What Will Be #1 In The Future

Hello. FYI I've corresponded with John Rolfe of si.com a few times now. We both have the same favourite hockey team, the New York Islanders from 1972-1993. John is from the Long Island area, so he saw some of the greatest games in Islanders history live. I'm quite envious.
John's last column was about the NHL in the USA. He pondered how ABC/ESPN could drop the NHL for poker and the National Spelling Bee. At last check on the si.com website, a poll asking which you would watch on TV tonight showed Suns-Mavs NBA playoff game (50%), Game 7 Buffalo Sabres-Carolina Hurricanes NHL Eastern Conference game (30%) and National Spelling Bee (20%). I replied to him in passing what I'm about to share with you in detail. He was in shock. Hopefully this will be a persuasive argument.

Hello John. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you earlier, but I've been swept away in Wie-mania. Yes, believe it or not, I think curling is ahead of hockey in popularity in Canada. While many, including Gary Bettman, would disagree, here are my reasons for thinking curling will be Canada's #1 winter sport in the future:

1. Demographics - Canada, like the US, is getting older. Many baby boomers are approaching retirement age. They are still active however, and want to try new things. Curling is something a person can start at any age relatively easily, and play for many decades. I know people in their 80s who still go out. Since the boomers are the largest demographic, greater numbers will curl as opposed to play hockey. This will translate into more viewers (top Canadian curling events draw more consistent audience numbers than Hockey Night in Canada. If you don't believe it, "Movie Night in Canada" (top box-office movies played during the lockout) got higher ratings than Hockey Night in Canada). There are over 1 million curlers of all ages in Canada.
2. Bureaucracy - There are less politics involved in curling than hockey. You can set up your own team of 4, instead of trying to impress a coaching staff to make a team of 20. No more "Johnny's dad is a GM VP, so he has to play". If you have someone on your curling team that's dragging you down, you can do the "Mutiny on the Bounty" thing, and go in another direction.
3. Simplicity - The rules are simple in curling. It's similar to bocci, which is why the Italians loved it in Torino. Also similar to darts and shuffleboard. I can explain them to you in 2 minutes. Try doing icing only in that time. Similar to baseball too, with a lot of second-guessing between shots.
4. Small-town appeal - Many small Canadian towns have curling rinks. My town of 50,000 has two rinks. Because of this, people feel they know the game, because they've experienced it. Any many top curlers have played in these small towns.
5. Expense (or lack thereof) - I could get completed outfitted pretty well in curling for $200 (shoes, broom, turtleneck, sweater, pants), and they would last me for years. Much less than hockey, needless to say. Also, a curling membership can be as low as $200/year, for unlimited ice-time.
6. The Olympics - Now that curling is a full-medal sport, many youngsters are choosing curling as their road to fame and fortune. The Canadian men's curling team, Olympic champions, averaged 25 years old (excluding an "import", 50-year old Russ Howard). As you can see by the age range on this team, even someone like me could conceivably represent Canada in 2010.
7. Fan connection - Because the curlers have day jobs, fans can relate to them. They are not out-of-touch demi-gods.
8. Development - the Little Rocks program in Canada is phenomenal. My daughter, age 7, participated for the first time this year. It's already producing Canadian, Olympic and world champions. The future is in good hands.

In summary, curling has a very bright future in many countries around the world. I believe it will be #1 in Canada.

Regards,

Steve