mocachapeau
Dagobah Resident
Hi everyone,
A couple of weeks ago I sat down to watch a hockey game on the opening night of the National Hockey League. As many of you know, the amount of advertising during any sporting event has become nauseating. One of the techniques they use that stands out is the sports caster who has clearly been told to say the sponsor’s name every time they mention the item being sponsored. For example, when you watch a basketball game on one of those networks, they always refer to their half-time show as the “Prudential At-the-Half”, not just “At-the-Half” like it was in the 80’s.
When I turned on the game I was greeted with, “Welcome to North American opening night.” I didn’t think much of it until he said again, “You’re watching North American opening night” He must have said it twenty times during the broadcast!
Anyone that is familiar with the NHL knows that there ARE no teams in the league outside of North America. It seemed quite evident that the announcer had been told to add the words “North American” every time he mentioned opening night, but in the context of the NHL, it was simply redundant.
Is it possible that this is a kind of subtle technique used to get the idea of a North American Union engrained in our heads before it is sprung upon us – to get us accustomed to hearing it in advance? If so, what better way to reach as many Canadians as possible, all at once, than the season opener of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada!
I suppose I could be wrong. It may have just been the latest creation of a catch phrase by a not-so-bright sports caster. But it really didn’t seem that way to me.
A couple of weeks ago I sat down to watch a hockey game on the opening night of the National Hockey League. As many of you know, the amount of advertising during any sporting event has become nauseating. One of the techniques they use that stands out is the sports caster who has clearly been told to say the sponsor’s name every time they mention the item being sponsored. For example, when you watch a basketball game on one of those networks, they always refer to their half-time show as the “Prudential At-the-Half”, not just “At-the-Half” like it was in the 80’s.
When I turned on the game I was greeted with, “Welcome to North American opening night.” I didn’t think much of it until he said again, “You’re watching North American opening night” He must have said it twenty times during the broadcast!
Anyone that is familiar with the NHL knows that there ARE no teams in the league outside of North America. It seemed quite evident that the announcer had been told to add the words “North American” every time he mentioned opening night, but in the context of the NHL, it was simply redundant.
Is it possible that this is a kind of subtle technique used to get the idea of a North American Union engrained in our heads before it is sprung upon us – to get us accustomed to hearing it in advance? If so, what better way to reach as many Canadians as possible, all at once, than the season opener of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada!
I suppose I could be wrong. It may have just been the latest creation of a catch phrase by a not-so-bright sports caster. But it really didn’t seem that way to me.
