Hockey players are confined by walls with protective glass. So when they run out of room they run into the wall. Take that wall and shrink it down to a 2 inch lip to contain the puck and add sidelines with cheerleaders, coaches and replacement players. The fans would be placed farther back and still protected from tooth shattering pucks by glass. Just the idea of hockey players flying off the rink into the sidelines with their razor sharp blades should return some viewers to the sport. It would also add some more challenge to the sport because the players would attempt to stay within the bounds. It would also force more puck control.
Give it a thought, let me know what you think.-- Antegrity, Jan 13 2008 Why would hockey players have 'razor sharp blades'? [edit]ah, I now realise it's not hockey, it's an american thing they call hockey...[/edit]-- vincevincevince, Jan 13 2008 sorta baked by every ad hoc rink in the world (ie: find ice, play hockey)
//Why would hockey players have 'razor sharp blades'?// 'cuz you can't skate on dull blades.-- FlyingToaster, Jan 13 2008 Rather than glass, have a 3-meter thick, 2-meter high wall of gelatin surround the court. Players who fly out of bounds too fast are encased in jello for the rest of the game.-- phundug, Jan 13 2008 <Danger - there be rant ahead!>
vince3, I understand your confusion. Even I as a dutiful Canadian sometimes have difficulty understanding my game now that it has been mutated from a sport into a bastardized, highly-marketable, revenue-driven slice of Americanized tripe on ice by Gary "call me Satan" Bettman and his minions of greed and larceny. Ice hockey in Dallas, Carolina and Florida? Gary goes where the dollar flows.
If I had my way, I'd allow Mr. Bettman and his cartel to hang on to the rights to the name "National Hockey League" but we'd keep the Stanley Cup and secede from his league, putting hockey back where it belongs - in Canada. Our league would invite players to play in an environment where the focus is on the game, not on product placement and marketing. Our players could choose to play without a helmet if they wanted, the sticks would be made from wood, there'd be one referee, goalies could handle the puck anywhere they were capable of, any team caught using, teaching or endorsing "the trap" would be fined $10,000, and teams would be required to continue using their uniform design and colour scheme for periods of ten years.
<End of rant>
Antegrity - just a few questions for my own clarification: have you ever played the game? Would there be a play stoppage and a face-off each time the puck went into the sidelines? Why would seeing a player //flying off the rink into the sidelines with their razor sharp blades// attract any viewer worth having?
I have given it a thought, and I'm telling you this idea gets a skeletal array from Rhincodon typus, or whale shark, the largest species of fish, from me.-- Canuck, Jan 13 2008 Even here, as far south as Anaheim, California, where real hockey is played in the actual presence of the venerable Stanley Cup, I - an avid hockey fan since the 70's thank you very much, Canada - can only turn my nose away from the stench of this horrible idea.
Hey, bitter much, Canuck? Go Ducks.-- globaltourniquet, Jan 14 2008 sp: Ice Hockey-- ConsulFlaminicus, Jan 14 2008 random, halfbakery