Fans Hate the NHL's Lockout More Than People Hated BP's Oil Spill
We knew the NHL lockout was horrible and stupid and making everyone really mad, but we didn't know it was this bad and horrible and making everyone this mad. A recent survey of just over 1,000 Canadians with varying degrees of hockey fandom found the lockout is so bad for the league's image that it's comparable to BP's destructive oil spill. That was the company's bench mark for "worst PR disaster ever," and the NHL cleared it:
A disastrous map would be the one Level5 created following the BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. It was the worst the company had seen – until it got around to the NHL this month.
Some of the typical hockey-fan emotions from the survey company included "significant unhappiness, disappointment, confusion, irritation and frustration," and "dislike and, tellingly, boredom with NHL hockey," and, perhaps most importantly, "disgust."
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It's not even that surprising for people who follow the lockout. Puck Daddy, one of the most popular hockey blogs on these Internet, has a regular feature called The Vent. Fans write in personal screeds about how angry they are with the lockout. Even six-year-olds are mad about the lockout.
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A lot of reporters covering the lockout are becoming increasingly frustrated with it, too. The NHL was so close to a deal with the player's union a few weeks ago, but everything fell apart at the last minute, for ridiculous reasons. This ESPN headline said it all: "You have got to be kidding me."
