Top Ten Reasons of Hockey Popularity in The United States
Initially starting as a professional sport in 1875, Hockey predominantly emerged as a sport on the periphery, largely less fancied. However, as soon as the professional body was established, the sport swept over most United States.
The popularity of Hockey is due extensively to the combination of many factors. A significant reason for Hockey’s popularity is its swashbuckling style of playing. It is not a myth that Americans admire sports with stoked intensity and competitiveness, and with the unique nature of Hockey (as it is played on ice), it offered a difference from the existing norm.This, coupled with other reasons, explains why Hockey ranks as one of the most popular sports in the United States.
Hockey Online Games
Today, it is often regarded as the fourth most popular sport in the United States. But watching the games is not enough for most of the fans. Some of them start getting involved into video games and others start betting, making the thrill form the gameplay even more wxciting. After getting its wide popularity, hockey was rising quickly to become televised on major streaming platforms and listed on popular betting sites. Nowadays, you can play hockey free online slots on casinos, where gambling enthusiasts are allowed to play quality games without downloading or registration, which gives them the opportunity to play hockey games and feel absolutely involved into the process.
Ten Reasons Why Hockey Is Popular in The United States
The succeeding paragraphs further explain why Hockey has climbed the ranks to become one of the most popular sports in the United States. You will also find out what is going with this kind of sport nowadays and how many fans are there in the United States.
Nature of Play
Hockey is a high-speed game. Mathematically, it is estimated that the skating speed in a hockey game is 29mph, making it one of the fastest sports in the world. Perhaps because Hockey is played on the surface of the ice, the movements are usually frictionless, and if a player loses his grip, he risks a career-threatening injury. As a result, players are required to have basic skating abilities, which further make the game interesting. Importantly, Hockey is also famous for its swashbuckling nature, as players can become highly physical.
Since Hockey is mainly defined by two opposing teams jostling for the puck, things can quickly get dirty as players inevitably defend themselves using several tactics such as body-checking. No doubt, the wild fantasies of the majority of American sports fans converge with the reality of a hockey game.
It Is Played on an Ice Rink
An ice rink is a giant sheet covered in ice often used in a hockey game. An ice rink is essential in a hockey game because it provides the best condition for the sports to be played. We have seen in a while that Hockey partly emerged as people’s favorite because of this giant sheet. In contrast to mainstream sports like Basketball, Football, and baseball, Hockey is not played on solid ground. Consequently, this offers fans a new spectacle rather than the existing ones. In addition, because it is played on an ice rink, there are ultimately essential requirements for players to adapt to this. These requirements are seen in the ability to skate, intelligence, and agility trickle people to anticipate a hockey game earnestly.
The Players are Warriors
Maybe the term ‘warrior’ wouldn’t even do justice as the perfect description of hockey players. Match days that superficially look like a death trap to most random fans are routine routines for a hockey player. Generally, Hockey is increasingly prone to hazards, yet hockey players pull this off as if it is no big deal. Often, they get persistently hit on the face, break bones and joints, and risk severe injuries. Nevertheless, this samurai-like attitude and display attracts fans’ interest and followership, hence why the sport is popular.
Hockey Prioritizes Team Work Than Any Other Sport
Hockey prioritizes teamwork more than any other sport. While some sports are team sports, there’s a tendency that an individual player can easily outshine others. However, in Hockey, the sole factor for winning is essentially due to a collective effort and fewer individual masterstrokes. As such, Hockey draws interest from fans because of its collaborative nature.
The Lingo
Like every sport, Hockey enjoys a profoundly rich linguistic repository. Hockey has a term for random events like shots and progressive actions. In fact, you might get lost in a conversation with a hockey player if you are relatively new to the game. These slangs attest to the fun and enthusiasm of the game. The table below illustrates top slang and their meanings used in Hockey that account for the game’s growing popularity in the United States.
| Top Hockey Slangs | Meaning |
| Apple | An assist. |
| Barn | The rink. |
| Bender | A mediocre player. |
| Biscuit | The puck |
| Bucket | The helmet. |
Traditions
Possibly no sports enjoy rituals, superstitions, and traditions like Hockey. This could be partly due to the hazardous nature of the sport as players engage in what they deem fit to guarantee their safety. It is not unusual for hockey players to grow facial luck or repeatedly eat the same meal before a game.
In fact, it has been shown that some players get weird with their superstitions. For example, in 1986, at the Stanley Cup Play-offs, Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche admitted personifying the goal post as human, saying he whispered to the goal posts, telling them to help him out. After winning, Roy believed his pre-game ritual played a significant part in his team’s victory. As odd as it seems, this wouldn’t be the first or the last sort of ritual in the game of Hockey. Other players have confessed to doing all kinds of pre-match rituals, such as vomiting before a match. Karl Alzner also admitted tapping his stick 88 times and outlining the Canadian maple leaf during the national anthem. While it appears grotesque, they all constitute the uniqueness and fun of the sport.
The Play-Off Format
Hockey is intensely competitive. This is not intended to be hyperbolic. It is only the blunt reality of the sport. A glimpse of a hockey game no doubt puts you in awe of the swashbuckling nature of the game. But as this look gruelingly intense, it is not as straining as the format these teams engage in to emerge champions.
To emerge champion, teams engage in four rounds of rigorous, breath-taking play after seven months of relentless league marathons. Then, in a twenty-eight-game playoff, there’s no rest for the players as they engage in the most gruesome matches to win the Lord Stanley cup. Perhaps the fans find the challenging nature of Hockey and the laudable reaction of the players appealing, as it can be inspiring to their daily lives.
Unifying Influence
Hockey pulls a ton of audience in its most popular competitions. As a result, the NHL commands a teeming audience across all spheres of the United States. The Playoffs, for example, are estimated to pull an overwhelming 1 million fans per game.
In the 2010 winter Olympics Men’s gold medal, it is estimated that nearly 17 million people in Canada alone watched the game. Not only is the gameplay a unifying factor in Canada, but in countries like the United States, the game pulls everyone together, especially during a mega-match.
Non-Stop Action
Hockey is virtually non-stop. While the referees have few pauses, the play still doesn’t lose its intensity and rhythm. On average, a hockey game can go 7-10 minutes without a pause from the referee. In contrast, football and basketball average forty and twenty-second breaks, respectively.
The Skills
If you have been at a hockey game, a constant feature that fascinates you is the players’ swift and teasing moves. Interestingly, in Hockey, a player can utilize all aspects or parts of her body to get the better of an opponent. These moves are exciting because they are done on ice rinks, making players move with incredible speed. It is simply just a fantastic spectacle to behold, to be honest.
Conclusion
Hockey is a hugely popular sport. In the United States, it ranks sixth by last standings as the most popular sport. On the other hand, in Canada, where it originated, Hockey is the most popular sport and is staged in great competitions like the Olympics. Hockey’s popularity is undoubtedly due to a combination of factors, all of which underscore the fun and competitiveness of the sport. Hockey is popularly known for its extreme swashbuckling nature, which bonds well with its fans. However, a random hockey match reveals the two opposing teams’ grimness, brute, and rigor. It is also important to note that since Hockey is one of the rarest sports to be played on ice, although a makeshift one, it draws the attention of many to the amazing sport. Moreover, Hockey is also profoundly competitive. In an age where fans yearn for suspense-filled content, Hockey serves it right with its playoff format. With no exaggeration, the playoff format is unfathomably one of the most immersive. A 12-game rigor-filled game is the perfect description of a ‘survival of the fittest test.
