You have to admit there is something positively unique about the game being played outdoors on a frosty night or day. It is something that unites all players, male and female, old and young. The fact the NHL is tapping into this experience should be applauded. And if you draw a few new fans to the table, so much the better.
A lot of folks are looking forward to New Year’s Day for the college bowl games (and the opportunity to sleep off a hangover from New Year’s Eve). Me? I’m looking forward to a hockey game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yeah, normally a game between these two teams would mean about as much to me as a floor debate on salmon policy on C-SPAN. The difference, though, is that this game will be played outdoors in front of about 70,000 people at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium. Yeah, that’s right; outdoor hockey. In January. In Buffalo. It’s not the first time this has been done, of course, but I like the idea. How many of us grew up playing ice hockey or variations of the game on frozen ponds? I think it will be fascinating to see NHL hockey played outdoors, where snow, wind, and who knows what else will factor into the equation.
Do you decide to take the wind or receive? Oh, wait…wrong sport….
I’m intrigued by the intricacies and the challenges involved with playing an NHL game outdoors. Hopefully, the temperature will be far enough below freezing that weather won’t become an issue. There are so many variables that can complicate preparing an ice surface, and doing it outdoors isn’t necessarily any easier because it’s below freezing. Still, it will be interesting watching hockey played in the most of us first did.
The other thing I like about playing outdoors on New Year’s Day is that the National Hockey still has a fair amount of damage control to attend to after the 2005-06 lockout. The NHL is still tied to a television contract on a third-tier cable network, and the vast majority of out-of-market games are only available on pay-per-view. I’m a New York Rangers fan…and yet how often do you think I actually get to see a Rangers game? Maybe once or twice a season…if I’m lucky. Until the NHL manages to make itself more accessible to fans not much is going to change. The game may be successful in markets that have teams, but on a national level, almost no one cares about the NHL. Given the way the NHL takes care of business these days, why should they?
So while all y’all are watching USC battle Illinois (yawn….), I’ll be watching Hockey on Frozen Pond. The only thing better would be being in the stands…but that would mean being in Buffalo. In January. Thanks, but I think I’ll be happy in my recliner.
