From: MLINDROOS@FINABO.ABO.FI (Marcus Lindroos INF)
Subject: Hockey expansion-implications for US soccer
Organization: Abo Akademi University, Finland
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 13:41:43 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.24

Last Thursday, Walt Disney Productions and Blockbuster Video each agreed to 
pay the National Hockey League $50 million for new expansion teams in 
Anaheim, California and Miami respectively. Interesting, you may ask, but 
what does it have to do with soccer in the States? A lot I would say. First,
although the NHL is a far more successful league than any American soccer
league (past or current) or indeed any soccer 1st division in the world (except,
perhaps, Italy's Serie A), ice hockey's reputation among the average American 
sports fan is about as insignificant as that of soccer. A survey in 1986 
indicated that only 3% of all Americans follow hockey and soccer, compared to 
over 20% for American Football and baseball and 10% for basketball. Second, the
"Disney move" shows that big companies might at last try to buy 
teams in "lesser" North American sports as a way for promoting themselves both
locally and internationally. Disney reportedly did a lot of research before
deciding to use hockey as a promoting tool - especially for marketing aimed at
children. And this is violent hockey, "pro wrestling on ice" according to the
average fan in the street!
---
If hockey is good enough for Disney & co. -why not soccer?! This is, after all,
the world's premier team sport and a game that is popular among American kids.
Money is no objection here. Disney take in some $1000 million annually and the
money it took to bring hockey to Anaheim is little more than a flyspeck in the
ocean to them. Moreover, they even have a TV channel of their own which means
hockey will get some much-needed exposure on television in America.
---
Maybe I am trying to see the sun in the night here. But it is a fact that
corporate interest in the World Cup has been high in the States. Even national
television has decided to give the sport another try. As hockey shows, one does
not necessarily have to have a "huge national presence" to operate a successful
pro league. Most hockey teams have a comparatively small but loyal core of fans
in their respective cities and manage to achieve modest prosperity despite a 
lack of income from television.And there _were_ eight or nine cities in the NASL
years that provided great fan support for their teams. Even if a team loses a
couple of million $s annually, what does it mean to a company like Disney if
they are convinced soccer can be profitable in the long run? Plus, don't forget
that it is the "simple" North American sports [basketball, and hockey to a 
certain extent] that grew the most in the 1980s - _not_ baseball or American
Football. If basketball and hockey can become popular in Europe, why not soccer
in the USA?! Especially now, with soccer being more exciting to watch than ever
and with the huge number of good American soccer players coming up.

MARCU$

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. . . Fififinlandssvensk
     
Marcus Lindroos                             Internet:     mlindroos@abo.fi
Computer Science
Abo Akademi University
Finland