From the moment the Stanley Cup final had the Lightning as an entry, and to a lesser extent the Flames, there was no hope for the final television ratings.
None.
Stories began popping up before the series. Despite a thrilling Game 7 win over Philadelphia, and an equally entertaining series between the Flames and San Jose, the headlines rained down:
Cup ratings could set record low.
Poor ratings, but exciting hockey expected in final.
NHL getting cold shoulder.
NHL sinking.
Forecast calls for lousy ratings.
The sports pundits (see: ESPN) told us the same thing. Which got me to thinking: is the sports television viewing audience made up of lemmings?
Once the bad press, from radio-television writers like myself, begins rolling in, are they willing to give an event a chance?
By almost all accounts, this year's Stanley Cup was one of the most entertaining finals in the last 10 years. It had scoring, it had fights, it was physical, and it was good enough to save the flagging sport, some have said.
Best of all, it built to a satisfying crescendo - a Game 7, and the best trophy presentation in all of sports. But if a great Stanley Cup final falls in the woods ...
I wonder, was there ever a point in the series (or any sports event for that matter) that the ratings could have been saved, to prevent it from being one of the lowest-rated of all time? Despite the gloomy headlines telling viewers they wouldn't watch, could they change their minds as the series produced exceptional drama and great sport, getting better with each game?
Apparently not.
The series was prejudged, the ratings predetermined. The only thing that prevented it from gaining more infamy for its small audience were higher ratings from Game 7. A six-game series would have been terrible; a five-game series embarrassing.
Lowest-rated series ever over; oh, and team from Tampa Bay wins.
We want great games, great matchups, thrilling finishes. But we'll only watch if guaranteed beforehand, or if told to?
It's a pity. And it's not just the rest of the country: had the Lightning not made it, Tampa Bay would have tuned out no matter how great the Philadelphia-Calgary series could have been. We'd have gone from a 28 rating to a 1.0, if that. Maybe then, however, the national ratings would have been more respectable, and they wouldn't be such an issue.
Flyers win Stanley Cup as opposed to Lightning wins lowest-rated Stanley Cup.
