The Blue Line's New Hockey Commercial: A Step-by-Step Review

The Blue Line hockey bar in the River Market area has carved out a nice little niche.  It's never terribly crowded but seemingly always patronized (from what I've seen), the food doesn't stray from the bar staples but still good, and they have a lot of different beers on tap.  As far as bars go around town, it's a quiet place to just wind down or watch a game.  Oh yeah, and the hockey stuff is cool, too.  But, that's the thing: I've never gotten the sense that anyone in the bar watches hockey, and I don't care.

No one needs to go to a bar for validation that the thing they like is popular with the other people there.  Sure, there are those Steeler Nation bars around the country where Steelers fans meet up or whatever, but the Blue Line doesn't attract just a hockey crowd.  It's great that the Blue Line is a hockey bar and shows hockey games, something a lot of places around town don't do (here is where I say "Thank you!" to Nick & Jakes for their patience and willingness to show hockey when asked), but it also functions as a gathering place for the locals.  So, that's the reason you shouldn't make off-the-cuff comments about obscure hockey players in the 1990s just to show your hockey knowledge prowess to the other true hockey fans at the Blue Line.  Chances are you won't get someone coming up to saying, "Oh dude, are you talking about Wayne McBean?!  Hell yeah!" (*bro and you high five).  Thus, the ambience of the bar might expose hockey to people who don't like it, but may not specifically attract hockey fans.  And that's fine.

Anyway, they have a new TV spot that's pretty amateur, so let's make fun of it.