Who ever wrote this is an idiot! The reason Americans are not as supportive of hockey as they should be is that most Americans can not afford to play the sport and it is not condusive to TV like other sports.
The reason hockey people hate basketball is two fold... 1 basketball players are soft and self absorbed. 2) there is not true sense of team in basketball. As you only need 2-3 good players to be competitive. They cry everytime they are touched and behave in a rediculus manner. Hockey people hate soft athletes! There is no tougher team sport out there, not even football. Football teams play once a week, and hits are delivered at slower speeds with out a wall to get tackled into. If a football team and hockey team played a common sport such rugby or lacrosse, a football team may win the first game, but if they played 4 games in a week, like hockey players do they would run out of gas and loose 3 out of 4. A hockey team is made up of linebackers and runningbacks. Baseball players are soft and do not need to be in shape to play, see John Kruk. NASCAR drivers do not have to be in shape at all to drive around a circle, although they are respected for their craziness.