Winter Classic
I know modern sports fans are supposed to be cynical and unhappy and complain about everything that's wrong with their game. Some, like the people who foolishly believe that there was ever a "Golden Age" of Hollywood reigned by nothing but glamour, happiness, and artistic purity, probably even yearn for the imaginary years where sports was just about the game and nobody cared if they made money or got famous as long as their fans were happy and they could donate ponies to children's hospitals. No age ever existed, and I have no doubt that there are just as many - if not more, given that leagues are larger - guys playing today with heart and dedication as there has always been. The media just got better at profiling the douchebags and self-promotion rose to a professional artform. I'll save any rants about corporate and commercial exploitation for another time.
That's because yesterday's NHL "Winter Classic" was awesome. A few glitches with the ice aside, it went off almost perfect. Despite the cold, the stadium was packed with 70,000+ fans that traveled from all over the US and Canada, the players looked as giddy as little kids on Christmas morning, and the NHL's Golden Boy, Sidney Crosby, even scored the winning goal for his team in the overtime shoot-out (and a slight aside - Bob Costas' story about an unpleasant encounter he once had with Goldie Goldthorpe when he was a budding, 21-year-old sports reporter was priceless). It was a ton of fun to watch. I must have been a blast to actually be there. I still think it wasn't all that bright of an idea to stage it on New Year's Day when there is so much football to compete with, but the whole event kind of restored a little bit of my faith in the National Hockey League.
I hope they do it every year.
UPDATE: The cynic rears his head, though hockey-bashing is a pretty regular venture at ESPN. "Somebody could have gotten hurt!" Give me a bleeping break. These are big boys - professional hockey players, for goodness sake - many of whom grew up playing on outdoor ponds and rinks, in the cold, with snow in their eyes, on bad ice with chips and kinks in it. And of course the style of play was slower because the puck moved differently in reaction to the weather conditions. It's not like anyone's recommending the entire game be moved outdoors full time. Given the number of people in the comments who responded to Scott Burnside's pessimistic article by either calling him a stupid grump or noting that they were non-fans who stumbled on the game while channel surfing and ended up staying put because it was so entertaining to watch, I'd say he's outnumbered. Wasn't roping in new fans the whole point of the game? Heaven forbid that happens so that ESPN might actually have to pay the sport a little respect now and then.
That's because yesterday's NHL "Winter Classic" was awesome. A few glitches with the ice aside, it went off almost perfect. Despite the cold, the stadium was packed with 70,000+ fans that traveled from all over the US and Canada, the players looked as giddy as little kids on Christmas morning, and the NHL's Golden Boy, Sidney Crosby, even scored the winning goal for his team in the overtime shoot-out (and a slight aside - Bob Costas' story about an unpleasant encounter he once had with Goldie Goldthorpe when he was a budding, 21-year-old sports reporter was priceless). It was a ton of fun to watch. I must have been a blast to actually be there. I still think it wasn't all that bright of an idea to stage it on New Year's Day when there is so much football to compete with, but the whole event kind of restored a little bit of my faith in the National Hockey League.
I hope they do it every year.
UPDATE: The cynic rears his head, though hockey-bashing is a pretty regular venture at ESPN. "Somebody could have gotten hurt!" Give me a bleeping break. These are big boys - professional hockey players, for goodness sake - many of whom grew up playing on outdoor ponds and rinks, in the cold, with snow in their eyes, on bad ice with chips and kinks in it. And of course the style of play was slower because the puck moved differently in reaction to the weather conditions. It's not like anyone's recommending the entire game be moved outdoors full time. Given the number of people in the comments who responded to Scott Burnside's pessimistic article by either calling him a stupid grump or noting that they were non-fans who stumbled on the game while channel surfing and ended up staying put because it was so entertaining to watch, I'd say he's outnumbered. Wasn't roping in new fans the whole point of the game? Heaven forbid that happens so that ESPN might actually have to pay the sport a little respect now and then.