Dallas Stars: Winning Popularity Contest In 17-18 Season
With all the steps the Dallas Stars are taking to move forward, fans should start thinking about what lies ahead and how the Stars organization might start to look a bit different.
The Dallas Stars universe seems to be getting bigger and bigger all the time and we couldn’t be more excited about it. There are many familiar things to come as the Stars roll into a new season: participation in charity efforts and the imminence of training camp are among some of the exciting things we’re used to with a new season on the horizon.
However, we’ve witnessed the advent of some new excitements this summer. With the Stars’ 25th anniversary upon us, it’s no wonder that it’s set to be a big season for the Stars, hopefully in more ways than one. Their goals and aspirations for standings and playoffs aside, Dallas has made moves to start getting more and more deserved recognition on the wider hockey stage.
This is a great thing and a propeller for the franchise. It may also prove to be a great motivator for the team in achieving those season goals. For fans, though, how much will change and what should we be looking out for?
While I’m not going to project that hockey might become as big as the football scene in Texas, the Stars are undoubtedly going to experience some growth thanks to their hosting of the 2018 Entry Draft. Heck, they’re already considered by sports fans as the best team in town. So is all of this setting the Stars up for something larger?
Dallas Stars
The most crowd-pleasing and popular teams in the NHL have a few things in common. Obviously, they win a lot, but their popularity goes beyond that. Teams like the Penguins and the Blackhawks have a certain notoriety. Even casual hockey-followers will probably be able to rattle off the names of a few players from each team (even if they may not pronounce them correctly).
Another facet of popularity in the NHL revolves around social media. We hockey folk have become increasingly active online- it’s a great way to connect in that team community that might not necessarily also be a strictly local one.
In terms of social media followers, the Blackhawks and Penguins have consistently place among the top teams in the NHL again year after year. Attendance obviously is somewhat connected to social media popularity, with these two teams turning up in the higher rankings again.
However, where these two teams don’t show up as consistently is in net worth. The Blackhawks and Penguins have been valuable franchises, but not the most earning in the league. A possible explanation here is that teams that enjoy such broad popularity as the Penguins and Blackhawks may also pick up more casual fans along the way who aren’t interested in spending money in support of the team like the die-hard is.
Let’s go back to 2013. The only category that the Dallas Stars had the jump on the competition that year was in one unexpected place: Google searches. That year, the Stars were the second most searched NHL team. While the Stars were garnering in 2013, they weren’t quite ready to deliver. This offseason has been the reset the Stars needed, making them one of the most improved teams in the league heading into this season.
So after what we can only hope will be a dynamite season, after hosting an entry draft, after taking advantage of an already rising star, where will Dallas find itself?
Will it more closely resemble teams like Pittsburgh’s and Chicago’s? We already have some popular players whose names are known widely. Social media involvement is a huge part of the Stars fan experience. Will this new season be the final addition to garner enough support to push the Stars over the edge and to the top of the league- both in standings and popularity?
Next: Dallas Stars: What To Watch For In September 2017
Because of location and the relative newness of the team, I think it will be a while before the Dallas Stars reach popularity proportions enjoyed by teams like the Penguins and Blackhawks.
But I do think victory is rising, and more quickly than it has in the past. This season and all the ways the Stars will step into the limelight during it will contribute in special ways to the Stars’ deserved popularity.