Mr. Bettman, Don’t You Dare!

By The Vegas Steamline

So we are just a couple of days from the closing of the 2012 Winter Olympics and the NHL gets back into full swing tonight. First let me say, what an incredible hockey game and for that matter, Olympics! Not since the 1980 Miracle on Ice has so many people watched a hockey game of any sort. Now the NHL and Commissoner Gary Bettman are talking about not allowing NHL players to play in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They say it cost themselves too much money to shut down there league. Are you kidding me!?!? This was the greatest advertisement and publicity your sport could have. Instead of moving away from the Olympics, you maybe should more closer.

The U.S./Canada Gold Metal Hockey game drew a remarkable 17.6/33 overnight Neilson Rating. That is the highest rating of any sporting event, other than the NFL or the BCS Championship Game over the last 12 months. Compare this to other big events. The World Series – Game 4 this last year drew a 13.5/22 rating. That was the highest of all the Worls Series games this year. The NBA Championships top game drew a 8.4. The NHL’s game 7 of the Stanley Cup, which is the highest rated NHL game EVER, drew just a 7.5. The Stanley Cup averaged 4.8 last year. The Daytona 500, which was down this year, due to the weather and track delays got a 7.7. So the NHL doesn’t want to have their athletes seen by 27.6 million Americans, not to mentions the game being watched around the world.

Over the past decade the NHL has been looking for something to help grow their sport, now that thaey have it, they are going to throw it away? Maybe, take a look at how the Olympic rules change the game and adjust your rules. Don’t tell me that the Olympic break is costing you money, all it is doing is spreading your season out a little longer. The same ammount of games are being played and the Playoffs still won’t be watched by anyone, because by June we are all outside golfing, fishing, camping or anything except thinking about 12 guys skating a sheet of ice. As for individual players getting injured and costing themselves a season or career. This is the players choice to play for their country. How many Americans, that don’t normally watch hockey, could have told you who Ryan Miller was before the Olympics? How about now? I bet Mr. Miller stock has rose quite a bit! I know that hockey is still #4 or even #5 when it comes to fans and viewership in this country, but why waste an opportunity to promote your game. Please Mr. Bettman, for all of us Hockey Fans out there and for those who just caught Hockey Fever for the Olympics, don’t keep your players out of the Olympics. We need them there and so does the sport of hockey.

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