Bridgestone NHL Winter Class 2009

The Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic of 2009 was definitely something to watch. In past years I was not much of a hockey follower but for some reason this year I decided to give it a try. Like most hockey fans I watched a few of the exciting opening night games and I thought to myself, wow this sport that only Canadians watch isn’t so bad. So after being impressed by opening night I decided to try live hockey. I purchased tickets for a few games to see my local New York Islanders play. I got to see the NHL star himself, Sidney Crosby in person and many other high quality players. The game as a whole is very exciting and is action packed throughout. It includes hard hits and beautifully scored goals by some of the best hockey players on the planet. Now that you have a little background about my hockey experience this is my review on the winter classic. The Winter Classic featured the visiting Detroit Redwings who came into the game with a record of 26-7-5, against the home Chicago Blackhawks who were 20-7-7. These two have been rivals of each other for a very long time as they are both part of the original six NHL teams. The goal of this game was to attract attention to the NHL that has lost a lot of interest since the lockout of the 2004-2005 season. The stage for this game couldn’t have been set any better it was at the legendary Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The game was played in a completely outdoors baseball stadium that is the home of the Chicago Cubs. The game featured hard hitting and finesse goals. The Blackhawks went into the first intermission leading in the game with the score at 3-1 in their favor. Then the second period was dominated by the Red Wings when they scored three consecutive goals to make the score 4-3 going into the second intermission. In the final period the Blackhawks were scored on twice and then they scored one final goal. The final score of the Winter Classic was 6-4 in favor of the Detroit Redwings. For both teams and the NHL this was more than just a game it was an advertisement to the United States to show the people what the NHL has to offer. The thing that impressed and fascinated me the most was that when a player delivers a big hit to his opponent he does not help him up or say “sorry” as they do in the NFL, which to my knowledge has a much tougher image. This small part of the game that the average fan would not recognize really amazed me. It proved to me that NHL players are competitors and they want to win at all costs. They may like their opponents off the ice, but when they step on it they are all business. This is much different compared to the NFL where it seems as though when the players go onto the field that are playing a fun football game and having a party. That is not the way professional sports is supposed to be. It is called professional sports for a reason and the NHL understands that. Overall the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic of 2009 was a huge success it turned myself as an occasional NHL follower, to a fan. It has many aspects of games that the other three major American sports are lacking. In my mind because of this game the NHL is on the right track to becoming popular in America as in once was many years ago.

Daniel Weberman
NYchalktalk.com