Merit wrote:kevindurant1 wrote:Merit wrote:
You have ZERO clue on what you are talking about. I am a first generation immigrant.. I came here when I was twelve. If you think there is no access to rinks then I dont know to tell you.
"Not everyone can ferry their kids to and from practices with giant bags of equipment."
-What does that have to do with playing hockey?. We are talking about access. You do not need expensive gear to play hockey. Blades and sticks are cheap. Inline skates are cheap. Open parking lots and parks everywhere. There are outdoor and indoor rinks everywhere where you can learn to skate and play hockey if allowed. If you live in the cities there are public transportations.
You are exposed to hockey everytime you open your TV. You see maple leaf flags everywhere you go. Obviously exposure and access is not lacking. If anything, its overexposure. LMAO.
Basketball has easier access than hockey?. Sure. Still doesnt change the fact that easy access doesnt mean popularity. If that is the case then why do non-whites like the NFL football?. Baseball?. Why do they love boxing?. You mean all immigrants who follow boxing have boxed before?.
I can't comment on boxing other than to say I don't follow it. Maybe other immigrants experienced things differently. Maybe they had a star from their country (Pacquiao) and followed because of him? MMA/boxing have a completely different brutalistic appeal than other contact sports. Like I said, I am not saying access is the ONLY reason people like the sport, but it really does help. As a kid I begged my parents to play hockey, but they just couldn't afford it. Maybe things have changed since I was a kid and it's much better now, but I highly doubt it. Even with play it again sports they couldn't manage and I remember getting heckled to bits because I didn't have the "right" equipment for some of the other sports I took part in. I specifically remember getting picked last to play street hockey because I didn't have an easton stick with enough hockey tape back in the day. No chance I was playing roller hockey - $150 for a pair of blades and I'd have to change them every time I grew. $150 is an entire season of soccer, including rudimentary coaching. Seriously, I don't know how you can possibly think hockey is accessible. Never mind that my parents had no experience with ice hockey and were intensely focused on my academic success.
I will say that it's pretty easy to play football via high-school teams and that it attracts its own demographic. If you're a good high school player (disproportionately bigger/more athletic at your age) you would be asked to join leagues when high school was out. I remember some of the bigger schools had better equipment - further extending the divide. My school didn't have a football team. Further, I don't know many people who play "pickup football", but even if we're talking flag football/touch football it requires less setup/gear/learning curve than hockey. Football has a different kind of currency and exposure in the USA and that is starting to trickle up here. My kids will never play this sport either for the same reason: the threat of head injury. I will also say that there are a ton of people of colour playing NFL and CFL football. That is simply not the case in hockey.
If you're remotely athletic (I was) you're going to want to excel in your chosen sport. Hockey was not a sport I could afford. Period. Due in part to that, I'm a passionate basketball fan and a far less passionate hockey fan. I cannot presume to speak for all other immigrants, but I do know a fair number for whom this was also the case. Plus basketball is just cooler and from my experience - much more accepting. Check out a basketball court the next time you can. Even just a pickup game. Check the demographics/incomes. Compare them to a pickup hockey game somewhere with "blades and a stick". Check the demographics/incomes. I bet it's night and day in terms of diversity.
Playing football requires less learning curve than hockey?. LOL.
Dude, basketball is my favourite sport. I know its demographics. I actually hate hockey and I played it. I dont understand whats the connection between that and what we are talking about.
At the end of the day, there is not a solid argument that backs up what the other posters are saying. I have made multiple examples using different sports.
Think about it like this. If what they are saying is true then shouldnt white people in Canada like basketball more than hockey because it the easiest to access?.
