The end of the calendar year always marks a glorious time in the world of professional sports. The NFL is wrapping up the regular season, and the best football of the winter is being played out. Each NBA team has about thirty games under their belts, and significant winners and losers are beginning to emerge. College football has announced it's Bowl Game schedule and exciting matches are looming. However, just last year a new event has been added to the season. An event I enjoy more then the rest.
The event I am referring to is, the NHL’s winter classic.
An annual out door hockey game played on New Years Day.
Is the NHL a struggling sport organization? Sure. Did the players strike three years ago damage the league in ways never before seen? Completely. Does the NHL struggle with its image, and players whose dark conduct bring negative headlines to the sport? Absolutely. However Gary Bettman and the NHL tried an experiment last year on New Years day in Buffalo New York. The experiment has gone a long way to improve the leagues image and created some badly needed buzz.
On January first, 2008 the Buffalo Sabers battled the Pittsburgh Penguins in an overtime game in front of a record 71,217 fans. It was the largest attended NHL game in history and the most watched NHL game in twelve years. I watched the entire game in the Burger Palace last year. Visions of frigid Buffalo fans, a hockey rink set up on a football field, and Bob Costas covered in snow still run strong in my mind a year later. After the game the NHL announced the event would become a yearly occasion, rotating from city to city. There was even talk of adding additional outdoor games to the NHL schedule (as many as three or four).
Over the summer of 2008 it was announced that Chicago’s Wrigley field would host the 2009 Winter Classic, and the game would be between the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. The rink is to be set from first base to third base on Wrigley’s infield diamond. The two teams will switch directions halfway thru the third period two keep weather related factors even (wind, and or precipitation).
The Winter Classic is no doubt the greatest thing to come out of the NHL since Wayne Gretzky. The idea of taking an indoor game and having it in its natural settings, in a venue that holds twice the normal audience is fantastic. The NHL has stumbled upon a goldmine with the Winter Classic, and I certainly hope the league considers adding more outdoor games to the season schedule in the years to come.
I know that in the early afternoon on New Years Day, I will be grabbing some chips, a nice cold one of some type, putting on my sweatshirt, and I will make my way down the Burger Palace to watch
the 2009 Winter Classic. .jpg)
The event I am referring to is, the NHL’s winter classic.
An annual out door hockey game played on New Years Day.
Is the NHL a struggling sport organization? Sure. Did the players strike three years ago damage the league in ways never before seen? Completely. Does the NHL struggle with its image, and players whose dark conduct bring negative headlines to the sport? Absolutely. However Gary Bettman and the NHL tried an experiment last year on New Years day in Buffalo New York. The experiment has gone a long way to improve the leagues image and created some badly needed buzz.
On January first, 2008 the Buffalo Sabers battled the Pittsburgh Penguins in an overtime game in front of a record 71,217 fans. It was the largest attended NHL game in history and the most watched NHL game in twelve years. I watched the entire game in the Burger Palace last year. Visions of frigid Buffalo fans, a hockey rink set up on a football field, and Bob Costas covered in snow still run strong in my mind a year later. After the game the NHL announced the event would become a yearly occasion, rotating from city to city. There was even talk of adding additional outdoor games to the NHL schedule (as many as three or four).
Over the summer of 2008 it was announced that Chicago’s Wrigley field would host the 2009 Winter Classic, and the game would be between the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. The rink is to be set from first base to third base on Wrigley’s infield diamond. The two teams will switch directions halfway thru the third period two keep weather related factors even (wind, and or precipitation).
The Winter Classic is no doubt the greatest thing to come out of the NHL since Wayne Gretzky. The idea of taking an indoor game and having it in its natural settings, in a venue that holds twice the normal audience is fantastic. The NHL has stumbled upon a goldmine with the Winter Classic, and I certainly hope the league considers adding more outdoor games to the season schedule in the years to come.
I know that in the early afternoon on New Years Day, I will be grabbing some chips, a nice cold one of some type, putting on my sweatshirt, and I will make my way down the Burger Palace to watch
the 2009 Winter Classic. .jpg)
