Predators D P.K. Subban has joined Titans QB Marcus Mariota as one of the "most marketable sports figures in Nashville" since the late Steve McNair, and the buzz for him and the Predators "has not relented" since he came to the team ahead of the '16-17 NHL season, according to Joe Rexrode of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. The Predators are one win away from advancing to their first Stanley Cup Final, and TV ratings have "soared in the playoffs" after a 30% increase during the regular season on FS Tennessee. A 10.9 local rating for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Ducks is the "latest in a string of all-time highs this postseason." National analysts are "gushing about the team" and Bridgestone Arena's environment. Montreal-based senior managing editor of LNH.com, the NHL’s French-language site, Arpon Basu said, "Whatever anyone thought about Nashville as a hockey market before, it doesn’t apply now. It’s healthy, it’s vibrant, it’s thriving." Subban has the "personality, the flair, the following, the power to bring hockey to new fans." He is a "modern-day international hockey star," and is second in NHL playoff jersey sales "among players still competing -- right behind" Penguins C Sidney Crosby. He is also an African American in a city that is 28% black, an "obvious opportunity to broaden hockey’s appeal in a growing international city formed for country music" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 5/18).
TALK OF THE TOWN: The GLOBE & MAIL’s Marty Klinkenberg wrote Subban and the Predators are an "unlikely marriage -- a gregarious Canadian hockey player finding love in a southern city where the sport has taken time to grow.” It has “worked fine so far.” The Predators are “suddenly becoming the talk of the town, in a place where grabbing that attention is hard.” Nashville-based bar Tootsies Orchid Lounge Marketing, Promotional and Events Manager Jeff Easlick said, “As recently as eight or 10 years ago, people didn’t give a damn about the Predators.” He added, “As the Titans have struggled, the Predators have improved. There has been a big shift here in favourability toward the NHL and away from the NFL, and that is huge. This is the South.” Predators GM David Poile said, “It has taken a long time to get where we are, but we have to be pleased with our success. We have a sold-out arena and are in the third round of the playoffs. It is very gratifying” (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/21).
STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM: In N.Y., Ben Shpigel wrote the Predators "reign supreme in a market that was long the impenetrable domain" of football and NASCAR. Predators Senior VP/Ticket, Premium Sales & Youth Hockey Nat Harden said, "I'm grateful for these times because I'm grateful for those times." At Bridgestone Arena, the "noise starts thumping early and does not relent, creating a honkey-tonk atmosphere that combines the fervid tribalism" of SEC football with the "rowdiness of European soccer, complete with choreographed chants and taunts." The transformation is "particularly rewarding for a small number of employees who have been present at every stage, witnessing the Predators' ascent from fledgling franchise to playoff perennials" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/22). SI.com's Alex Prewitt writes the wider sports world is "finally taking notice," learning about an atmosphere at Bridgestone Arena that Poile "proudly declares is, 'on fire'" (SI.com, 5/22).
