Wait...you thought I was talking about the OTHER playoff series going on, didn't you. Yes, The NBA Finals are going on. Yes, the two best teams in basketball are squaring off for the one of the most coveted prizes in sports. But anyone who has followed this season knew before PRESEASON who was heading to the NBA Finals. The Warriors have created an All-Star juggernaut consisting of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and now Kevin Durant. The Cavs have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and other good players. The Warriors have yet to lose in the playoffs and could very well become NBA Champions on Friday should they beat the Cavs on Wednesday. When you take drama out of sports, it becomes boring real quick, and despite the amount of All-Star talent in the NBA Finals alone, the suspense and competition has been taken away and the NBA (in my honest opinion) is at the lowest its ever been in terms of people actually REALLY caring about it. It hasn't stopped ESPN and Fox Sports One for shoving the pathetically boring Finals down out throats. All they have been focusing on has been the NBA Finals and even have brought up the possibilty of past top teams beating this year's Warriors (95-96 Bulls, Showtime Lakers, etc.). For ESPN to be called "The Worldwide Leader in Sports", it's a joke that they are giving so much attention to them rather than focusing on what looks to go down as a classic in the Stanley Cup Finals between Nashville and Pittsbugh. Heck, even the Women's College World Series is getting more coverage than the Stanley Cup. No disrespect to those in it (that 17th inning battle between Oklahoma and Florida was INSANE!!!), but the Stanley Cup is one of the oldest and most presitious titles in pro sports and deserves far more respect than what ESPN and mainstream media has shown them.
But apparently, you can't stop people from hearing about it and tuning in by the numbers. According to the Cellblock 303 Facebook page (Cellblock 303 are the SUPER LIT Predators fans), Game 4 was a ratings goldmine. Here are some of the stats
1) 5.7+ million viewers across the nation. It was the #1 viewed program in America.
2) This was the second highest rating for a Game 4 in NHL history.
3) This Game 4 was up 34% over last year's Game 4, and surpassed every one of the 6 games in last year's finals.
4) Digital viewing was up 66% over last year's finals.
5) In the Nashville market, the rating was a new record of 28.0, which equals about 280,000 households watching.
More details here: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2017/06/06/game-4-of-penguins-predators-2017-stanley-cup-final-is-second-most-watched-game-4-on-record/
Over the next 2-3 games (Thursday in Pittsburgh, Sunday in Nashville, (if necessary) Pittsburgh next Wednesday) expect these numbers to increase. Also, Twitter has been ablaze anytime there has been a Stanley Cup Final playing, especially after Games 3 and 4. With a big thanks to social media and word of mouth, people are beginning to see that hockey is a CRAZY sport and it's fun to watch and experience. I can speak from experiecene that Tennessee has been taken over by the Smashville fever. ESPN can tout all they want to about the NBA Finals, but in all truthfulness, they are focusing on the wrong championship. When a NBA Legend like Sir Charles Barkley rather attend Nashville and talk about the Stanley Cup Finals and the atmosphere of Smashvile more than the SPORT THAT MADE HIM A HOUSEHOLD NAME IN THE FIRST PLACE...you have a problem, and I don't think this problem is going away anytime soon.
This article is kinda painful for me to watch because I love basketball. But the way the NBA is and the way it looks like it could be for a while, I personally can't support it right now. If I want competitive basketball, thanks to Ice Cube, I won't have to wait too long to see it thanks to the BIG3 Basketball League (coming to Fox Sports One on June 26th).
I'll close with the following:
ESPN, thank you for showing that you have no right to call yourself the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" by practially ignoring the Stanley Cup and only focusing on the NBA Finals.
NBA, thank you for being the superteam-loving, competition-lacking league you have become so others can find something else to enjoy what they wait for football to begin. The NHL owes you a debt of gratitude.
Social media, especially Twitter, thank you for spreading the word about the Stanley Cup through your hashtags and memes. You have done the sport justice getting these teams noticed.
NHL, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penquins...from the bottom of my heart, thank you for giving sports fans a show. You have been awesome. The way the Stanley Cup Finals have been played thus far, I expect one epic, GLORIOUS conclusion. The world can't wait.
One last thing...GO PREDS! 😁
