NHL keeps on screwin' up a good thing ad nauseum

[ClamRussel]

I could go on for paragraphs here but I'll focus on one thing that stood out like a sore thumb tonight....

* first Minny goal is under review

* the ruling comes through to the ref

* does he A) wave it off dramatically as "no goal" or B) theatrically point to center ice because its a "goal" so the crowd will go wild (no pun intended)?

NEITHER

nope, not in the "new" NHL. Instead he reaches down to his belt, turns on his mic and announces the goal stands because the net came off after the puck crossed the line." Then he points to center ice in a half-assed manner and it doesn't matter the energy of the moment is gone. It had all the pizzaz of your partner answering their phone during sex.

Those mics have to go. That is what the "a-n-n-o-u-n-c-e-r" is for, duh! Refs have always communicated w/ the fans via body language and signals......we get it and new fans WILL get it.

I swear if the ref had handed the headset back, turned around and thrust his arm towards center ice the roof would have been blown off the place. Its about theater and entertainment. Instead the fans get pablum.

[Ridleyfan]

Excellent post. You, sir, are bang on.

[orts]

I'm not (usually) super-conservative about institutions, but I am absolutely in agreement with you about this. Pretty soon they'll start hiring refs on the basis of their intonation :)

[Robert]

I didn't notice that, I must have gone to the kitchen for something more important but now that I think about ya.. I've heard a mic lately. I agree completely, it's a great way to kill the suspense.

There are other little things that have changed too over the years which bug me.. when did center ice become the neutral zone?? That bugs me.

[dangler]

agree %100 Clam,how come as fans we can see this,but for some reason the league can't?

[Island Nucklehead]

The problem with using the PA announcer is that he doesn't explain the call. Fans watching on TV will obviously get an explanation from colour commentators and the like.... but those in the arena won't understand WHY the call is being made. Did the net come off? Did the ref intend to blow the whistle? Was the puck not kicked in? Many real hockey fans will be able to watch a big-board replay and understand... but to the dude in Nashville taking his kids to their first hockey game: he won't have a clue.

[Cornuck]

.... but those in the arena won't understand WHY the call is being made. Did the net come off? Did the ref intend to blow the whistle?

And that's fine - I think what Clam is saying that let the 'decisive moment' go to the ref (point to center ice) and then let the announcer say what the judgment is. Why have the ref mic'd when the arena already has an announcer.

As for the current state of the game? I feel that if hockey wasn't so intrinsically exciting to begin with, the league would have killed itself off by now. The tradition is being eroded - or replaced by corporate traditions like the 'Winter Classic'(tm). The league is not interested in the entertainment value of the sport - only the profit. They have turned into a small government that will tell you what you want, explain it over and over without making sense, and you will have no choice but to like it or leave it. Many hardcore fans left after the lockout -profit driven. Expansion has watered down the talent - profit driven. The games have become corporate schmooze-fests and not about the individual fan - profit driven.

While the league has every right to make a buck, it doesn't have to make that dollar at the expense of the lifelong fan. Trying to get the mass of the US public to watch hockey will have as much luck as forcing Canada to watch a fourth of july parade - the culture and interest are just not there.

I follow the team and the game from about as a remote location as possible. I do it because I have loved the game for over 40 years. I do it because it's part of who I am. Maybe I'm lucky not to be in the middle of it any more and see the many changes first hand. The games I see these days are mostly minor leagues. More bang for the buck, it's about the fans, and the players never take a night off. For many of the local fans I see - they love their home teams and couldn't give a rat's ass about the NHL. Maybe they're the lucky ones.

[ClamRussel]

.... but those in the arena won't understand WHY the call is being made. Did the net come off? Did the ref intend to blow the whistle?

And that's fine - I think what Clam is saying that let the 'decisive moment' go to the ref (point to center ice) and then let the announcer say what the judgment is. Why have the ref mic'd when the arena already has an announcer.

Exactly.
They seem to be trying to copy football instead of sticking to their own traditions. After a huddle by the refs/video replay that hand signal by the refs was always a very exciting moment for the fans no matter which way it went; always got a huge reaction.......*then* the PA announcer would explain it in detail. As for that parent in Nashville who has no clue; they aren't going to understand icing or offside either. Great description Cornuck; it is, I mean was definitely a "decisive moment." I feel the same exact way about penalties......the ref made the traditional hand signal THEN the announcer would ANNOUNCE who got it and what for. Now we get it announced twice....yay!

[Island Nucklehead]

It really is a small issue, imo.

Hockey purists want ref emotion? Well new fans want to know what's going on....

I figure it really doesn't matter. I'd like to have the ref mic'd the whole time, see what exactly is said and discussed, but that's just me. I honestly couldn't give a rats anus about the ref trying to explain calls to the fans, and then the announcer doing his part.

If that's all we're arguing about, this league is in good shape....

[the toucan kid]

Does anyone really want Mick McGeough back? I think refs should be background players more or less and don't really want then putting on a show.