 8. I have as many NBA Championships as Tom Brady. I’m probably too old to be here. @NickLewis37