I haven’t watched a lot of hockey over the last few years. Actually not since the Oilers made a run at the Stanley cup and I found myself the only person in Seattle who cared, but I watched TSN’s premier last night. I was curious how TSN would market the hockey season in light of their acquisition of the hockey song.

Was it just me, or was TSN trying way too hard to spice up their marketing? Did they feel they had a higher bar to live up to? To do the Hockey anthem proud?
Here’s my random thoughts as I was watching the telecast:

1. The introduction by TSN analysts talking about Canada’s passion for hockey really was over the top and didn’t seem genuine.
Pierre McGuire, Bob McKenzie, and the other analysts. talking about how Canada would fall off the map without hockey was absolutely ridiculous. With all of the backgrounds of wheat fields, oceans, maritime aquatic life, little boys tying their skate laces on a frozen ponds? Honestly, we get it, Canada likes hockey.

2. The players talking about who they’d thank if they won the cup was equally cheesy

3. The half simulation, half real life players skating around a computer generated skating rink? Are you kidding me? I thought with the acquisition of the old CBC hockey song TSN finally understood that there was something nostalgic about watching hockey. Part of why I loved watching CBC hockey night in Canada was that it reminded me of watching hockey as a 5 year old with my dad on a 20 inch black and white TV. When I was watching TSN, I was reminded of playing XBox 360 to earlier that day.

4. They’re ruining the Hockey Song!
They played it way too long at the start, and then absolutely every single opportunity they had, they played it. Every whistle, every break, every commercial, every time a goalie made a save, they’d play that stupid song.

Other than that, watching hockey again was fun.