The NHL has recently included outdoor games into the regular season schedule; the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic. The Winter Classic is held on New Years Day for the past 4 years. The Winter Classic has always involved teams from the U.S. The reason being that the whole purpose of the Winter Classic is to generate more fan in the states. You won't be as successful if you use Canadian teams to gather U.S. fans.
Because of this the NHL has instilled the Heritage Classic that will take place between two Canadian teams. The Heritage Classic was held yesterday afternoon in Calgary between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens. I did not watch the Heritage Classic. I tried but I couldn't get into it.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the outdoor games, especially if my team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, is not involved. Even when they are I'm glued to the TV. This year as the Pens were in the Winter Classic I fell asleep for the entire 3rd period. Everyone harps about playing the game the way it once was. Who cares? U.S. citizens the NHL is trying to garner sure don't. Even I don't care. The ice can be sloppy outdoors and there are so many other factors to take in when playing the game. I fell in love with the game inside a rink, and that's where it should stay. However the Winter Classic gets good U.S. ratings so I would think that it's here to stay. The Heritage Classic will be here as long as the Winter Classic is to apease Canadian fans.
This past classic between the Caps and Pens in my opinion was a great game. Eventhough our penguins lost I thought Pittsburgh did a great job hosting the event. I just wish that they put the best teams on every year. Also, being on New Years Day after eating a family lunch or dinner doesn't help much either, because all i want to do after a holiday meal is SLEEP.
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