I checked and as far as I can tell, there aren’t any scheduled circus shows planned for New York City or Madison Square Garden any time soon, but the New York Rangers are intent on proving me wrong.
You see, the Rangers themselves are the circus. Between the Sean Avery act, John Tortorella’s water squirting skills and a number of big money-no results players, the Rangers are a traveling circus as far as NHL playoff teams are concerned.
Had to get that out of me.
OK – anyways, I’ve always felt watching hockey on TV never does the game justice. It’s nothing like seeing it in person and while nearly every sport can say the same (except bowling… or maybe ultimate frisbee or something), I think football translates a whole lot better on TV than hockey does. The production American networks put into NFL games are amazing, so why can’t NHL broadcasts be like that?
I think NHL broadcasts could be much more engaging for viewers by presenting hockey more like video games in terms of production and camera angles. Nearly all telecasts have (at minimum) a center ice camera, two net-cam’s and a camera between the benches so Pierre McGuire can definitively tell us how big Blackhawks forward Dustin Byfuglien is.
So, here’s an idea… why don’t CBC/TSN/Versus have each camera broadcast on different channels (or even online for that matter), allowing viewers to switch back and forth at their desire? Have the same commentators on each channel and let the viewer choose the view.
And if we’re going down this road, I’d like to see all broadcasts have camera’s under the scoreboard, like Madison Square Garden does. Now that’s a cool way to see powerplay’s and breakouts. Or a good view on Donald Brashear’s next headshot.
What if we had a camera the ran from one faceoff circle around the glass to the other? Or instead of around the glass, the camera could move aroud the top of each stadium’s lower bowl. This would provide undeniable proof if Tortorella pre-maturely squirted. Errr, squirted first. Errr, nevermind.
Point is, hockey broadcasts are stale and need to be more interactive, giving viewers the option to watch it like a video game. Maybe then the game could appeal to a mass audience. Actually, upon further thought, I can already see the arguments, ”I want the EA Sports NHL09 Action view”, or “No way dude, I want the NHL2k9 arcade view”.
That might be as lame as a certain number one seed losing in the first round…
Stay classy, stale NHL broadcasts.
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I think CBC does that on satellite, or I seem to remember that as an option on HNIC a few years ago on satellite. And NBC does make some efforts (they had a Crosby cam online that you could watch). What is amazing is that an NFL game can somehow be entertaining–how many commercial breaks are there–but not hockey.
You’re right though; there are some key camera angles that aren’t utilized enough, like the powerplay camera. I think the answer is what CBC did on satellite; changing camera angles with your remote. But like the glowing puck of yester-year, how many people do you think would embrace it?
And on the topic of NHL 09 and NHL 2K9, it would really be exciting if I could use my right analog stick and absolutely smoke someone along the boards…in a real game…get that done, and I’m entertained.
Good points about the iso-cam’s. But its still not engaging enough. “Here’s a non-stop view of Crosby spitting, swearing, diving and scoring” (in that order).
I’m not sure how many would embrace it. I think the key is for the networks to switch back and forth more regularly to get viewers into it. They have to translate the feeling of being there, into viewers living rooms, which is where they ultimately fail.
Why not give microphones to different types of fans. That might give you the feeling of being there.
For instance:
Disgruntled fan: “C’mon Spezza, quit it with the giveaways.”
Overly enthusiastic fan: “We’re only down 8-0 in the third, we’re still in it.”
Drunken obnoxious fan: “Pft, you’s guys gotta shoots the pucks more. YAAAAA!”
Hockey dumb girlfriend: “Hey! Why did he hit him. That’s not nice.” or “Why is so cold in here?”
Leafs fan: “Sixty-Seven!”
Some great camera idea’s:
- A Puck-Cam – this would allow NHL fans to see exactly how hard Zdeno Chara shoots the puck… actually, this would be like a bad sequel to the Blair Witch Project. Nevermind.
- A Camera along the half-boards/hash marks in each zone – If you think about it, we could see Kovalev score with a sick wrist shot once every 10-12 home games.
I also like the idea of having a camera run around the glass… that would be cool.