And if you happen to follow Major League Baseball in any form, you will eventually come to know that many of the top players are of Latino descent. Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, and Mariano Rivera are just a few of those players. This is a long list of exceptional talent that spans back into the 1960s.
Photo of Albert Pujols by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images // Photo of Miguel Cabrera by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
Since then the MLB has been promoting the growth of the sport in many Latino countries such as Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. And as a Latina (Puerto-Rican) American, I am proud of these players and how much they have accomplished because they are Latino - like me!
Each of these sports has it’s own marketing campaign to reach out to the Hispanic audience. According to the U.S. Census, about 51 million Americans are Hispanic, a number that grows steadily, not to mention the huge International market just waiting to be tapped into.
The NFL, MLB, NASCAR, and even the WWE have Spanish language versions of their official websites. The NHL website however is available in only 8 languages, Spanish not being one of them.
I can hear the people who will try to justify why this is the case like how the NHL doesn’t have the market in Spanish speaking countries or that there aren’t that many Latino players in the league for anyone to care. You can make the argument that many of the Latino countries are too poor to support hockey that it would be too much for a local village to support (up keep, equipment, medical, coaching, etc..)
So why does the MLB build facilities that include a gym, schools, and much more for future players to develop and ‘hopefully’ get chosen for the big leagues? They do it because they see the potential on the field and off of it.
The NHL is missing the boat with this. It’s an untouched gold mine that everyone is benefiting from. By embracing a group of individuals and reaching out to them, the league can grow for the better. The lockout is a terrible thing for the NHL, but this lack Hispanic marketing will leave the league lagging behind.
There are currently 5 active players of Latin American descent playing the NHL: Scott Gomez, Alex Martinez, Al Montoya, Rhett Rakhshani, and Raffi Torres; one retired player: Bill Guerin. (Wiki) I would like to this number rise and more participation by the league to increase it. The teams, individually, do a better job at reaching out culturally to their local communities. For example, in Los Angeles, a city that has a very large Latino community, the Kings host a Latino Heritage night every season.
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| Credit to LAKings.com |
Bettman and the rest of the NHL should take the same initiative and branch out to Hispanic countries. Even if it’s ball hockey on the street, it’s an idea and foundation for the future.
Reaching Out to Hispanic Consumers - Hispanic Business.com
I think one of the reasons is that hockey is just about the most expensive sports to keep up with. Baseball - ball, bat and field, Football- ball, pads, and field. Soccer- ball and field. Basketball- ball, net, and court. Hockey- skates, pads, sticks. and ICE. It's too warm in many latino countries to worry about keeping the temperatures of the rink cold enough so the ice doesn't melt. I think the other thing keeping the NHL from doing it is the lack of representation of latinos in the sport. If there are only 5 active latino players in the sport I think they'll get a lot of "practice what you preach" if they reach out to the hispanic community. Like why are they doing all these things for latino's but they dont have many playing in the league.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment!
DeleteThat is a great point and I do certainly agree that the climate of the area is a factor. It is a very expensive sport, if not the most expensive! The "practice what you preach" stand is really important, Latinos and other minorities should be playing in the league and the league should make an effort to reach out to them. I hope to see more minorities in NHL in the seasons to come.
Thanks for visiting my blog!
ReplyDeleteJust to throw my two cents in; from my own personal experience most of the people I know who are minorities are not in the least interested in hockey. There is a general belief that hockey is a "white" sport, like NASCAR, unlike football, basketball, and baseball, which have had a longstanding history of minority followers and players. Also, most minorities don't have access to ice skating facilities and equipment which are required in hockey. Most other sports can at least be practiced or learned without special equipment or spaces (playground basketball courts, backyard football and baseball, etc.)
I'm actually not all that into sports, though, but I love your blog theme! It's nice to see a fellow Lolita lover who doesn't go into Lolita overdrive, and posts about a variety of things, too!
Thank you for your comment Champagne Star!
DeleteYou nailed the head on the coffin with your point and I agree with you, especially with NASCAR. NHL has many players are of multi-ethnic races, but it's not marketed in that. I have a feeling that if you break down culturally, the two countries that NHL is based in - Canada and America - there is a difference in ethnically how the sport is marketed. This brings up an excellent future topic: race in the NHL!
Thank you for the compliment. I love sports and I love Lolita fashion, so why should I talk about both topics. I'm sure there are Lolita's out there who play and watch sports, so hopefully they find this blog too!
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