Growing up in Vermont, hockey was actually the first sport I was ever interested in. My family went to most of the University of Vermont games. The first game I ever went to was a thrilling one where John LeClair scored the winning goal in overtime as the Catamounts beat Colgate 4-3. When I was 10, I was even struck in the head by an airborne puck, blacked out, and got to meet the trainer of the UVM team (I even got to keep the puck!).
In America, hockey is no higher than 4th most popular sport. I believe the only cause of this is ignorance. Hockey is very fast-paced, extremely physical, and exciting to watch. I like the fact that everybody gets a chance to play (there are 3-4 front-line and defense groups per team and they all get regular turns). Scoring is rare, but unlike soccer there are constant attempts on goal and game scores typically are in the 3-4 range. Physicality and roughness is well monitored and appropriately disciplined: 2 minutes in a penalty box for breaking the rules and your team plays short-handed because of it. Still, there are occasional fist-fights, the most entertaining part of any game. No one cares about "image," you don't see any tattoos or stylish clothes or wild hair, just rough physical men who are not afraid to lose a tooth or two.
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It's a darn shame that hockey has never caught the public's eye in the US. The NHL is in terrible financial shape, games are rarely televised, and honestly I've never been to an NHL game, while I have been to many baseball games, NBA games, and even a (preseason) NFL game. But I really think if people got out and went to a game, they would realize that it is the most exciting game they've ever seen. No sport is more fun to watch in person than hockey. It's kind of like that little restaurant that nobody knows about but they quietly serve the best meatloaf on the planet.
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