Hockey: The Most American Sport That Americans Won't Watch (2024)

FAQs

What is the least watched American sport? ›

Hockey possesses all of these characteristics in its players. For various reasons, it hasn't clicked in America yet. Hockey is the most American sport that the American people won't sit down and watch.

Many families simply cannot afford to have a child to play hockey. Some people don't have easy access to a hockey rink. Ice time can be pricey, and there may be select hours to practice. Markoulis also said the marketability of the NHL's top prospects is lagging when compared with basketball, baseball and football.

Ice hockey is a worldwide sport that is particularly popular in the United States and Canada thanks to the prominence of the National Hockey League (NHL). According to a survey conducted in April 2023, around 13 percent of all respondents were avid fans of the NHL in the United States.

Football continues to be the most popular sport in the United States. According to Gallup.com, 37% of U.S. adults picked football as their favorite sport to watch. Football has been the favorite since 1972.

The NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and has the highest revenue out of any single professional sports league.

One reason for the decline in viewership may be the lack of a national broadcast deal in the United States. Currently, games are split between several different networks, making it harder for fans to access and follow their favourite teams.

NHL U.S. TV national viewership is down 22% this season, per findings from @AustinKarp. NHL regular games to date have averaged 373,000 viewers on ESPN/TNT, 2nd season of the league's 7-year pact with Disney & Turner. NHL averaged 478,000 viewers at this point last season.

The National Hockey League (NHL) has experienced a decline in viewership in recent years, with the average number of viewers for regular season games dropping from 453,000 in 2014-15 to 385,000 in 2019-20, according to SportsMediaWatch. There are several factors that could be contributing to this decline.

According to Sports Virsa, the top 10 hardest sports in the world to play in 2022 are as follows: Boxing (hardest), American football, mixed martial arts, ice hockey, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, wrestling, rugby, and water polo.

Where is hockey most popular in the US? ›

Ice hockey is traditionally popular in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, particularly in Massachusetts (and New England in general), Michigan, New York (especially Upstate New York) and Minnesota. Minnesota is known as the hockey capital of the US.

Baseball

Known as “America's pastime,” baseball is the second most popular sport in the United States and is the 7th most popular sport in the world. Professional baseball in the United States is played by the teams that make up the Major League Baseball (MLB).

MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL are commonly referred to as the "Big Four". Each of these is the wealthiest professional club competition in its sport worldwide, and along with the English Premier League they make up the top five sports leagues by revenue in the world.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and the UEFA Champions League Final is one of its biggest events.

The national game of the United States is Baseball. A national sport is regarded as being an integral component of the nation's culture. Baseball is the most played game in the country.

Since the first modern Games in 1896, 10 sports have disappeared completely from the Olympic schedule. These are croquet, cricket, Jeu de Paume, pelota, polo, roque, rackets, tug-of-war, lacrosse, and motor boating.

Cuju — an ancient Chinese ball game that involves kicking a ball into a net. Equestrian Fencing — sword fighting on horseback. Fox Tossing — with a person on each end of a sling tossed the fox upwards, the team with the highest throw would win. Gladiator Battles — combats in ancient Rome, usualy to the death.

Ice hockey (NHL)

Ice hockey has traditionally been considered the fourth of the US sports, although it has always been much less popular than American football or baseball. However, the game of hockey is widely followed especially in the northern US states, and in Canada.

Where is hockey most popular in the world? ›

Ice hockey is immensely popular in Canada, where it is the national winter sport and arguably the country's most popular game. Hockey is also popular in the United States and in European countries such as Russia, Sweden, and Finland. More than a million registered athletes play regularly in leagues worldwide.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is rapidly elevating its position as a key participant in the sports entertainment sector. The league has significantly surged in its popularity and is expanding its fanbase in recent years.

The Speed

Everything about this sport is fast-paced: the slap shots, the game pace, the players. Every other sport moves at a glacial pace in comparison to this one. There's no time for dozing off in hockey – something is always happening and if you blink, chances are you'll miss it.

Football/Soccer

Soccer, also known as association football, is by far the most popular sport in the world, despite the fact that it may not be obvious in the United States. Soccer is the most popular sport in practically all of Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Central America, and Asia.

The report reveals a concerning 22% year-over-year decrease in viewership, particularly of note given that the NHL is in just the second year of a pair of exclusive seven-year U.S. media rights deals with ESPN and TNT. In part, the drop is due to an expanded slate of NHL games across each network, the report says.

NHL Record a Tad Deceiving

In 2018-19, the NHL total regular-season attendance broke a league record, attracting 22,186,851 total fans to games across the league. From a high level, you could call that a success. It's a modest 0.6% growth or 10 additional fans per game on average compared to the previous season.

NFL vs NHL: Summary

There's no real comparison between the NFL and the NHL when it comes to which league draws more fans and which creates more revenue – the NFL is the hands-down winner of that competition since the NHL's numbers are just a fraction of its football counterpart.

The research, carried out by sociologist Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge and published in his new book, The Emerging Millennials, shows that since about 1990, teenage interest in the NHL has dropped from 45% to 35%. Among adults, the percentage of fans has slipped from about 35% to 30%.

NBC/Versus Merger

The reason why the NBA still has a stronghold over the NHL is because of television ratings. NBA games draw higher ratings than NHL games in the regular season and in the playoffs. The NBA television deal is a lot more lucrative than the NHL's deal with NBC/Versus.

Is NHL more American or Canadian? ›

Twenty-five out of the 32 NHL teams are based in the United States. The other 7 teams are based in the United States' northern neighbor of Canada.

Hockey is often considered one of the hardest sports in the world due to a number of factors. One of the most significant is the speed and physicality of the game. Players skate at high speeds and are constantly in motion, making it difficult to maintain control of the puck and navigate the ice.

As Denver and Colorado revel in these victories and the teams prepare for their coming seasons, we commemorate their collective, triumphant victories by designating Denver as Hockey Capital USA.

Avalanche Celebrates the City of Denver as "Hockey Capital USA"

Producing the largest amount of American-born National Hockey League talent has long been part of the lore of Minnesota hockey. Minnesota has produced nearly 60 more NHL players than the next closest state, Massachusetts, and nearly 100 more than the third place state of Michigan.

Basketball is the highest paid sport in the world, with the average annual salary in the NBA in 2023 being nearly $10.5 million.

Pickleball. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, pickleball is the fasting growing sport in the USA. There are now nearly 5 million players across the nation, with 2021 seeing a huge 40% uptick in participation.

What is the oldest sport? ›

Wrestling, mankind's oldest and most basic form of recreational combat, traces its origins back to the dawn of civilization. Carvings and drawings estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000 years old, found in caves in southern Europe, illustrate wrestlers in hold and leverage positions.

All-America teams are now also chosen in such sports as baseball, basketball, swimming, and track and field and consist of athletes from colleges, high schools, and prep schools.

Cricket: 43 hours over 12 days

In March of 1939, the England national cricket team arrived in South Africa for a Test cricket match against the South African national team. The match, scheduled to begin on March 3, began as planned. After 12 days and over 43 hours of play, there was still no winner.

In general, baseball is one of the sports that requires the least amount of running. Most experts estimate that the average baseball player runs about 0.0375 miles per game, which is just under 200 feet.

Of the major team sports, professional ice hockey has the smallest fan base in the United States, with 31% of Americans saying they are fans of the sport. Hockey fans tend to be very young -- 40% of 18-29 year olds say they are hockey fans compared to just 19% of those 65 and older.

Ice hockey (NHL)

Ice hockey has traditionally been considered the fourth of the US sports, although it has always been much less popular than American football or baseball. However, the game of hockey is widely followed especially in the northern US states, and in Canada.

The National Hockey League (NHL) has seen a decline in viewership in recent years. One reason for the decline in viewership may be the lack of a national broadcast deal in the United States.

Is hockey an underrated sport? ›

Hockey in general is totally underrated, and playoff hockey is the best kind of hockey. The Stanley Cup playoffs magnify some of the great things about the sport in general, and they also feature some unique attributes that make the playoffs so epic (re: sudden-death overtime).

#1: Boxing

Chosen by ESPN as the hardest sport in the world—and routinely landing on the top 10 lists of the toughest sports in the world by other prominent rankings—boxing is universally recognized as a crazy-hard sport.

NHL. The NHL is the least diverse league of the five examined. None of the 31 NHL teams has a minority owner or head coach. In its 101 years of existence, the NHL has had one minority coach.

The least stressful were skiing/snowboarding, track and field, skateboarding and soccer. When asked to rate what sources their child feels pressure from in sports, parents pointed the most to coaches (3.37 average). For what it's worth, parents say they apply less pressure than their child's peers.

Cycling is very easy on your joints. You never create an impact with the ground, so your knees, ankles, hips, and back experience little strain during a session. Road cycling group rides and races are plentiful.

Running is easily the most accessible and easiest sport to play. All you need is a good pair of running shoes and your good to go. There are no rules in running, but that's what makes running so free-form and fun. Running is all about setting goals for yourself and working to achieve those goals.

The NBA has by far the most racially diverse and left-leaning U.S. fan base of the four top team sports, according to the Brand Intelligence data: 54 percent of fans of the average NBA team are nonwhite and 42 percent identify as Democratic.

Hockey fans also have the highest average household income at $104k a year.

While blacks predominate in football and basketball, whites predominate in all other regulated sports.