Hockey Come Lately’s
There aren’t many hockey fans in the Magic Valley. The few I meet are die-hard and many are transplants.
The Vegas Golden Knights were a good story, having not even existed a year ago.
Sports fans are creatures of what they were exposed to when young. Englishmen like cricket. Arabians are devoted to horse racing. Cubans love baseball.
We had a phenomenon around the office the last few weeks. Some people I work with took an interest in hockey because a team local by Magic Valley standards was advancing through the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights were a good story, having not even existed a year ago. Because of the economics of the game they won’t be as good next year and many fair-weather fans will drift away.
I’m reminded of the trade in the late 1980s that sent Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles. A great many people interviewed on the streets of L.A. weren’t even aware a team had been playing in the city for the previous twenty years!
Even in Denver fan interest in the game has waned because the club hijacked from another city in the 90s isn’t quite what it was when it arrived.
What makes current champion Washington unique is the fan base started small. The original Capitals were among the worst teams ever assembled in the annals of the game. Through perseverance, ownership built a steady product and now anyone under 50 in the D.C. area can’t remember a time when they didn’t have a team. Congratulations!