Winter Classic thoughts?

GrimUSMC

GrimUSMC

Verified Trader,
Joined
Sep 2, 2007
Messages
2,677
Reaction score
0
Location
PA
Rather then drag this out in the GDT, I felt it should have its own thread. I read everyones elses thoughts and I agree with the overall point that the WC has lost some of its luster and it seems to be losing the novelty. I also agree that it still has a great amount of potential.

Now in my opinion, there is one big thing holding it back. There is nothing else to play for besides "two points". Theres nothing setting setting apart from the other 81 games on the schedule. While us hockey crazies may see it differently, the majority of people will not see it differently unless it is truely different. Maybe a trophy specificaly dedicated to the Winter Classic would help. Maybe making it a specific game amongst certain rivals every year. Hell, maybe if they just removed it from the regular season all together and turned it into a 4 or 8 team mini tournamnet every year were you are playing for said trophy at a neutral site, then you might have somethign thats beyond amazing. Just some thoughts. I just really believe they need to make a better effort to seperate this event form the regular season.

Bill
 
I think a trophy would be cool...I am not sure it would change the meaning by much but could be cool to have for the heck of it.
 
I thought that the tv coverage sucked. The water and all the lights put a brutal glare plus the cameras were at a bad angle. I did not enjoy the game however I still watched it. I think the outdoor classic has lost steam, not so classic.
 
I think 2 different teams should play in it every year. Already having 1 team "double dip" has cost me to lose interest. this is the 1st WC since the start i didnt' watch
 
The game is a joke....it was a waste of my time watching "football-style" camera angles, and huge water puddles all over the ice. Maybe if the WC was always played in Canada, or maybe some place like MN or ND, maybe then the people will see snow and the ice might stay cold.

You will see in a few weeks how an outdoor game should be organized, when the Habs meet the Flames. You will be able to see players breath and maybe even need toques again. Maybe there will be some snow falling, at least we know there will be snow there.

The Heritage Classic in 2004 between the Oilers and Habs was the best and will still continue to be the best outdoor game that ever happened for the NHL. If the NHL and their "American" corporate people weren't so greedy, and actually pay attention to how much revenue Canada generates for the league, then they might make more money in the end.

Bring ESPN back into the fold, and bring teams back to Canada. I've had enough of the "corporate" crap and business practices of the NHL lately, it's even affecting refereeing.

I will be honest, the best part of the game yesterday was when the refs were controlling the game by telling players to take it easy and telling them how it is if they "take matters into their own hands", nice to see them bringing some "guts" back into their job. The other best part was when it was over, because then I could watch a real hockey game in cold Alberta between the Oilers-Flames....now that's real hockey.
 
Wolfie3300 said:
The game is a joke....it was a waste of my time watching "football-style" camera angles, and huge water puddles all over the ice. Maybe if the WC was always played in Canada, or maybe some place like MN or ND, maybe then the people will see snow and the ice might stay cold.

You will see in a few weeks how an outdoor game should be organized, when the Habs meet the Flames. You will be able to see players breath and maybe even need toques again. Maybe there will be some snow falling, at least we know there will be snow there.

The Heritage Classic in 2004 between the Oilers and Habs was the best and will still continue to be the best outdoor game that ever happened for the NHL. If the NHL and their "American" corporate people weren't so greedy, and actually pay attention to how much revenue Canada generates for the league, then they might make more money in the end.

Bring ESPN back into the fold, and bring teams back to Canada. I've had enough of the "corporate" crap and business practices of the NHL lately, it's even affecting refereeing.

I will be honest, the best part of the game yesterday was when the refs were controlling the game by telling players to take it easy and telling them how it is if they "take matters into their own hands", nice to see them bringing some "guts" back into their job. The other best part was when it was over, because then I could watch a real hockey game in cold Alberta between the Oilers-Flames....now that's real hockey.
Click to expand...

Best post I have ever read on HI. Canada is where this game need to be.

Only thing is, maybe have it every 3 years. Get away from the annual event and maybe it will mean something again.
 
Wolfie3300 said:
You will see in a few weeks how an outdoor game should be organized, when the Habs meet the Flames. You will be able to see players breath and maybe even need toques again. Maybe there will be some snow falling, at least we know there will be snow there.
Click to expand...

You have obviously never been to Calgary in February. While it is true that the conditions you describe could happen, it could be just as likely to be plus 15, with nary a flake of snow anywhere on the ground, with sand and gravel flying through the air due to the Chinook winds which could reach 50 or more kmh.

Example: The game is on February 20th. On February 20th, 1988, we went down to Olympic Plaza to see the medal presentations. It was 8:00 p.m. I had on shorts, a T-shirt, and a spring jacket. After 30 minutes, I took off the spring jacket becuase I was too warm.

On the other end of the scale, during that same week another year, I specifcally remember waiting for a bus when the temperature was minus 32, with a wind chill of minus 45. For the Americans on the boards; when it is that cold, you don't really care if it is celcius or farenheit :D

As for the trophy, it's nothing the league would want to explore. If you have a trophy, it would mean each team would have to have an equal opportunity to win it. As it appears the NHL has no interest in having a Canadian team in the 'Winter Classic,' a trophy is not an option. The fact half of the US teams play in climates too warm for an outdoor game, means there would be too many games for the cities in the NE US, giving them an 'unfair advantage' to win the trophy.

As for yesterday's game, I found myself losing interest very quickly and tuning in to other games on Centre Ice. To me, the whole thing is 'gimmicky' and with the conditions the way they were, we were not treated to a normal game.
 
I didn't watch it and don't care anymore. The Winter Classic is far from anything "classic". They've killed the novelty part of it by overdoing it
 
vegaspuck said:
I think it's fine. It does what it's supposed to. It brings the NHL's largest live crowd to watch a game every year and exposes the game to a new television fan base as well. It may only be two points in the standings but it's much more than that to the league and the teams involved. You don't see HBO 24/7 following around the Leafs or Habs for two weeks leading up to a regular season game.

It's a major event....which just so happens to be a regular season game. The league gets to showcase their best players or most popular teams during that one game every year. Each game has been a ratings success for NBC ever since the first one was televised.

The only people complaining are the hockey purists that actually watch every single regular season game. Guess what....this event wasn't created for you. It was created for on the fence fans that are sitting home on New Year's Day and looking for some type of sports entertainment other than college football. Why have the game in Canada? Canadians are going to watch the hockey games regardless because that's what they do every Saturday night in Canada. Americans don't.

I thought the game last night got to showcase a strong NHL rivalry, spotlight some of the best players in the league, and give casual fans something to talk about. All of you saying that they should put Calgary or Montreal or Toronto in the game really don't get the US fan base or how important US television ratings are to the NHL. You'd probably get half the viewership if there were teams playing that US fans couldn't relate to.

Look at the teams selected so far. Buffalo, Pitsburgh, Detroit, Philly, Chicago, Washington, and Boston. All strong US markets, with loyal US fan bases. I'd expect them to use similar teams in the future. I fully expect the Rangers to get a game in the future, and maybe use Philly again. Philly's national televised games have repeatedly set new highs for the NHL year in and year out. They've already said that Lincoln Financial field is one of the front runners for the Winter Classic next year. Flyers/Rangers anyone?
Click to expand...


Have not agreed with some of your other post ripping the Pens for not having a hand shaking...in the winter classic but this I agree with 100%...While I am one that tries to watch every Pen game I may not watch many more than that...Perhaps if I get different job eventually with not as early hours it could change..a lot of times it is hard to stay awake late when getting up at 430am.

frankiefives said:
I didn't watch it and don't care anymore. The Winter Classic is far from anything "classic". They've killed the novelty part of it by overdoing it
Click to expand...

While over played I have to say Chris is right...The game belongs in the US where the fan base is weaker...Now having the Winter Classic and Heritage Classic closer together might be pretty cool...perhaps both can occur after Christmas...I could care less what date though having both on a weekend makes the most sense. I would even love to see new teams every year
 
It's now a novelty that may eventually cost a team 2 points in the standings, which can be the difference between a playoff spot, and golfing in April. That's millions of potential dollars that any given owner can no longer profit from, and we all know the NHL needs as much profit as possible.

So, I guess every year, we will continue to watch Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, the Islanders and Rangers, and maybe throw Chicago in there....I don't want to continue watching the same teams year in and year out.

Really, would this novelty be great for a Pheonix - Atlanta game played in North Dakota somewhere. First of all...those teams can hardly keep their own fan base....it wouldn't bring much in the event of new $$$ to the NHL.....

But that's what you get when you have a Basketball guy running the NHL and a former baseball guy running the NHLPA now. I can come as close as guarantee that the NHL will be a shell of it former self in 10-15 years, because Fehr will be so greedy as to get players avg. 3 mil a year like baseball, and "Count" Bettman will continue to say the game is great.

Does anyone have the avg viewer ratings from last night....does it even exceed a Toronto - Montreal Saturday night game here in Canada.

Last time I checked, 2 of the top 3 most valuable teams according to Forbes are Toronto and Montreal, with the Rangers being the front runner (only due to the location, not because of the team).

My point is, it shouldn't just cater to the American viewers...Canada's here too y'know....a Montreal - Boston WC would be much better than an Islanders - Rangers WC....
 
I continue to see this being a Eastern US showcase, as it's just the nature trying to sell the game to a larger population and what is predominately an East Coast press bias. I reckon we'd see Montreal or Toronto included before we would see "cold" western cities used (Calgary, Edmonton, Minneapolis, Denver).


A game in Denver would be the same weather risk as was mentioned about Calgary. This year would have been good, other years in can be 60F with lots of sun.
 
Camera angles? Really? It was played in a 65,000 seat football stadium. Where were they supposed to put the them?

The weather in Pittsburgh was a fluke. Nothing anybody could do about it.

Fact is people like it. It's a neat experience. They just had a college game between Michigan and Michigan State that had over 100,000 people there last month. There have been other college games too. As other's have said, it's not a game for traditional hockey fans yet the "purists" find every reason to nitpick it.

Are all the complaints really about the game itself or the fact that it's played in the US?

Funniest thing about the griping by other's is that every single player and coach who was interviewed loved it. They didn't complain about the conditions, ice, anything. Aside from the Pens losing, I'm sure everyone who went had a blast.
 
nbc doesnt care about canada. they will only air winter classics that are played in the US. Its all about ratings , they didnt even mention the first winter classic that was played in edmonton , but theey did mention the other ones. I waas shocked they played the anthem.
People don't realize that NBC lost a college bowl game ( gaator bowl ) and have found a replacement for it, the biggest game hockey has in a regular season game.
Its all about ratings for nbc and since canadians arent paart of their viewers than why would theyy show a winter classic in canada. They showed ice skating instead of a canada..us..game at the olympics. ice skaters have more viewers than a hockey game. They did show it on a sister station msnbc but not on the main staation nbc

As for the game . I though it was okay, nothing special and the wworlds best hockey players probably hesitated on playing their best because of ice conditions
 
vegaspuck said:
Further proof that the game is working, I got texts, facebook messages and phone calls last night from people that have never watched a hockey game in their life. They know I'm a huge hockey fan. And they were calling me to tell me how cool the game was and if I was watching it. I had friends trying to tell me to watch a hockey game when I've been trying to get them to watch for years. That doesn't happen during the season or even during the playoffs. The game is working and doing exactly what it's intended to do. The novelty isn't supposed to attract people that are already hockey loyalists.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%.

What many hockey fans don't realize is that the WC is not for us. It's used to build fan base and make money.
 
Lots of good points brought up in this thread, I'd like to add my 2 cents.

I do agree that the Winter Classic is intended for fans who are on the fence. The hardcores, which are mostly Canadians, feel left out due to always having American teams take part in the Winter Classic. Idea - how about having a Winter Classic in the US with a Canadian team? My personal first choice would be Vancouver but then it'd probably be either Toronto or Montreal that takes part. IF Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary were involved in a future Winter Classic that took part in the Eastern part of the US I am sure there would be a ton of fans travelling over for the experience. I know I would. That way it would still appeal the American markets as well as continue to be a huge revenue generator for whichever city is hosting the Winter Classic.

2. Camera angles - were horrible. I don't know what else could have been done about that.

3. The puddles of water on the ice. Anyone that has ever played hockey on ice with puddles of water knows how much that can effect play. The puck will just drop dead in its tracks. EVERYONE kept saying the it was a non factor on the ice. When you can see the large puddles of water on the ice from where the tv cameras are - you know it's bad.

4. I don't usually watch games from an American feed but has anyone noticed how much they make it sound like war? Felt like I was watching a football game.

For the record I fell asleep during the early part of the 2nd period. Let's say partly due to boredom and partly due to being hungover from the new years' festivities.
 
The Winter Classic is for the fringe fans but not the purists, everyone needs to just accept that. But in the end, the fact that its just two points makes it just a like a regular season game to us purists. I love the way they do it and will attend almost any game involving the Flyers. I just wish there was something a little bit more to play for. I say the trophy would be awesome and name an MVP for the game. Make it more then a regular season game. If they do that, then us purists would get more into it and I think casual fans would feed off of that.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
390,143
Messages
2,238,829
Members
4,169
Latest member
Misso
Back
Top