It seems that there is nothing in the world of news and sport that isn’t scared anymore. With the advent of social media, a simple 140-word Tweet or a well-connected blogger can set off a chain reaction. That was pretty much how news of the 2013 NHL Winter Classic was first leaked and the story has gathered steam since, with seemingly daily reports since the we originally heard a whisper about the 2013 outdoor game.
Now, the worst-kept news in hockey is out in the open. The Detroit Red Wings will play the Toronto Maple Leafs at the legendary Michigan Stadium – AKA the Big House – on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, in front of what could potentially be a world-record hockey crowd. The Big House holds more than 114,000 people, and with the incredible demand for tickets for each of the previous 5 editions of the outdoor classic, it’s hard to imagine that there would be any empty seats inside the long-time home of University of Michigan football.
Mark down the date and time, and clear your schedules! Why? Well, for mine, this is pretty much a dream match-up. Not only do we get to see the greatest hockey franchise of the modern era – Detroit – in a famous venue of great historical sporting importance to America, but the Canadian market, where ratings for the previous games in this series have been good without being astronomical, has been blown wide open with the edition of the very popular Maple Leafs to the bill. As Toronto GM Brian Burke said, this game will be Hockeytown, USA vs. the centre of the hockey universe. Clichéd, perhaps, but also true. Wonderfully true!
The 2013 Winter Classic is perhaps going to be bigger than any that have past. Not just because of the potential world-record crowd, but because the game is in Michigan Stadium, one of the most iconic sports venues in America, and because, once more, it will feature two Original Six teams. For mine, and despite the presence of my New York Rangers, this year’s game at Citizens Bank Park (and, last year, to a certain degree at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh) didn’t have quite the same excitement because it wasn’t either the first time – Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium – or in an iconic venue like Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. The 2013 game being at the Big House certainly has the history angle covered.
The League had two press conferences today. The first was at Comerica Park, the downtown Detroit home of the Detroit Tigers, the MLB franchise owned by the Ilitch family (who also own the Red Wings) and we found out that the sweetener to the deal that will see the league play the big game in Michigan Stadium, will be having the suddenly-popular alumni game on a specially-designed rink inside Comerica Park, as well as a game between the AHL affiliates of the Wings and Leafs. There will also be games featuring Ontario Hockey League (OHL) teams and the NCAA games featuring Michigan Tech, Western Michigan, Michigan State and the University of Wolverines. It’s a festival of hockey, set to sit in for the IIHF World Junior Championships that are not being held in North America next year, and it’s going to be fantastic!
Once the alumni, junior and NCAA games are completed downtown, the focus will switch to Ann Arbor, where the league has, if you believe the reports, paid the university a handsome $3 million to rent the stadium, bringing in it’s own sponsors – imagine how many companies will be clamouring for a signage spot on the sideboards or anywhere else in the massive stadium – and a license that allows alcohol sales, normally banned on campus. Aside from the crowd, the hype and the TV ratings, the NHL stands to make a hefty dollar here.
Speaking of television…NBC must be rubbing their hands together, because the Red Wings are consistently among the best in the league when it comes to regular season contests. Detroit is as big a hockey town as there is anywhere in the United States of America, and you can almost bet your life on the fact that there will be saturation coverage for weeks leading up to the game, and that anyone in Detroit who isn’t really a hockey fan – there can’t be many of those – will tune in regardless, like so many other viewers do, wanting to enjoy the spectacle of an outdoor hockey game. I can’t imagine that there will be anything more spectacular than pictures beamed around the world from inside a completely full Big House.
And, as if all that isn’t enough, you’ve got the perennially brilliant Red Wings with their armada of stars – Lidstrom, Zetterburg, Datsyuk – against a rising team from Toronto that has been steadily built by the master GM Brian Burke featuring their own trademark names – Kessel, Phaneuf, Lupul – and that, based on current season form, is nothing short of a mouth-watering match-up between Original Six foes. Even a little USA vs. Canada, if you will?
Year’s Day 2013 – Bring It On!
Now, the worst-kept news in hockey is out in the open. The Detroit Red Wings will play the Toronto Maple Leafs at the legendary Michigan Stadium – AKA the Big House – on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, in front of what could potentially be a world-record hockey crowd. The Big House holds more than 114,000 people, and with the incredible demand for tickets for each of the previous 5 editions of the outdoor classic, it’s hard to imagine that there would be any empty seats inside the long-time home of University of Michigan football.
Mark down the date and time, and clear your schedules! Why? Well, for mine, this is pretty much a dream match-up. Not only do we get to see the greatest hockey franchise of the modern era – Detroit – in a famous venue of great historical sporting importance to America, but the Canadian market, where ratings for the previous games in this series have been good without being astronomical, has been blown wide open with the edition of the very popular Maple Leafs to the bill. As Toronto GM Brian Burke said, this game will be Hockeytown, USA vs. the centre of the hockey universe. Clichéd, perhaps, but also true. Wonderfully true!
The 2013 Winter Classic is perhaps going to be bigger than any that have past. Not just because of the potential world-record crowd, but because the game is in Michigan Stadium, one of the most iconic sports venues in America, and because, once more, it will feature two Original Six teams. For mine, and despite the presence of my New York Rangers, this year’s game at Citizens Bank Park (and, last year, to a certain degree at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh) didn’t have quite the same excitement because it wasn’t either the first time – Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium – or in an iconic venue like Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. The 2013 game being at the Big House certainly has the history angle covered.
The League had two press conferences today. The first was at Comerica Park, the downtown Detroit home of the Detroit Tigers, the MLB franchise owned by the Ilitch family (who also own the Red Wings) and we found out that the sweetener to the deal that will see the league play the big game in Michigan Stadium, will be having the suddenly-popular alumni game on a specially-designed rink inside Comerica Park, as well as a game between the AHL affiliates of the Wings and Leafs. There will also be games featuring Ontario Hockey League (OHL) teams and the NCAA games featuring Michigan Tech, Western Michigan, Michigan State and the University of Wolverines. It’s a festival of hockey, set to sit in for the IIHF World Junior Championships that are not being held in North America next year, and it’s going to be fantastic!
Once the alumni, junior and NCAA games are completed downtown, the focus will switch to Ann Arbor, where the league has, if you believe the reports, paid the university a handsome $3 million to rent the stadium, bringing in it’s own sponsors – imagine how many companies will be clamouring for a signage spot on the sideboards or anywhere else in the massive stadium – and a license that allows alcohol sales, normally banned on campus. Aside from the crowd, the hype and the TV ratings, the NHL stands to make a hefty dollar here.
Speaking of television…NBC must be rubbing their hands together, because the Red Wings are consistently among the best in the league when it comes to regular season contests. Detroit is as big a hockey town as there is anywhere in the United States of America, and you can almost bet your life on the fact that there will be saturation coverage for weeks leading up to the game, and that anyone in Detroit who isn’t really a hockey fan – there can’t be many of those – will tune in regardless, like so many other viewers do, wanting to enjoy the spectacle of an outdoor hockey game. I can’t imagine that there will be anything more spectacular than pictures beamed around the world from inside a completely full Big House.
And, as if all that isn’t enough, you’ve got the perennially brilliant Red Wings with their armada of stars – Lidstrom, Zetterburg, Datsyuk – against a rising team from Toronto that has been steadily built by the master GM Brian Burke featuring their own trademark names – Kessel, Phaneuf, Lupul – and that, based on current season form, is nothing short of a mouth-watering match-up between Original Six foes. Even a little USA vs. Canada, if you will?
Year’s Day 2013 – Bring It On!
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