Rite of Spring '15: exhume our idols! bury our friends!

[wildwing64]

I wonder how a certain Ducks fan from Nova Scotia feels about the lateness of yesterday's game.

How about this certain Ducks fan from the other side of the pond?

I was already up and at work by the time this game finished, at around 7am.

...At least you guys can actually watch the games.

[NJTank]

I wonder how a certain Ducks fan from Nova Scotia feels about the lateness of yesterday's game.

How about this certain Ducks fan from the other side of the pond?

I was already up and at work by the time this game finished, at around 7am.

...At least you guys can actually watch the games.

Theres a Ducks fan from Nova Scotia that is a longtime member of this board I was alluding to him.

[nash61]

Just be glad it was in Chicago instead of Anaheim.

2:15 am (Eastern) in Chicago means if it was in Anaheim, it would have gone until 4:15 am.

[TheOldRoman]

Last year's NBA Finals were between a Central team and an Eastern team. A 9 EST start time is 8 in San Antonio; it's not really applicable in this situation.

Well, it is because the NBA is catering to the entire nation, not the Heat and Spurs. Successful sports leagues try to get everybody to watch, or more specifically reach all the potential viewers. The Cup Final and Conference Finals are not supposed to cater to the competing teams, but really cater to the entire nation. The NHL should try to put its games at a time where the entire nation can watch it. And even if we overlook that a huge proportion of the population lives in the eastern timezone, an even larger proportion of people who might watch hockey also live in that timezone. As I said, there's no real solution here. I think they should have started the game a half hour earlier, at least. And I wish the Hawks would just freaking finish teams in regulation.

But back to my original point, having your playoff games in the penultimate round ending at 2:30 EST leads you to continue being a fringy league. It sucks. There's nothing they can really do to change it, and it only hurts the league.

[TorinK92]

Just be glad it was in Chicago instead of Anaheim.

2:15 am (Eastern) in Chicago means if it was in Anaheim, it would have gone until 4:15 am.

But it was in Anaheim, wasn't it? And they started the game at 6pm local time, ridiculously early for a midweek game.

1:15 (Central) in Chicago was 11:15 in Anaheim. That's not extremely late for overtime playoff hockey on both sides. And it's the latest a game this series will go on barring another triple OT.

[wildwing64]

I wonder how a certain Ducks fan from Nova Scotia feels about the lateness of yesterday's game.

How about this certain Ducks fan from the other side of the pond?

I was already up and at work by the time this game finished, at around 7am.

...At least you guys can actually watch the games.

Theres a Ducks fan from Nova Scotia that is a longtime member of this board I was alluding to him.

I'm aware, I was just offering my thoughts as another non-SoCal/Pacific Time Zone Ducks fan

[Alex Houston]

Haven't hockey fans already had that title of hardcore fan thrusted upon them, that they're so devoted to their league they will watch any playoff game, regardless of length? This kind of cut-throat anxiety comes around for six weeks a year and I think fans will tolerate a little sleep deprivation to watch talented clubs duke it out.

[The_Admiral]

Successful sports leagues try to get everybody to watch, or more specifically reach all the potential viewers. The Cup Final and Conference Finals are not supposed to cater to the competing teams, but really cater to the entire nation. The NHL should try to put its games at a time where the entire nation can watch it.

No, they are supposed to cater to the competing teams. There's not really a national audience for this. Even the hockey-loving northeast/Ontario doesn't really care that much about the Ducks and Blackhawks. It was a home game for Anaheim, their dime, their dance floor. We were lucky they started 90 minutes earlier than they should have. The Hawks shouldn't blow so many two-goal leads and keep us up so late. Here's to a regulation win and being done for the night around 9:45.

[TheOldRoman]

There should be a national audience. It's the top team in the west (part of a big market) facing off against a legacy team in a huge market which has been a powerhouse over the last six years. People should care about this, and if they don't, it's more of an indictment of hockey. Look, the NBA didn't start the WCFs with the Lakers vs. Blazers/Kings at 10 EST. That's because they planned on the whole country watching, not just the home markets.

[TheOldRoman]

Haven't hockey fans already had that title of hardcore fan thrusted upon them, that they're so devoted to their league they will watch any playoff game, regardless of length? This kind of cut-throat anxiety comes around for six weeks a year and I think fans will tolerate a little sleep deprivation to watch talented clubs duke it out.

I'm a Blackhawks fan in Chicago. I stayed up to watch the game, but I had a rooting interest. If I lived in Boston, wasn't a Hawks fan and had to work in the morning, I'd probably have tapped out around the end of the first overtime. Hockey fans might be a little more diehard than others, but that's relating to their teams and not the league/sport in general.

[FGM13]

Haven't hockey fans already had that title of hardcore fan thrusted upon them, that they're so devoted to their league they will watch any playoff game, regardless of length? This kind of cut-throat anxiety comes around for six weeks a year and I think fans will tolerate a little sleep deprivation to watch talented clubs duke it out.

I'm a Blackhawks fan in Chicago. I stayed up to watch the game, but I had a rooting interest. If I lived in Boston, wasn't a Hawks fan and had to work in the morning, I'd probably have tapped out around the end of the first overtime. Hockey fans might be a little more diehard than others, but that's relating to their teams and not the league/sport in general.

I have no rooting interest whatsoever and I stayed up until 5 minutes through the 3rd OT.

[TheOldRoman]

Haven't hockey fans already had that title of hardcore fan thrusted upon them, that they're so devoted to their league they will watch any playoff game, regardless of length? This kind of cut-throat anxiety comes around for six weeks a year and I think fans will tolerate a little sleep deprivation to watch talented clubs duke it out.

I'm a Blackhawks fan in Chicago. I stayed up to watch the game, but I had a rooting interest. If I lived in Boston, wasn't a Hawks fan and had to work in the morning, I'd probably have tapped out around the end of the first overtime. Hockey fans might be a little more diehard than others, but that's relating to their teams and not the league/sport in general.

I have no rooting interest whatsoever and I stayed up until 5 minutes through the 3rd OT.

Okay, so you stayed up until around 2 am. Did you have to get up early to work the next morning? Do you normally go to bed around that time? Regardless, my point is that most casual fans of hockey or even diehards of other teams aren't going to stay up that late.

[OnWis97]

Haven't hockey fans already had that title of hardcore fan thrusted upon them, that they're so devoted to their league they will watch any playoff game, regardless of length? This kind of cut-throat anxiety comes around for six weeks a year and I think fans will tolerate a little sleep deprivation to watch talented clubs duke it out.

I'm a Blackhawks fan in Chicago. I stayed up to watch the game, but I had a rooting interest. If I lived in Boston, wasn't a Hawks fan and had to work in the morning, I'd probably have tapped out around the end of the first overtime. Hockey fans might be a little more diehard than others, but that's relating to their teams and not the league/sport in general.

I have no rooting interest whatsoever and I stayed up until 5 minutes through the 3rd OT.

Okay, so you stayed up until around 2 am. Did you have to get up early to work the next morning? Do you normally go to bed around that time? Regardless, my point is that most casual fans of hockey or even diehards of other teams aren't going to stay up that late.

I did not stay up. And while I don't follow the minutiae of non-Wild teams during the regular season (i.e., I don't watch a single game not involving the Wild), my "other team" interest skyrockets in the playoffs. But no, when some time after midnight rolls around and and the Zamboni is coming out, I cannot do it. Maybe an elimination game in the Finals, but that's about it. None of this is to say that I am advocating for anything different...there is no way everyone can be served. It's just the way it is. And while my actions are anecdotal, you can believe there are others like me in neutral markets.

NHL playoffs are awesome. OT games are awesome, but they are a double-edged sword.

If I had my way, deference would go toward first making sure the game started at a decent local time and second, balancing that with the opponent. The other time zones would carry little relevance. I can't complain about 8:30 start times for games in California. But that's not to say they always get it right; the Wild and Chicago did have that time for at least one of their games and there must be a way around that; even if they have to stoop down to some regional coverage.

[-kj]

So, let me get this right:

- All games should be scheduled for Eastern time, regardless of location

- All games should be scheduled so that triple-overtime games finish well before midnight Eastern time

So, game 5 in Anaheim will be played at 1pm. Sorry if you can't make it, ticket holders, but you're just not important.

[Sport]

Good grief. I am now rooting for game 5 that begins at 9 eastern to go 7 overtimes just to irritate our whiny Blackhawks faithful.

Two cups and possibly a third in 5 years leaves you scraping the bottom of the barrel for stuff to complain about.

[Still MIGHTY]

OldRoman, seriously, man. It was a triple OT game. It's not going to end early no matter what. If the Balckhawks don't blow the lead or if Getzlaf's bomb off the crossbar goes in, then it's over in regulation before 9 pm local/11 pm Chicago and we're not having this discussion.

I know plenty of Ducks fans that have to tape the start of tonight's game because puck drops at 5 pm out here a.k.a. the exact time most people get out of work and hop onto the freeway. Some people will be lucky to catch any of the first period live.

You're the only person making a big deal of this. Get over it.

[TheOldRoman]

I'm not complaining about it, saying the start time hurt the Blackhawks, positioning it as an excuse in case the Hawks lose tonight, complaining that I was tired at work yesterday or anything like this. I'm merely saying that the later start times are problematic for the majority of the would-be viewers and doesn't help the league. I also said that there's nothing really the league can do about it., other than starting those games a little earlier like all other leagues do in such situations. Are Warriors fans raging about tonight's 6:00 start? So, yeah. I guess I'm clearly letting my White Sox fan bias show or something.

[TheOldRoman]

So, let me get this right:

- All games should be scheduled for Eastern time, regardless of location

- All games should be scheduled so that triple-overtime games finish well before midnight Eastern time

So, game 5 in Anaheim will be played at 1pm. Sorry if you can't make it, ticket holders, but you're just not important.

"Wow, you really got me there."

-some strawman

[TorinK92]

So, let me get this right:

- All games should be scheduled for Eastern time, regardless of location

- All games should be scheduled so that triple-overtime games finish well before midnight Eastern time

So, game 5 in Anaheim will be played at 1pm. Sorry if you can't make it, ticket holders, but you're just not important.

"Wow, you really got me there."

-some strawman

That is effectively your argument.

[The_Admiral]

The past tense of "thrust" is "thrust."

There should be a national audience. It's the top team in the west (part of a big market) facing off against a legacy team in a huge market which has been a powerhouse over the last six years. People should care about this, and if they don't, it's more of an indictment of hockey. Look, the NBA didn't start the WCFs with the Lakers vs. Blazers/Kings at 10 EST. That's because they planned on the whole country watching, not just the home markets.

Yeah, there should be, but there won't be. Hockey's just never going to be more than it is because despite talking a big game about Growing The Game, the sport has demonstrated that it's unwilling to make and commit to concessions to a broader audience. They still don't want to call obstruction fouls, they still want to foster this culture of risk aversion at all costs, and they still don't want players to say anything more than say we have to get pucks deep and play our kind of game. The NHL only wants you to consume their content on their terms, whether that means clutch-and-grab slogs, hopeless money pits in Phoenix, or playoff games that end at 1 in the morning. Watch if you want, tape if you must, or f off.