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by Jordan Heath-Rawlings
The Toronto Star
Jul 23, 2005
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The NHL may have made a good start towards
winning back some of its fans by televising its much-anticipated draft
lottery, but a survey released yesterday indicated the league may have
a long way to go if it plans to regain its status among Canadians.
The 301-day lockout cost the NHL about 2 million fans in Canada, according
to a survey conducted by Solutions Research Group on almost 1,800 Canadians
during May and June. Only 55 per cent of sports fans identified hockey
as one of their three favourite sports, down 13 percentage points from
the last time the question was asked, in 2003.
"They have to respond to these fans," Jeff Vidler, a partner
with Solutions, said yesterday. "The fans are pissed off."
Sixty-four per cent of Canadians consider themselves big or casual sports
fans, and it is by calculating the drop in those who call hockey one
of their favourite sports that Solutions came up with two million.
But the survey was conducted during months that the league and the players'
association were still embroiled in their darkened CBA negotiations,
and at the time of year when most fans would be watching the Stanley
Cup playoffs.
Yesterday, even some fans that admitted deserting the NHL during the
lockout were starting to feel the hockey bug again.
"It's funny: You say that you won't miss it and you do find other
things to do with your time," said Gary Cline, 55, a casual fan.
"But the reality is that when it starts up again people like me
will probably go back."
Cline said that his wife Linda — a huge Maple Leafs fan —
was also fed up with the sport during its protracted negotiations, "but
she came home yesterday and watched the whole (NHLPA) news conference.
"So I think there's maybe a few people up here who may not go back,
but if they're going to lose two million fans, it's going to be mostly
in the (United) States."
Jeremy Hagleton, 19, called himself a "diehard" fan and echoed
Vidler's assessment that he was "pissed off."
But he also said that, come October, he'd probably tune in.
"If they had called me with that question two months ago, I might
have said that it wasn't my favourite sport anymore," said Hagleton.
"But that was because I was tired of missing hockey. ... In the
fall, I'll probably be back."
Even Vidler admitted that the announcement of the new collective bargaining
agreement, the Crosby draft lottery and the thought of proposed rule
changes have begun to kick-start interest north of the border.
"I'm sure if you did the survey today, you would see different
numbers," he said. "But whether all of those fans will be
back or not, that's the question.
"There are a certain number of fans who are really pissed off,
and they're making a conscious effort not to go back."
John Deroos said that while he has always been a hockey fan, he'll be
making a conscious effort not to go back — to the NHL.
"I started watching some junior hockey games this year," said
the 29-year-old construction worker. "And I don't mean watching
them on TV. ... I could actually afford to get into the building (to
watch the St.Michael's Majors).
"So I think I might just stick with that ... it's cheaper, it's
more entertaining ... the kids are a bit more exciting and less (defensive-minded)
than the (NHL players)."
The survey was paid for by Solutions who fund their own syndicated research
studies and is accurate to plus or minus 2.3 percentage points 19 times
out of 20.
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