Rozner: Hysteria over NHL money grab laughable
Outrage has become more than just a cultural phenomenon.
It's big business, the stuff of clicks and likes and follows. Scream loud, pretend to be offended and get thousands of retweets. You don't have to believe it. You just have to sell it. That brings sponsors to your website and big dollars to your bank account.
Ah, the irony of phony outrage.
The NHL is hearing it now because they dared to sell sponsorships.
Obviously in a terrible economic climate and hurting for cash, the league got some easy dollars by putting sponsor's names on their divisions for this shortened NHL season.
Outrageous. Truly outrageous. Humans will surely never survive such a catastrophe.
Raise your hand if you even know the names of the NHL's four divisions. For the record, it's the Central and Pacific in the West, the Atlantic and Metropolitan in the East.
The Metropolitan? That's the stuff of marketing wizardry.
It's a decent guess that most of those so gravely injured by Tuesday morning's announcement could not recite all four titles.
These division names were mocked in 2013 after the switch from a six-division format, which held the names of the Central, Northwest and Pacific in the Western Conference, and the Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast in the Eastern Conference.
That was the first change since 1998, when it was four divisions, the Central and Pacific in the West, and the Northeast and Atlantic in the East.
The NHL has done this so often that there is absolutely no tradition or meaning as it applies to the current format. The names couldn't possibly be less relevant.
Through the 1992-1993 season, the NHL tried using tradition as a guide, and the league was ridiculed for that, as well.
No one knew the names or could remember the names, was the criticism, but if you ask hockey fans of that era, they'll tell you that most of them did know the names and respected the attempt.
The conferences were named after Clarence Campbell and the Prince of Wales, while the divisions were the Norris, Smythe, Adams and Patrick. All four of those names continue to adorn major NHL awards, and the Campbell and Wales trophies (or bowls) are given to the conference champions on their way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Such tradition seems pretty cool in a short-attention span world, but back then the titles were scorned.
From 1967-1974 there was a West Division and an East Division, no conference titles, and before that the Original Six, no division or conference names necessary.
From dull to very dull, with a stop in between for grand tradition and names with meaning, at every stop blasted for any change, and now this outrage for accepting sponsorship money.
Blasphemy as sure as you're sitting here today.
In so many ways, the NHL remains a Mickey Mouse league, so many reasons to make fun of Gary Bettman and his top sycophants, but it's a grand stretch to make this money grab one of the reasons.
The truth is if you hate the NHL, then you hate everything it does and this is a pathetic excuse to take shots. It's hate for the sake of it.
The league needs money so it sold sponsorships. It's OK for you and your website, but not for a pro sports league?
Gimme a break.
Players are walking billboards in every sport and arenas and broadcasts are one continuous advertisement, hardly a moment for a spare breath or a broadcaster to call the game.
You'd rather they raise your ticket prices again?
Twitter was ablaze Tuesday as those with an ax to grind threw rocks at hockey, an outrage that will last only until the next feigned insult, roughly 15 minutes from now.
What's amazing is that given the circumstances, this is all some have to be angry about. Seriously, divisional naming sponsors is upsetting.
The question is, who really cares? I'll sit down and listen for my aneurysm.