Racial diversity in the NHL and other sports (moved posts)

[SteelKnight]

I would remember if I heard something like "Scott Gomez" scoring a goal. What does he do if he is so good play defense?

[SteelKnight]

Same with Nascar. I thought Danica was going to make Indy racing exciting until I saw she sucked. If she had been good, that might have brought popularity. Yeah she's pretty but you have to win to impress.

[lionslicer]

There was a black guy who played in the NHL like 7 years ago or something.. But I think he was France.

[SteelKnight]

No wonder I missed this guy. With a helmet, who would know SC? lol I don't know who he is but I typed up blacks in hockey and he came up. lol

[lionslicer]

Originally Posted by SteelKnight

No wonder I missed this guy. With a helmet, who would know SC? lol I don't know who he is but I typed up blacks in hockey and he came up. lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...frican_descent

Hockey players of african descent.

First guy on the list is very dark, but most of the are bi-racial, or part black, or just don't look dark at all

[SteelCityMom]

Originally Posted by SteelKnight

No wonder I missed this guy. With a helmet, who would know SC? lol I don't know who he is but I typed up blacks in hockey and he came up. lol

*Sigh*

You claim that you "tried" to be a hockey fan (I don't know how recent this was either, and I'm guessing you only gave it a half assed try), and then act like some of these guys are nobody's cause you never heard of them. If you really gave a hoot about the diversity of the sport you'd look it up yourself and find out how talented/famous these guys are.

That is Jarome Iginla...the first black captain in hockey (for the Calgary Flames) and is quite popular. Aside from being a 5 time NHL All Star, he's also the teams all-time leader in goals, points, and games played. He's also helped Canada win 2 Olympic gold medals ('02 & '10).

You know that goal Crosby scored in OT to win Canada the gold over the US? Yeah...that play was set up by a sweet pass from Iginla.

[YOUTUBE]L0tnKCHp6C0[/YOUTUBE]

[SteelCityMom]

Originally Posted by lionslicer

There was a black guy who played in the NHL like 7 years ago or something.. But I think he was France.

There are a bunch that play in the league right now (25 to be exact). Not all of them are French-Canadian either. Are you maybe thinking of Claude Lemieux or Georges Laraque?

[SteelCityMom]

Originally Posted by SteelKnight

I would remember if I heard something like "Scott Gomez" scoring a goal. What does he do if he is so good play defense?

He's a center for the Montreal Canadiens.

[SteelCityMom]

Originally Posted by SteelKnight

I guess you are right. The sport is dead for good then. lol. I didn't realize it already had some diversity and still got no appeal. All I know know is from the highlights (that ESPN forces on you by squeezing them between the sports people care about) so those diverse players must not be very good since I don't see them. That makes a difference. If Tiger had sucked, he would have made no difference to the sport.

Dead for good? Why? Because it's not the most popular sport in the US??? That's not that big of a deal lol...especially when most of the world considers American football a waste of time. Hockey is more well liked worldwide that football is...I don't think it matters that is surpasses it in the US, especially when the majority of teams have no problem filling the seats and getting viewers. Besides, if people want hockey news they can just watch VS. or NHL Network.

It was just a theory but I'll concede but it is still possible that if those players are actually good it might make a difference.

If you actually payed attention to the sport (more than just a casual fan would), you'd know they are good players.

By the way, my "visual diversity" was not a trick. I was just trying to avoid that kind of thing you get when people play dumb and try to act like they don't know what you are talking about like "Hey are you saying all white people are alike?" or "Are you saying all black people are alike?". I wanted to include different ethnicities (not just race) but not play games with "Hey Russia has a different culture and ethnicity than Yugoslovia..."

I still don't get what any of this has to do with the conversation...but ok.

[SteelKnight]

Originally Posted by SCMom

If you actually payed attention to the sport (more than just a casual fan would), you'd know they are good players.

There goes my "good" argument. lol I was going to say I'm sure there were many black females in Tennis before the Williams sisters but if they suck, no effect...lol

OK...I'll be bold and make this statement. If they could somehow get African Americans interested in hockey, it would boost the sport's popularity and revenue. African Americans are a small part of the country (13%) but just the interest might make a lot of others interested. Maybe there would be more songs, videos, commercials, etc. Now whites that didn't watch, Hispanics and other cultures want to know what is so fascinating and the national media wants to broadcast more primetime games because it seems all Americans are into it and advertisers want to reach all. That's my hunch.

I spent part of my childhood in Rhode Island and when I was a kid I went to some Providence Bruis games (people get seriously into it...no joke). Because of this minor league team (even beyond just being in NE) everyone in the area were Boston Bruins fans and I became a Bruins fan. I tried to like them until sometime in the late 90s when I just became bored with the sport all together. In reality, I didn't put in a good effort because the Bruins kept sucking but I did remain loyal.

Thanks for educating me a bit on the sport. next time they get someone who is noticeably black, latino or asiain, who is a superstar, let's see if the buzz catches on. They would have to market him though.