NHL Fans Working Through Their Denial

A curious article from The Canadian Press today, guaging the fallout from yesterday's collapse of the NHL season.

It begins by declaring that the cancellation of the season "left barely a ripple across a nation of confirmed hockey lovers." Then it provides quotes from a string of angry, disillusioned NHL fans. No sir, not a ripple.

A better reading of the impact on both sides of the border might be gleaned from the SportsNation Poll at ESPN.com. Online polls must be taken with a grain of salt, but the conclusions of this one sound about right:

"An overwhelming majority of the more than 100,000 voters in an ESPN.com poll responded that they don't care about news of the cancellation. But respondents to the same question on ESPN.com's NHL index voted in similarly overwhelming percentages that they care very much."

There's something very sad about seeing hockey fans claim that they don't care, they've moved on and to heck with those millionaire owners and millionaire players.

It's like watching a teenager who's just been dumped, loudly proclaiming that he loves being single and he doesn't miss her one bit. The harder he tries, the easier it is to see through the bravado, to see that his heart is breaking.