10) Gary Bettman
Get used to that picture. I think I'll probably be blaming Bettman for every problem I have with hockey for a while. How is Gary Bettman responsible for the Winter Classic being lame this year? Well, in addition to his monstrous facial expressions, one has to believe that he had some part in every stage of the winter classic. He IS the NHL Commisioner, after all.
9) The BCS
Love it or hate it, the BCS provides a bunch of college football on New Years Day. This may not be the best reason (especially if you don't care for college football), but it just goes to show that by the third period, when everyone at the game has fallen asleep/died of hypothermia, you'll be watching something else.
8) The Hype
I haven't seen many commercials for the Winter Classic...probably because I don't watch Versus or NBC (The Thrashers have some awesome coverage here, though). But every day I visit NHL.com, it seems like they have some meaningless reference to this upcoming game. Did they really refer to the recent Philly/Boston game as a Preview of the Classic? Yep. Yep, they did. There's only two things that change everything: The Stanley Cup...and the Elements.
7) The Jerseys
Creamsicles Vs. Rivers of Piss. I understand the idea is to use a throwback jersey, because it's vintage, 'classic', and merchandises like a mofo...but couldn't they have done better than this? Off the top of my head: Flyers: Take their normal away jersey, use that bog water brown from the Detroit jerseys last year...Voila. Boston? Hell, use their REALLY old logo. Doesn't get more classic than that.
6)The Olympics
Why would you tune in to watch the Winter Classic, when you could sleep in, watch all three highlights from the game HOURS later, and catch more NHL action a couple days later? Now add in the Olympics coming in about 40 days. The best hockey players in the world, competing on the world's biggest stage, in what will probably only be a once or twice in a career event. Still want to watch the Winter Classic?
5)It's the Bruins
Seriously? I don't think I've met a single Bruins fan. Ever. I'm sure they exist, they are just difficult to find outside of their natural environment, like a Sasquatch or a 30-year-old nerd. I suppose, that it could be worse, though. At least they went with an original six-er again.
4)I'm sick of Bahstahn...
...and is there really anyone who isn't? When their sports teams play, they do well, and the fans want more. When they aren't winning, the fans whine, and stay home. They have a recent World Series Title, A recent Superbowl Title, Two recent college hockey Title, one of the Greatest Rivalries in Baseball...And they have to have the Winter Classic. Maybe I'm biased, but I can think of ten places other than Boston I'd rather see this game.
3)Ralph Wilson Stadium > Wrigley Field
On a related note, Gillette Stadium > Fenway Park. If you're going to have the game in Boston, take a note from the past. 2008's Winter Classic was played in a football stadium. Attendance: 71,217 (from Wikipedia). 2009? Baseball field, Attendance 40,818 (again, thanks Wikipedia). I realize there's more 'Classic' and 'Tradtion' in baseball parks, but if you're going for Tradition, why not go with the first venue you had a regular season outdoor game? Or at least try harder with the jerseys. I understand if you want the gimmicky 7th inning hockey stretch, but if that's the case, couldn't you come up with a better gimmick with all the people working on this? Or maybe a football related one? "Block that Puck" chants or SOMETHING.
2) Where are the faces of the league?
2008: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Miller.
2009: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, The Swedish Brigade.
2010: Zdeno "The Giant" Chara, Mike "Leadership" Richards, erm...Chris Pronger?
The NHL makes a big deal about trying to promote it's big stars. It's been easy to pick three from each of the first two games. But with Mike Richards pulling the 15 year old emo thing, Zdeno Chara being as approacable as a hungry troll, and Chris Pronger is the NHL player I'd vote most likely to be a serial killer. The NHL seriously couldn't do better than this? Alex Ovechkin has yet to play in a winter classic. Just saying.
1) It's the Flyers
Seriously? You pick an orignal six team and pit them against the Flyers? Montreal is an original six-er, and in their Centennial. Last year would have made more sense, but I think people would have been content with the first game of next year. Hell, the Canadiens are even in Boston's division and have a rivalry with them! How about A-Vo (Alex Ovechkin)? He's THE face of the NHL in most people's eyes, and the Capitals are annually in the running for the lead in the eastern conference. Really, NHL? Really?
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