How Much Does Star Power Matter?

by The Falconer on Nov 23, 2009 3:02 PM EST in Opinion Comment 13 comments

Puck Daddy raises a question I've long thought about, how much does star power matter? In particular, he quotes the new co-owner of the Florida Panthers, Stu Siegel, who mentions Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta market. "That one superstar, arguably one of the top 10 players in the League. And the market doesn't know who he is, or they're not marketing him properly."

I have opinions about lots of things, but marketing is not my forte, so I'll withhold comment on that angle. But what I can say is that winning hockey seems to be more important than superstar talent in terms of drawing fans. At some point, watching Kovalchuk score in yet another home team loss gets old. It is in my view that winning, and especially winning in the post-season, is crucial to attracting in the casual sports fans in a market and transforming mild fans into crazy die hard ones.

As a kid growing up in Michigan, my hockey hero was Steve Yzerman, and it would have been broken-hearted if they would have traded him away. But nothing compares to the intensity of a knock-down drag-out playoff battle that goes seven games. When I first tuned into NHL hockey, the local team had the good fortune to advance all the way to the ~~Western~~ Campbell Conference Finals two years in a row. There was a thrilling--almost miraculous--series where the team rallied from being behind 3-to-1 against the hated Toronto Maple Leafs. Then, both times the Gretzky-Messier-Fuhr-Coffey Oilers ended the playoff run--but what a thrilling journey it was. An entire month of living on the edge.

In my mind, the playoffs are the crucible that forges deep fan attachment, not superstars. Unlike the NBA where the superstar nearly always produces points, even the very best NHLers are only on the ice 30%-40% of the game and they don't score every game--that is just the nature of the modern NHL.

Now if I'm correct about how the playoffs are very important, some might argue that we include more teams in the playoffs. During the 21 team NHL that I grew to love, 16 out of 21 teams made the post-season, that's a crazy 76% of the league. Today 16 of 30 teams or 53% qualify. The regular season is already so long that I'm opposed to making the post-season longer (and the regular season nearly meaningless).

For markets like Atlanta and Miami, the goal must be fielding a competitive hockey team most years. An exciting post-season trumps any clever or expensive marketing campaign. It is much easier to push a product that sells itself.

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I agree with you on superstars vs. winning.

But, I almost really have to agree with him regarding the fact that no one knows who Kovy is. Wasn’t he voted ATL’s best athlete in 2008? He’s more outstanding than anyone on the other three major sports teams here, and yet people care more about the lowliest player on the Falcons than they do about someone who could blow their minds if they’d just give him the chance to.

Of course, people’d know more about Kovy if the team’d win more and people would start coming to games, but still. At least they incorporated his mug into that “The Hockey Way” logo, so he is all over the place by default.

Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?

Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.

by hildymac on Nov 23, 2009 3:56 PM EST reply actions

That new Florida owner sounds like a know it all dumb ass to me. He’ll learn. Good luck with that marketing plan in Miami, because NOBODY there cares about the Panthers or the Marlins. Miami fans are great on jumping on the bandwagon though, so if the Panthers or Marlins ever win, they’ll show up in droves for the playoffs and pretend that they were always there.

But anyway, let’s suppose we could ask the average Thrashers fan the following. Here are your choices. Pick one.
1) Your team will keep Ilya Kovalchuk but never get past the first round of the playoffs, if it even gets that far.
2) Your team loses Ilya Kovalchuk now but will win the Stanley Cup next year.

I’m pretty sure that given that choice that almost everybody would pick #2. And besides, what Siegel doesn’t know is that basically nobody in the NHL outside of Ovechkin and Crosby has any national stature. Sorry, but that’s how it is. Why doesn’t he ask somebody at random if they know what Evgeni Malkin does for a living? Or Anze Kopitar? Or any of those faceless bums that play for the Panthers? I’m not kidding. Off the top of my head I can’t name even ONE player, not one, who plays for the Panthers right now. Talk about not marketing somebody! The Panthers are the only team in the NHL for whom I honestly can’t name a single player who plays for them.

Like it or not, the fact is that hockey is a bit of a fringe sport. And Kovy does get some marketing here in Atlanta. I just asked the women in my office is they ever heard of him and half knew who was and none of them are regulars at Thrashers games. My sample size was small for sure, but I don’t buy Siegel’s argument.

by Zontar on Nov 23, 2009 3:58 PM EST reply actions

You can’t name any Panthers? How about Nathan Horton (Tim’s brother?) or David Booth?

by timmyf on Nov 23, 2009 6:16 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

me-ow

vokoun, mccabe, ballard, frolik, stillman, weiss.

by dennylambert!! on Nov 24, 2009 12:22 PM EST up reply actions

A recognizable superstar and deep playoff runs are required to establish fan bonds. Obviously, the latter is more important. Most Atlantans have no clue as to what a playoff run involves.

by mo wanchuk on Nov 23, 2009 4:16 PM EST reply actions

Well said, although I can’t imagine the team without Kovalchuk, or more specifically, him playing with a different jersey on. Granted, a long playoff push, or simply consecutive playoff pushes would be awesome,but the thoughts of waiting for the younger guys to get ready just reminds me of Atlanta’s early years with Kovy and Heatley. We waited for the two of them to be a little older, have a little more experience under their belts, and this would be a consistent playoff team with the other right pieces in place (such as great goalies—leave it alone). All the pieces may not be there right now (although I blame the loses on more the mental side), but can this market afford to wait? He’s the catalyst that keeps people coming. Like you said, winning will develop a loyal following, but as a .500 hockey team, the fans need him to stay. Kovy may be a little older when he lifts that cup with a Thrashers sweater on, but collectively, this team is surely moving in the right direction now. If he can wait, I can.

by EvilMilkshake on Nov 24, 2009 1:21 AM EST reply actions

How Much Does Star Power Matter?

Folks, we’re forgetting the elephant in the room: Kovy’s a European, a Russian, in fact, and that doesn’t go down well in a city whose sports heroes are named Aaron, Jones, Murphy, Wilkins, Ryan.

Hockey is foreign to most U.S. people to begin with, especially with Atlanta’s large black population plus many white Southerners who have no connection to the sport.

As someone who was a former Flames fan in Alabama (I was 18 when they left for Calgary), I think this is why people are extremely slow to embrace hockey again: when they left, the league was 99% North American. Now, it’s increasingly foreign.

Also, we’ve also come through the ESPN “Attitude” era; we want our athletes to have flash and sizzle on AND off the ice, and embrace an open mike once in a while. Foreign players just don’t do that for most of the public. Known any hockey players that transcend the NHL? (Rhetorical question.) Now, how many NBA’ers transcend basketball? You need more fingers and toes to count…

by Black ice in Alabama on Nov 24, 2009 1:21 AM EST reply actions

Marketing Gets it Started...

But you need the winning team to maintain and grow the excitement.

I was in San Jose when the Sharks got started and here when the Thrashers came into the league. I’ll grant that they’re very different markets (SJ was a big city starved for its own sports identity), but the marketing the Sharks did to launch the team had an amazing impact. They created a monster buzz for a team that played its first 2 seasons in a 60 year-old cattle auction barn 40 miles north of San Jose. I never felt that same buzz here when the Thrashers started.

-1 for the Thrash.

Then, in their 3rd season, SJ managed to knock off the #1 Wings in their first playoff appearance and get within a crossbar ping of the Conf. Finals in round 2. They absolutely owned that town at that point. And outside of a couple of down years they’ve consistently filled the building for 15 years since.

The Thrashers are past the point where marketing will create the buzz. They need the playoff victories.

by tbradshaw on Nov 24, 2009 10:22 AM EST reply actions

the nhl is partly to blame

anyone remember when the likes of pitt (pre-crosby), chicago (pre-kane, toews, keith, etc.), and washington (pre-ovy, green, semin etc.) were terrible teams with awful attendances?? and then all of a sudden we started crosby, ovy, kane, and toews ALL over nhl sponsored commercials, internet spots, and anywhere else the nhl could shove them. all this publicity resulted in a huge renewed interest in these teams and huge increases in attendance e.g. chicago went from 29th in attendance to 1st in one season. when has the nhl shown any interest or support for any atlanta player?? have you ever seen kovalchuk or any thrasher in a national commercial?? have you seen a predator, or a panther?? my point is that the nhl severely neglects most southern teams and then wonders why theyre not as popular as other teams. its very difficult to create a buzz when no one down here gets any publicity despite a great deal of talent. since im a big toby fan, ill give one example of this neglect. toby is currently the 8th highest defenseman in points beating the likes of phaneuf, chara, goligoski, niedermayer, campbell, streit, weber etc etc. but i have not heard ONE bit of praise or notice of him at ANY tsn column, versus telecast, or anywhere else but this blog. as dangerfield always said, “I (we) dont get no respect.”

by dennylambert!! on Nov 24, 2009 12:20 PM EST up reply actions

Kovy was in a Nike add with Marcus Naslund a few years ago where they were chasing a puck through stores and on a cab ride, etc. He’s also on the “hope” ads on NHL network.

But yeah… thats about it.

by Pfloyd75 on Nov 25, 2009 9:14 AM EST up reply actions

Wasn't the Nike ad...

… only for the Canadian market anyway?

Reporter: There`s a "stamp out the Beatles movement" underway in Detroit. What are you going to do about it?

Paul McCartney: We`re going to start a campaign to stamp out Detroit.

by hildymac on Nov 25, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions

What does it say when Garnet Exelby was the team’s “ambassador”?

Evander Kane may be the perfect person to step into Exelby’s shoes…off the ice, that is.

by Black ice in Alabama on Nov 24, 2009 1:14 PM EST reply actions

Marketing

Speaking of piss-poor marketing, could someone please explain to me what the hell “That’s the Hockey Way” supposed to mean??? You could get away with a slogan like that in Minnesota, Boston, or Canada, but down here?

I have a (never-used) marketing degree, but I had to do a face-palm the first time I heard it…

by Black ice in Alabama on Nov 24, 2009 1:26 PM EST reply actions

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