We all know that hockey is not the most popular sport in the United States and it probably never will be.
However, there are certain markets in which fans love their hockey team just as much as they do their other sports teams. In the Bay Area, there are a number of successful sports teams, one of which is the San Jose Sharks.
Since the 1997/98 season, the Sharks have only missed the playoffs TWICE (insane) and this season, they have a great opportunity to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history thanks to the acquisition of Erik Karlsson.
Everyone in the Bay Area is excited about Karlsson coming to town and this weekend, the Sharks took out a full page ad in the Mercury News to welcome their newest player to the Bay.
That right there is how you get people excited about hockey. Getting Karlsson is a MASSIVE deal and treating it as such in a market where hockey might not be the most popular sport is incredibly important.
In addition to taking out a full page ad, the Sharks also welcomed Karlsson to San Jose on billboards.
The excitement is real (as it should be) and it's just another reason why we're pumped for the 2018/19 season. (H/T: Twitter)
