Sid the Kid scored one for the ages Sunday. In overtime of the gold medal game between Teams USA and Canada, Crosby's little wrist shot through Ryan Miller's legs wrote a page in hockey history not soon to be forgotten.
According to several reports, ratings for the Olympic finale were through the proverbial roof. In the U.S., the game drew an average of 27.6 million viewers with a ratings share of 15.2.
For hockey, these numbers are astronomical. It makes Sunday's game the third most watched hockey game in U.S. history, trailing only 1980s USA-Russia "Miracle on Ice" game and the resultant gold medal game between USA and Finland.
To put that into some perspective, the NHL's most recent ratings coup—Game Seven of last season's Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins—drew eight million viewers and pulled in a 4.3 ratings share. Yet that was the most watched NHL game in 36 years.
Even so, hockey is beginning to gain a bit of momentum in the United States. Ratings have been ticking upwards, albeit slowly, with each successive season since the lockout cancelled the 2004-05 season. Adding to ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Brian Tuohy
Was the USA vs. Canada Gold Medal Game a Little Too “Hollywood?”
March 1st, 2010 by Brian Tuohy Leave a reply »
Advertisement