Sharing the podium for pomposity
Hockey fans have little reason to root for either the NHL or the IOC
The entire problem with the dispute between the NHL and the IOC is, at some point, that it began to resemble a wrestling match between two heels.
Oh, the drama was compelling enough. But, really, who do you pull for? Both organizations are pompous, tone-deaf greed merchants who put their own self-interests ahead of the interest of sport. Both cloak themselves in high-minded rhetoric that is betrayed the minute there’s a dollar to be chased. Both are deaf and blind to the wants and needs of their fans.
So who do you pull for in this battle? Where do your rooting interests lie? Can you make yourself cheer for Triple H? Or Ric Flair (and I’m hoping that analogy works)? Or do you just hope they beat themselves senseless which, come to think of it, is what Gary Bettman and the International Olympic Committee appear to have done to each other.
“In an effort to create clarity among conflicting reports and erroneous speculation, this will confirm our intention to proceed with finalizing our 2017-18 regular-season schedule without any break to accommodate the Olympic Winter Games. We now consider the matter officially closed,” the NHL announced in a Monday news release.
And if you were wondering what it sounds like when the middle finger is extended to hockey fans all over the world, you now have your answer.
Monday’s announcement seemingly — and we say seemingly because it’s still possible Bettman or Thomas Bach pulls a foreign object from their trunks and reverses this decision — brings to an end a contentious and tiresome debate that predates the Sochi Olympics and has consumed the chattering classes for the last couple of years.
On one level, this was all too predictable because if you look at Bettman’s track record you’ll notice a certain predisposition toward the whims of the NHL’s board of governors. This would explain the three lockouts, hockey in Las Vegas and other Sun Belt locales, the salary cap, the loser point and all those elements of Gary’s NHL that have brought us to this place. So, based on history, it isn’t exactly a shock that the NHL would decline participation in the Olympics when they’re breaking up their schedule and supplying their players, but weren’t, in their minds, being satisfactorily compensated for their involvement.
Still, it seemed there was too much at stake for the two sides to walk away from PyeongChang. NBC, for example, has paid the NHL US$2 billion for exclusive rights in the States through 2021 and the IOC $7.65 billion for broadcasting rights through 2032. There was little in the way of an immediate response following Monday’s announcement but, it’s safe to say, The Peacock wasn’t excited by this turn of events.
And that’s just one consideration. The NHLPA has already sounded-off on Bettman’s directive, calling it short-sighted and suggesting it was a punitive action aimed at the players and the IOC. This will doubtlessly promote a healthy working relationship between the NHLPA and the league.
Then there’s the question of the marketing opportunity represented by the Olympics. The Sochi tournament wasn’t exactly a classic, but T.J. Oshie’s starring shootout turn in the Americans’ win over Russia was a massive media event that brought the league a level of attention they can’t buy — and, believe me, they’ve tried. The Games also remain big business in Europe, where the NHL is still trying to market itself.
The relaunch of the World Cup of Hockey, meanwhile, was a spectacular failure. If it’s supposed to fill the Olympic vacuum, you’d have a hard time proving it by the ratings.
But none of that seems to bother the NHL, which brings us to, ta-da, China. A week ago, Bettman was in Beijing breathlessly announcing a twogame, pre-season series between the Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings, which was the first step in a comprehensive, long-range plan to grow the NHL’s brand in the world’s largest market. The centrepiece of that plan was the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, an event that offered the NHL a gateway into a market of 1.4 billion that seems ripe for plunder.
But no. According to the NHL, the IOC made participation in PyeongChang a precondition for Beijing and that seemed to be the point around which the negotiation unravelled. Again, you just can’t help but feel there’s another act to be played here. But if we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s to never underestimate the greed or the stupidity of either the NHL or the IOC.