Bettman on Quite Frankly
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith yesterday. Nothing new was said, mostly fluff or things hockey fans have heard a million times before. I’m sure Bettman saw it as an opportunity to reach sports fans (who might not be hockey fans) and just put some hockey talk out there for them.
One thing to note: during a montage introducing Bettman and the NHL, Quite Frankly used the old NHL logo. I thought nothing of it until I saw Bettman sitting near a screen that also had the old logo being used. You’d think an ESPN production would be on top of something like that.
One other thing that’s worth mentioning: Smith mentioned that many seem to think the NHL needs to market individuals more (and Smith tossed his own opinion in, agreeing with the sentiment). Bettman replied that the NHL marketing team does plan on getting more individual faces out there, but made sure to mention he thought hockey was the major sport that relies the most on team and the least on individuals.
Sort of on-topic, Steve Ovadia, from PuckUpdate, points us to an SI article about a reporter who covers Sidney Crosby full-time. Ovadia writes about the full-time coverage:
Right now, it’s not a big deal since it’s still a rare thing. But as the trend grows, you can bet it’s going to turn into an ugly, festering sore of a problem.
I have to say I agree, it’s so rare now that it’s not too much of an annoyance; and if the public wasn’t craving information, it’s unlikely any one athlete would be covered in such a way.
While hardcode hockey fans may be a bit sick of the Sidney Crosby hype, the NHL definitely needs more recognizable faces, and if it’s done by smothering us with coverage of one star (or soon-to-be star) at a time, so be it… for now.
Next entry: Average Time Per Game
Previous entry: High Scoring Still Not Important
Comments