Hi. Casual hockey viewer here. You know, the mythological viewer that networks dumb down their telecasts to placate.
I haven’t watched much hockey the last, oh maybe a decade or so, because (a) I am not really a hockey fan and (b) YouTubeTV doesn’t carry MSG and (c) I found the Devils broadcasts on MSG to suck once Doc Emrick left.
My hockey fandom mainly is based in rooting against the Rangers so that Cousin Mediagoon can be unhappy.
Thus, I have been enjoying Devils-Rangers, especially last night.
For starters, wow hockey looks great on my new TV. (Stop buying baseball tickets and get a new TV). I watched on the ESPN+ app and it looked really fantastic.
There’s a scoring opportunity every 4 seconds. It’s fast and colorful.
We watch for like half an hour, then we get an 18 minute break to squeeze in half an episode of something (say Barry or Last Week Tonight)….then back to more action.
I was thoroughly very entertained all night. Now, will this hold up if I watch Devils-Blue Jackets in December? Maybe not. (And I think a series is more fun than a random one-off on a Tuesday night) Last night it was fun!!!!!
What I CAN compare it to is the baseball playoffs – you know, the thing that happens now after 6 months of pretty meaningless games narrated by Gary Cohen so that we can eliminate a few teams?
Whereas Hockey gave me constant action – I kept thinking about the experience of watching baseball playoffs. Fighting to stay awake (so the West Coast fans can watch) and an endless stream of faceless relief pitchers. fighting to stay awake. Multitasking on my phone so that the ADD keeps me awake. Fighting to stay awake. Another pitching change. Fighting to stay awake. Another pitching change. Fighting to stay awake.
So I am here to suggest to you – that although it’s been terribly marketed since the day after the Rangers 1994 parade – hockey may be better than baseball right now.
Oh, and we were done by 10:45 even with an 8:15 start.
