Quote:
Originally Posted by dauls
Quiet night tonight. But on Monday night (Flyers-Bruins) it's a warm up for the Winter Classic...
 How popular is the Winter Classic in North America?
Would the league/other teams like to hold more than one game outdoors per season, or is the cost of setting up the temporary rink too expensive to do more than one?
Does the NHL cover the cost of the rink build or is it down to the hosts?
From the webcam shot, a hockey rink in Fenway Park just looks wrong.
I doubt if ESPN-UK will be showing the game live? A 1pm start in Boston is too early to show it live over here at 6pm, they'd rather show a live Italian or German football match.  |
The Winter Classic is popular, but they have to make sure they don't saturate the market with this sort of game. If people were to see it all the time(rather than once a year) then they would get used to it, and may get bored with the idea. It's the old "new shiny toys soon lose their lustre" adage(made up by me
).
An example of this would be the 'Saw' movies. When Saw came out, people ate it up. It was a different movie than they were used to seeing, and there was a twist to it that most people wouldn't expect. Then they got the idea that releasing a Saw movie every Halloween could work after the success of Saw II. Saw VI was released this past Halloween to less-than-stellar returns. They went to the well too many times and the interest has dried up(whether this will remain like this in the future is anyone's guess). The same could be said if they had a "Winter Classic" type of game every week. It would no longer be a unique experience, rather it would be just more of the same.
(sorry for the long-winded explanation
)
I do not know who incurs the cost of the game. I imagine it would get split somewhat, as both the NHL and the teams themselves benefit greatly by this special game.
A webcam shot cannot do justice to how it will actually look. And it is more than aesthetics. The atmosphere for the game will be off the charts. A wide open vista, a potential for a light snowfall, an open sky? Totally different experience, and one that can't be duplicated by a simple webcam.
I do not know if ESPN.Uk will show it. I hope they will, as I think it will be AWESOME!
12-13-2009
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