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Hockey is poetry in motion. The fluid pace matched with punishing physical play can be a beautiful thing to witness for those who understand the talent involved. You cannot just pick up a stick and lace up a pair of skates and expect to be able to play hockey.
To me, this is a big reason why hockey remains a mystery to a lot of people. Unlike Basketball where all you need is a ball, hoop (both readily available for little or nothing anywhere in the U.S.) and a little bit of hand eye coordination to play the basic game, hockey takes a substantial investment in money (even basic equipment isn't cheap), time (most towns/cities don't even have ice rinks and those that do require you to reserve ice time to do more than skate), and talent (Learning to skate is a chore in itself. Skating alone is one thing, skating while being pushed, poked and checked quite another).
These factors put the game out of reach for most people to expirence for themselves. It's much easier to appreciate something if you have first hand knowledge of it. For someone who's played basketball personally, watching a basketball player drive to the net and make a reverse lay-up is exciting because you've done it yourself and know what it takes. I'm not saying everyone has to play a game to like a game but it helps. You have a built in understanding if you've done it yourself. Most schools teach basketball/baseball/football in gym class thus creating a built-in audience for these sports. Hockey is taught in realitivly few schools in the U.S.
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