Celebrities and Sports
John Hoh
Wednesday May 10, 2006
And while the newspaper does not, per se, have a sports section, it does have feature articles on sports, especially on Friday and its new Saturday edition. Which brings me to the April 28th. or 29th. edition and what I read.
And no, it wasn’t about the Arena Football League. But it was interesting nonetheless.
The article was about the National Hockey League (NHL) and its attempt to be as "hip" as the National Basketball Association (NBA). You see, the NBA has celebrities who sit courtside at games and get "face time." The Los Angeles Lakers have Jack Nicholson. The New York Knicks have Spike Lee. The San Antonio Spurs probably have Eva Longorio since she dates Spurs player Tony Parker.
Well, the NHL wants that same recognition. The trouble? Unlike the NBA, it seems not enough (if any) celebrities are willing to pay to go to games—or even sit in the front row. So the NHL—hold your hat—send invites out to celebrities offering them free tickets to front row seats at any playoff game.
You read that right. The NHL wants to give celebrities FREE SEATS to any NHL playoff game.
So far, according to the Wall Street Journal article, the only taker was a Survivor survivor. Well, he was on the show but wasn’t a winner. George Clooney was invited, but he turned the NHL down (the league responded that it hadn’t sent any tickets or credentials to Mr. Clooney yet).
Which makes me wonder which league should be the fourth major league in America. In the Arena Football League, as I mentioned in a previous article, celebrities don’t have to be bribed to attend games. Heck, they OWN the teams! Jon Bon Jovi in Philadelphia! Tim McGraw in Nashville! Former NFL players like Ron Jaworski (Philadelphia), John Elway (Colorado), Deion Sanders (Austin) and Mike Ditka (Chicago) are owners as well. And we can’t forget the number of NFL owners who have Arena teams as well.
Hey, NHL, here’s some advice. Do more than just paint "THANK YOU FANS!" on the ice. Have your players sign autographs on the ice after the games. Have some cute cheerleaders at each end of the ice. Get a life, get a grip, and get some fans! Paying fans! Just like the Arena Football League already does.
Heck, you might even get George Clooney to want to buy a team!
John L. Hoh, Jr., is a free-lance writer from Milwaukee who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, as an avid Dolphins fan. He followed Arena Football since its inception, at one point watching tape-delayed games on low-powered WAV-TV in Waukesha. His happiest day was when Milwaukee was awarded the Mustangs franchise; his saddest when the Mustangs were contracted out of the league. John is married to his wife Maija (13+ years) and has a young son, Matthew. John pines for the return of the Arena Football League to Milwaukee.
