by Justin Orlewicz (Sports Editor)
Email: cascade.sports at ufv dot ca
The Winter Classic has become the signature event for the “new” NHL, when it made its debut in Buffalo at Ralph Wilson stadium in 2008 where the Buffalo Sabers faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Since 2008, the Winter Classic has seen the Detroit Red Wings play the Chicago Blackhawks at historic Wriggly Field in Chicago, and then the Broad Street Bullies from Philadelphia faced off against the Bruins at the cathedral of Boston, Fenway Park. However, this is not the first series of outdoor games that the hockey world has encountered; in the fifty’s the Russian’s had an outdoor hockey game. Let’s also not forget that the game originated on outdoor ponds and arenas. The outdoor game didn’t make a comeback to the hockey world until 2001 when the Michigan Wolverines faced off against their arch rivals, the Michigan State Spartans in NCAA division 1 action. The game was held at Spartan Stadium and set a world record for most people to ever attend a hockey with 74,544 in attendance and was dubbed the “Cold War.”
This gave the NHL an idea to try it in the big leagues. The game was played in Edmonton at commonwealth stadium between the Montreal Canadians and the Edmonton Oilers. 57,000 fans showed up to the event but, because of the extremely cold weather, it did not catch on for the NHL right away. This did not foil any other attempts at outdoor hockey games; in 2006 the Ohio State Buckeyes played their NCAA rival, the Wisconsin Badgers, at the Holy Lambeau Field in Green Bay to a crowd of 40,000. The NHL finally realized that there was money to made by hosting outdoor hockey games in football and baseball fields. They decided to give it one more go; this time, though, they would put the league’s premiere players team against the then red hot Buffalo Sabers. Despite a few game stops to scrape the snow off the ice, the game was a wild success, and at that instant, the Winter Classic was born and became an annual event. The AHL does outdoor games every year and so does the NCAA; outdoor games have become the hottest hockey ticket around next to the Stanley Cup.
This year the game was played at Heinz field in Pittsburgh at the home of the Steelers. The game was between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals and was being dubbed Crosby versus Ovechkin. Despite rain forecasts, higher than usual temperatures for Pittsburgh, and an 8 hour delay, the game went down. I was lucky enough to attend the game and see what all the commotion was about for myself. Capitals and Penguins fans flocked to the Steel City from every corner of the hockey world to see this epic outdoor match up. Tail gate parties were at every corner of the city. I even stumbled into a beer pong tournament. A little bit of rain wasn’t going to get in the way of this battle for the ages. The ice was poor but sufficient, and the fans were all about it regardless: they packed the stadium and screamed at the top of their lungs until the Capitals finally beat the Penguins in their own temporary barn. The streets of Pittsburgh turned into a giant after party, regardless of the colors you were wearing. This game truly has become the NHL’s signature event: even HBO did a 24/7 series for the event, which is usually only reserved for boxing. The Winter Classic has become the next best thing to the Super Bowl in the United States of America, and the fans love it!
