Why Choose Anything Else?

I've always felt that if a person looked at what they liked about their favorite sport they would find that the NHL and hockey at many levels would have what draws them to their game and often time on an equal or greater level than the sport they love.  Finally I decided to reach out, ask people what their sports were and what about them they like specifically, and put this to the test.  While I didn't get as much response as I'd like I did get a few and have things I've heard or read in the past to draw on as well.  Using what feedback I got, here goes my comparisons of sports though certainly not an all inclusive look.

The most popular sport seems to be the NFL and most of the replies mentioned it in fact.  Some of the reasons behind that and my thoughts in response...

• Multiple ways to win ... "I also love that there are multiple feasible ways to win: some teams are built for power running and ball control, others try to light up the scoreboard with the deep passing game, others use short, precise passing, etc. Same with defences: big guys who can plug the run lanes, fast guys who can rush the QB, or rely on misdirection to confuse the QB along with clever blitz packages?" :
• My reply to this is that hockey also has multiple ways of winning games.  Just as in football multiple strategies are often employed.  Now I will concede that seeing those differences on ice isn't as obvious as on a field because in football a running team and a passing team just "look" different, but a cycling team versus a run and gun or trap type team in hockey are still using different styles to try to get the wins.
• A blend of athleticism and intelligence and decision making ... "The reason I love pro football tracks what Ron said: it's a beautiful combination of athletic ability and intellectual decision-making. Great athletes are key, but so is having the right offense and defense installed, the right play called at a crucial moment, the right audible at a crucial time, or even the clever gadget play that helps the inferior team win. When I look at other sports like baseball, basketball, soccer, and hockey, there is some strategy (try to steal in baseball, man to man or zone defense in basketball, etc) but it's not nearly at the same level as in the NFL." and "It has got both amazing athletic accomplishments and violent hits but also there is the strategy side for the sport where great coaches play chess games using steroid freaks as pawns and kings (even a queen or two)." :
• For me there is no more athletic players in any sport than hockey.  The things they can do on the ice, on skates, can be simply amazing to watch.  When it comes to intelligence, again seeing things on the ice to an untrained eye isn't as easy as seeing individual plays in football because the game doesn't stop between plays, it flows.  Each play in football is individual, but not so in hockey.  That doesnt' mean however that there isn't a great deal of decision making and intelligence in the game though.  From the players deciding where they need to be and when, where the puck should go, when they can and can't gamble ... to the coaches decided which lines to put out against who and when to pull goalies or to change things up.  There is always talk of "hockey IQ" and that is for a very good reason because seeing the game and knowing the game is very important in hockey as well.
• Growing up with the game ... "I grew up watching it, I grew up playing it, it's accessible on TV."
• Now this is one that I can't really argue.  There is a lot to be said about a person's likes based on where they come from and that is ingrained into a person.  However I feel that opening people up to the NHL and getting them to watch from time to time can help to open eyes now and going forward.
• Physical play : Football is a physical game, no doubt about it.  Hockey is without a doubt as well.  Those that like those bone crunching hits in football can certainly find them in hockey as well.  It is just as physical as football in my opinion.
• Team game : Just as in football, hockey is truly a team game.  One person can't dominate a game any more so than another could, though great individual performances can swing the outcome.  Never-the-less though, it still takes an entire team and their efforts to win games and get anywhere.

College Football is mentioned quite a bit as well, with many of the same arguments as the NFL gets.  There is one that has come up though that wasn't.

• "College Football is somehow a purer form of the game. Sure, the universities are getting filthy rich on the backs of young men, but most of the players are playing for the love of the game (and the scholarship), in hopes of making a career out of it. Momentum shifts, rivalries, its just so much better than Pro football."
• This is certainly something that I understand and feel as well.  I think players not getting paid is a large part of it.  While I can't say the NHLers don't get paid, I do feel there is more passion in the NHL from its players than in the NHL, though they still do get paid to play the game but I don't really see the money side of the game being an issue very often.

MMA was also mentioned by a person.  Their reasoning given was you "learn a lot about a man when he's getting his ass kicked but refuses to back down".  While there are fights in the NHL and hockey they obviously aren't to the level of the MMA.  However to this argument I could state that there are a number of times in hockey where the measure of a man will be tested.  How do they handle being down in a game, up?  What about when a teammate is hit illegally?  Do they stick up for their teammates or themselves or back down?  While they aren't out there just fighting each other and getting their butts kicked (and punched and so on), there are plenty of times to see a man's character in a game, just with less actual violence.

I didn't have a single person reply that the NBA or MLB was their favorite sport, but I have heard arguments as to why they are liked in other places and as such will address some of those things, and most apply to more than one sport.

• High scoring :
• Basketball scores are higher than other sports, I'll admit.  However does that make it a better game?  I don't think so and honestly the high scores don't impress me at all.  Now hockey compared to other sports, it isn't as lopsided as you think.  Baseball may score a few more runs on average than hockey, but is it really exciting?  Football, if you take a 24-17 score that's still only 4-3 scores (3 TDs, FG vs 2 TDs, FG) ... so points given for a score are worth more than a hockey goal but really their isn't always that much scoring in football either.
• Star power :
• The NHL needs to do a better job of marketing individuals, I agree.  This is one area where other sports have an advantage I admit.  Most people know who Tom Brady or Derik Jeter or whoever are because they are marketed well.  The NHL has stars, true talents that are stars, they just need to be marketed better and be seen by a larger crowd.
• History of the game :
• This argument can't hold water to the NHL.  Just look at the history of hockey, with the original six teams, the traditions and icons of the sport ... heck, it is the only trophy where each year it passes on to a new team and each player from the winning team actually has their name etched on it permanently to become part of history.

The best reply I got as far as "off the cuff" has to be the following though...

• "Only sport I really go for is motorcycle racing. Mainly because it's like an art writ large at high speeds. Yeah F1 or even Nascar requires skill (like the ability to remember turn in the same direction for hours on end in Nascar) but you've got this buffer between you and the road, with motorcycle racing it's you, your leathers (and now adays kevlar body armour plates) a couple hundred pounds of controlled explosions between your legs which you are making dance around hair pin turns. I'd follow that up by rally sport like the Dakar because you've got to be a crazy bugger to drive across africa or ride on a motorcycle for the honour of saying you've done it."
• Now this one I found difficult to compare.  How do you compare a racing sport such as this to a sport such as hockey, football, or whatever.  They just aren't that comparable.  I could argue that the NHL is a speed game as well at times, constantly flowing and moving.  I could try to counter points but honestly i think the two are just different enough in so many ways that they really shouldn't be compared ... so I won't.

I could try to get more input about likes and other sports, but in the end this is really just another collection of thoughts and often times something like this isn't going to change anything for anyone.  I still believe that the NHL offers nearly everything that any other sport is watched for, but people like what they like and often that revolves around what they know.  I would challenge others to get out there and watch some games, preferably live ... and don't just watch the puck but watch the other players on the ice.  See everything going on "away from the play" because that is just as much the play as the guy with the puck.  I will finish by saying that every single person I've ever taken to see a live game has had a great time, and the best evidence I can offer to anyone that they would enjoy it is to quote my grandmother after her first game ... "So, when do we go back?"