The Caste media reported (celebrated?) some poor early season attendance figures in St. Louis and Chicago last season as "proof" that hockey was "in trouble" and a "niche" sport. But I've noticed some low attendance figures at early NBA games this season, lower than I can recall seeing in quite a few years, and not suprisingly haven't come across any articles mentioning it.
Just in the NBA box scores reported in the Thursday sports section of the local rag, we find these turnouts:
Charlotte at Philadelphia -- 9,317 (about one-half what the Flyers draw)
L. A. Clippers at Indiana -- 10,122 (wow!)
Miami at San Antonio -- 17,503 (1,000less than capacity for a matchup of the two most recent league champions)
Memphis at Seattle -- 10,761 (basketball interest has collapsed in a former hotbed)
Seattle at Sacramento -- 14,908 (about 2,600 less than capacity for a team that sold out every home game for many years)
Considering that the NBA gets at least ten times as much free publicity and hype from the corporate media as does the NHL, if there's a league "in trouble," it isn't the NHL.
Just in the NBA box scores reported in the Thursday sports section of the local rag, we find these turnouts:
Charlotte at Philadelphia -- 9,317 (about one-half what the Flyers draw)
L. A. Clippers at Indiana -- 10,122 (wow!)
Miami at San Antonio -- 17,503 (1,000less than capacity for a matchup of the two most recent league champions)
Memphis at Seattle -- 10,761 (basketball interest has collapsed in a former hotbed)
Seattle at Sacramento -- 14,908 (about 2,600 less than capacity for a team that sold out every home game for many years)
Considering that the NBA gets at least ten times as much free publicity and hype from the corporate media as does the NHL, if there's a league "in trouble," it isn't the NHL.