On Frozen Pond the NHL Got It Right When They Thought Outside the Box and Created the “Winter Classic”
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S0803_Winners & Losers_pg53_v5.qxd 2/22/2008 3:42 PM Page 53 Winners and Losers On Frozen Pond The NHL got it right when they thought outside the box and created the “Winter Classic” hile leading figures in the not show off his physique (even though NFL and in Major League by Bob Latham the game was not being televised)! WBaseball are being sum- Just last month, MLB announced moned before Congress over allega- that it would discontinue the Hall of tions of advanced technical (video the winning goal in a shootout. Crosby Fame game due to scheduling prob- spying) and chemical (steroids) wiz- also brought the broadcast booth to its lems. It is always a delicate balance ardry, it almost went unnoticed that feet with a midair double puck-jug- for a sport to evolve while still keep- another major professional sport in gling move into the Sabres zone that ing its history and traditions intact, America made a great leap forward came right off a Canadian pond. And but it would have been nice to see by going backwards. I am referring to 71,000 people, as well as the largest MLB go in the other direction and hockey, and more specifically the first television audience the NHL has had in perhaps make the Hall of Fame game outdoor NHL game ever played on many years, were able to see it all. a regular-season affair. United States soil or ice, when the It is always refreshing when some- Give the NFL credit: There are still Pittsburgh Penguins played at Ralph body in U.S. sports just gets it right, games played in historic Lambeau Wilson Stadium in Buffalo Field in Green Bay, Wiscon- against the Buffalo Sabres in It is always refreshing when somebody in U.S. sin, that take football back to what was billed as the “NHL its glory days. Just this year Winter Classic.” And it was sports just gets it right, and the Sabres, the the frozen tundra of Lambeau nothing short of that. Penguins and the NHL—as well as the league’s Field welcomed the NFC While a capacity crowd at best player—nailed it with this event championship game and the a usual NHL game might be Packers’ playoff victory in the about 18,000 people, more snow over the Seahawks. than 71,000 turned out on New Year’s and the Sabres, the Penguins and the The NHL’s “Winter Classic” had all Day in the snow to see a game that NHL—as well as the league’s best the tenacity of a regular-season hockey revealed once again that, despite its player—nailed it with this event. What game while still incorporating some best efforts to kill the sport in a play- was most telling is that this game fantasy elements into the event. The ers lockout three years ago, the NHL wasn’t some gimmick that players playing of the Canadian national more than any other professional begrudgingly participated in to bring anthem and then “God Bless America” sports league in America can boast publicity to the league on a day when before the game, with the players lined players who are truly connected to the football was king. Rather, every single up as snow came down on the proceed- essence and roots of their sport. one of the players on both the winning ings, coupled with Irish tenor Ronan This game was not some exhibition. and losing sides, and indeed everyone Tynan’s rather lengthy preamble to It was a regular-season contest between connected to the event—coaches, “God Bless America,” evoked memo- teams in the same conference featuring broadcasters and the like—would will- ries of Little Richard doing the pregame the greatest talent in the NHL, Sydney ingly and enthusiastically go back and honors in the movie “Mystery, Alaska.” Crosby. And even in this unusual set- do it all over again. It was a magnifi- The enthusiasm shown by the play- ting, Crosby showed why he is the real cent spectacle of what hockey is about. ers, the showcasing of Sydney Crosby deal and deserving at age 20 to be the Could you picture the National and the television ratings in spite of the youngest captain in the history of the Basketball Players Association agree- fierce college football competition NHL. He paused during pregame ing to play a regular-season game on should ensure that we will see this event warm-ups to be interviewed on NBC in a concrete court in the Bronx? Could again. Given that NHL arenas are usu- a fairly substantial snowfall. you picture Major League Baseball ally kept at a temperature of 62 degrees, Just after the opening whistle, agreeing to play a regular-season the number of possible outdoor venues Crosby set up the first goal of the game game on a sandlot in Baltimore? for a future game are numerous and it 21 seconds in when he, more than the Indeed, the closest MLB comes to its could be played in warm climate. There other players on the ice at the time, roots is the annual Hall of Fame game is no reason that it needs to be played in realized that the puck would not travel in Cooperstown, New York, which is a snowstorm, though for my money that in the snow at the same pace that it strictly an exhibition game. Even then, ought to be the case every year. ■ would travel in an indoor arena, and in 1999 when the Kansas City Royals picked up a stalled puck to feed Colby played the Texas Rangers, Juan Gonza- Bob Latham is a partner at the Texas-based Armstrong for the only goal Pittsburgh les refused to take part because his law firm Jackson Walker, L.L.P. He can be scored in regulation. Then he scored retro-uniform was too baggy and did reached at [email protected]. SPORTSTRAVELMAGAZINE.COM MARCH 2008 • SPORTSTRAVEL 53.