Nashville Predators: Want More National Coverage? Be Careful What You Wish For
By Steve Cook
As the Nashville Predators attain more success, they will receive more attention from the mainstream media. This isn’t always a good thing.
Many hockey fans seem obsessed with attention. Their team never gets enough attention from hockey media. Hockey doesn’t get enough attention from sports media. Hockey Fans seemingly have a chip on their shoulder because their team doesn’t get enough attention. Even Nashville Predators fans suffer from this.
Heck, Chicago Blackhawks fans complain that the Cubs get more attention than their team does in the Windy City. There’s always a reason for hockey fans to complain about a lack of attention.
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Me? I’ve never really cared for attention. I noticed long ago the teams I rooted for did better when there wasn’t much hype around them. It was a running gag for years whenever my Louisville Cardinals would make the top 10 of the men’s basketball AP poll that they were bound to go on a losing streak. Sure enough, they typically did. Don’t even get me started on what happened last college football season when people were talking about Louisville as a playoff contender.
It seems like when some athletes read their own press clippings, they start building up so much confidence that they don’t put in the full effort needed to win. It doesn’t help that their opponents consume the same press clippings, adding motivation to knock those fools off their pedestal. Under the radar is the place to be.
The Nashville Predators have been under the radar for much of their existence. Now that they’ve appeared in a Stanley Cup Final, people are starting to take notice. NBCSN has seen fit to air seven Nashville games next season. Quite the step up from two last season, which I assume was the previous record for number of times that the Predators appeared on NBCSN.
Let’s put that coverage in perspective real quick.
It’s good for fourth-most in the Central Division, as the St. Louis Blues appear 10 times, the Minnesota Wild have 12 appearances (Dear God why) & the Blackhawks have 82 games airing on NBC or NBCSN. I may be embellishing that last number. It goes to show that as excited as we might be that the Predators are getting more national exposure…Nashville’s still in the shadow of Minnesota & St. Louis as far as NBC is concerned.
Which is fine with me. I’ve never understood the obsession that some Predators fans have with having games on the NBC family of networks. The positive is obvious: more people can see the games. More eyeballs is always a good thing, unless you’re getting your butt handed to you. Considering five of the seven Predators games on NBCSN will be in Bridgestone Arena, I’m going to be optimistic and say that Nashville will win more games on the network than they lose.
The negative is that we have to deal with some of the annoyances of NBC coverage. Don’t get me wrong, I think NBC does a fine job of televising a game. Doc Emrick is the best play by play guy in the business and the other guys NBC uses, like Kenny Albert & Gord Miller, are fine as well. I don’t even hate Pierre McGuire like everybody else does! Kathryn Tappen has a special place in my heart but that’s probably another topic for another time.
My main point of contention is with Mike Milbury.
Predators fans surely remember Mike Milbury from his “fair & balanced” coverage of P.K. Subban during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Going in on Subban for having the unmitigated gall to dance during warmups, then saying “he had it coming” when Sidney Crosby bounced his head off the ice five times for no reason. Just a despicable human being all around. I’ve written about it before.
Milbury is the personification of Old Man Hockey. Shaking his fist at players that dare to have any type of personality or fun. And this is what NBC wants advertising one of their top sports properties? There are still some old farts out there that probably nod along with Milbury’s racism & old man rants, but to the vast majority of the hockey audience, he’s an old cow that needs to be put out to pasture.
As long as that kind of nonsense is what NBC wants out front in its hockey coverage, I don’t need to watch their telecasts. I used to wonder why national hockey ratings were so low…I stopped wondering after watching some of Milbury’s act. I can only assume he has some compromising photos of NBC Sports management with a donkey and that’s why he still has a job.
More national coverage means less of our friends.
Another downside of more NBCSN telecasts: In recent years Fox Sports Tennessee has not aired regular season games that air on the NBC family of networks. It makes sense from a budgetary perspective. But as somebody that would much rather watch games on Fox Sports Tennessee with announcers that are more familiar with the Nashville Predators than the national announcers are, the idea of fewer games on a local outlet that I appreciate makes me sad.
You’re asking me to trade coverage by Lyndsay Rowley for coverage by Mike Milbury. That’s like trading ice cream for horse manure. Hopefully FS Tennessee won’t totally bow out and we don’t lose too much of their coverage thanks to our shiny new NBC love.
Next: Five Most Anticipated Home Games of 17-18 Season
I know many Nashville fans are celebrating this newfound love from the mainstream hockey media. What I’m telling you now is to be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.