# Why isn't hockey more popular in the south? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 23, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798 "2018-09-23T22:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/21 "2018-09-24T21:59:34Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The Red Wings had the fourth highest average attendance in the NHL last year. They were reported at one hundred percent capacity. > > It is possible you went to games and saw empty seats, but those seats were sold. That’s the sign of a very, very healthy and enthusiastic fan base; they may not show for a loser but the demand is so high they already bought the tickets. No firm evidence, but I’ve heard from people who should know that a lot of those sold seats are corporate season ticket seats which were empty because no one wanted to use them. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/22 "2018-09-24T22:13:52Z")
Here in Atlanta we lost two NHL teams in 30 years. I really doubt we’ll ever get another. Mostly, poor performing teams led to poor attendance. Also, Thrashers tickets were incredibly expensive. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/23 "2018-09-24T22:40:12Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Similarly, not too popular in the SF Bay Area, Kristi Namaguchi not withstanding. What are you talking about? The San Jose Sharks are very successful. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/24 "2018-09-24T22:47:16Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Why isn’t hockey popular in the south? That’s assuming it isn’t popular in the south. Is hockey not popular in the south? Let’s start there. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/25 "2018-09-25T00:05:26Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > Here’s another anecdotal thing (and I admit it’s just anecdote, so my have no bearing.) Hockey just doesn’t feel ‘right’ when the weather is nice. I just went to a Pens pre-season game on Saturday and it was fun, enjoyed myself. The Pens tore up and Crosby was playing in the preseason, so that’s awesome. The problem was that you went into PPG and it was 70 degrees and sunny and came out and it was still warm and sunny and it really just didn’t feel ‘right.’ Being hit with warm air when you walk out of an arena is just wrong somehow. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. How was attendance? Granted it’s still just the pre-season, but then, attendance is still high at the end of the season, and the post-season is insane. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/26 "2018-09-25T00:59:48Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > That’s assuming it isn’t popular in the south. Is hockey not popular in the south? Let’s start there. Probably should also define “the south.” When I grew up in Alexandria, Washington D.C. was certainly “the south.” And you see what’s happened there… ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/27 "2018-09-25T02:36:45Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > That’s assuming it isn’t popular in the south. Is hockey not popular in the south? Let’s start there. How are you going to define popularity? Hockey doesn’t have the same level of devoted fans that more warm-weather sports do, because few people grew up playing it, and few of the local universities have hockey teams. So most people are essentially casual fans- they may have started off playing hockey video games, or watching it on TV, but there’s not that grassroots fan base that sports like football, soccer, baseball or basketball have. But then again, you may have enough people in a city the size of Dallas to get a reasonable crowd at the American Airlines Center a few times a week, just due to sheer numbers. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/28 "2018-09-25T14:17:52Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > That’s assuming it isn’t popular in the south. Is hockey not popular in the south? Let’s start there. The question is too vague to be answered. It just depends. It’s popular enough to make NHL teams successful in certain markets, but not others. For example, it does well in most California markets, in Nashville, and in Tampa, but poorly in Phoenix, Carolina, and Miami. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/29 "2018-09-25T14:31:16Z")
Even in Ohio, which is definitely not “the South”, hockey is not very easy or convenient for youth athletes to play. There is only a limited number of rinks available and it’s expensive enough that kids don’t just casually play. The few kids I know who play hockey are fully invested in it. Because of the scarcity of teams, it requires a good amount of travel. People my age didn’t grow up with hockey in the area, which doesn’t help. I can only imagine this situation is similar, if not worse, in more southern states. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/30 "2018-09-25T16:12:40Z")
roller hockey is cheaper (about 1/3 the cost of ice hockey) to play since the rinks are much cheaper to run. Here in NC roller hockey is pretty big with kids. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798/31 "2018-09-25T16:35:45Z")
In addition, the NHL seasons share almost the same schedules as NBA & NCAAB, and basketball is much more popular. There’s enough transplants down here whose kids are filling up youth hockey leagues, so maybe the South will have a bigger presence in 10-20 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-hockey-more-popular-in-the-south/821798.md?page=1)