Boston Bruins vs Boston Celtics Current Popularity (Worcester, Springfield: bars, FIOS)

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

So I was right. Apology accepted!

"My town" - Melrose? Winchester? Woburn? I don't claim knowledge of suburbs. Maybe suburbanites such as yourself are into hockey, I will admit that could be correct.

I spent 14 years in Eastie probably far longer than you spent in Brighton.

Also you definition of far flung is quite odd, After parts of Melrose are closer to city hall than parts of Brighton.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by btownboss4

I spent 14 years in Eastie probably far longer than you spent in Brighton.

Birth to 14. Great!

My roommate from Winthrop says that the whole general area over there is very small-town like and generally dull. I don't blame you for leaving.

[bostonguy1960]

I heard on WEEI 93.7 that the Celtics vs.
Knicks drew a 3.9 on local cable vs. the World Series game 1... supposedly better than any rating last year (maybe a network appearance could have done higher, though?). The baseball game here did a 5.9 or so. I'm sure the TNT opening night against the Cavs (WITH bonus of Hayward in the lineup) did even much better, but haven't seen or heard any ratings. They're usually hard to find and not published often.

I can't see any Bruins game getting that high of a rating this year... haven't seen or heard much except a 1 point something rating for a later start in Colorado, game 3 or so, I think.

[MassVt]

I haven't checked, but I'm not expecting high ratings for the World Series this year, possibly because of the Astros being in it, and because the Astros also switched leagues very recently..

If you had a Yankees/Dodgers WS, then the rating would be sky-high, or Cubs/Red Sox would do very well, too..

IMHO, Minnesota has the strongest hockey culture, at ALL levels, of any state in the Union.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by MassVt

IMHO, Minnesota has the strongest hockey culture, at ALL levels, of any state in the Union.

Thank you for the sensible post. It's really not even close. No knock on anyone, it's just that Minnesota is exceptional.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by MassVt

I haven't checked, but I'm not expecting high ratings for the World Series this year, possibly because of the Astros being in it, and because the Astros also switched leagues very recently..

If you had a Yankees/Dodgers WS, then the rating would be sky-high, or Cubs/Red Sox would do very well, too..

IMHO, Minnesota has the strongest hockey culture, at ALL levels, of any state in the Union.

I'd say Alaska would give Minnesota a run for its money, at least per capita. And, with a wife from Minnesota id say they are weakest at the NHL level, if only because there's so much enthusiasm at lower levels. She couldn't care less about the Wild but is a huge Gophers fan.

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Thank you for the sensible post. It's really not even close. No knock on anyone, it's just that Minnesota is exceptional.

I don't think anyone is disputing Minnesota has the strongest hockey culture in America but that really has nothing to do with Celtics vs Bruins or Basketball vs Hockey in Massachusetts.

Detroit, the Twin Cities, and Boston (Maybe Philly) are the only shared markets where their NHL team regularly outrates their NBA team. Obviously there are times that the Celtics are more popular than the Bruins (see 2007-2009) but its almost always Bruins>Celtics.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I'd say Alaska would give Minnesota a run for its money, at least per capita. And, with a wife from Minnesota id say they are weakest at the NHL level, if only because there's so much enthusiasm at lower levels. She couldn't care less about the Wild but is a huge Gophers fan.

Alaska has a history of people from Minnesota, especially Duluth, moving up there to work back in the day. However, nowadays I think Alaska is not very hockey oriented.

Certainly once the stars left, the nhl has been diminished. But the culture exists there. It almost doesn't even matter if they even have an nhl team.

[bostonguy1960]

According to Michael Felger on 98.5 The Sports Hub today, the Bruins beat the Celtics this past Saturday night head to head, 2.8 to 2.6 or so. World Series got a 5.9 or so. He was shocked that the Bruins can still beat the Celtics after all the Celtics hoopla this summer. The Celtics did beat the Bruins narrowly on Thursday night, but he didn't give the ratings.

I am truly shocked as well... not that the Celtics won't open the gap as the year goes on, especially if they keep on winning despite losing Hayward.

For reference, the Red Sox finished the season down in their ratings at about a 5.9. Of course, if they only played 82 games like the Bruins and Celtics, each game would be more meaningful, and their rating would be likely much, much higher.

[The_General]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

According to Michael Felger on 98.5 The Sports Hub today, the Bruins beat the Celtics this past Saturday night head to head, 2.8 to 2.6 or so. World Series got a 5.9 or so. He was shocked that the Bruins can still beat the Celtics after all the Celtics hoopla this summer. The Celtics did beat the Bruins narrowly on Thursday night, but he didn't give the ratings.

I am truly shocked as well... not that the Celtics won't open the gap as the year goes on, especially if they keep on winning despite losing Hayward.

For reference, the Red Sox finished the season down in their ratings at about a 5.9. Of course, if they only played 82 games like the Bruins and Celtics, each game would be more meaningful, and their rating would be likely much, much higher.

I listen to Felger and Mazz but yeah Felger only gives the ratings if the Bruins beat the Celtics. He's kind of a Bruins homer.