So I am out at the US Open tennis tournament for work and it strikes me how much like Rangers hockey it is. Seriously - there are a ton of yuppies, talking on their cells and ignoring play. The prices for everything are exorbitant and the people in the good seats are the quietest fans. It's kinda gross, and exactly what Gary Bettman wants the NHL experience to be like - white-washed, boring corporate crap. Granted, the US Tennis Association makes a ton of money out of this, and that is what Gary and his handlers want at the end of the day. They don't care about the product, just the bottom line.
It's kinda sad, but quite understandable.
The difference is, or should be, is that the sport of hockey started with regular people, where tennis was a royal sport. Tennis was played by the ancient Egyptians and adopted by monks in France. From there it entered the court (bad pun intended) and now its a yuppy country-club sport. Hockey, while its ancient origins are still being found out, rose to popularity on lakes and rivers in Canada as explorers adopted the lacrosse-ish game of the natives. From then on it went to bored farm kids and beyond. Hockey has always been a blue collar game and taking it away from its roots (and the widest fanbase) makes it something else, and I hope I am not around to see it.
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