Ichi's Winter Classic

Because Pocky is stupid and forgets to give me admin powers for the community blog.


Hey Everyone. As most of you all know Ichigo Stars, me, is a huge Hockey fan. And how I always manage to yell out 'GOOOOOAL!' on the chat box. Now, I'm use not all of you are die hard hockey fans, or even watch the sport anyways. Now, there is something new that has come along, THE WINTER CLASSIC! The first time there is a official game outside, or better yet in a football stadium. ;o Which Ichigo lives like 20 minutes away from. Unluckly I can't make it to the game because there is no more tickets…I think. Plus it'll be below 20 degrees. I'll rather watch it on HDTV. Now, this game is going to be shown in Canada (CBC and NBC) as in the US…some channel, I think NBC too. Now for some information:

More than 73,000 fans are expected to pack Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Bills, for the 1 p.m. matchup. The marketing blitz is on for the Big Outdoor Game, erm, Winter Classic, between the Penguins and the Sabres. I've seen plenty of online advertising on all sorts of random sites, along with TV ads sprinkled throughout the prime-time lineup.

A large part of me is left wondering what's the fuss with all of this? Why is a single regular-season game between two teams hovering around .500 getting more hype than a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final?

The answer? Money — or lack thereof. The playoffs, as much as we die-hards treasure and love them, are only a minor blip on the sports radar for most people. This single game, however, is something that marketing executives love. You've got the league's poster boy — hey, even casual sports fans are starting to learn who Sidney Crosby is, and he's basically the only NHL player that mainstream media will touch — combined with the team that sold the most jerseys and merchandise last year; that little formula ensures that there will be some recognition among the couch potatoes on New Year's Day.

For sports fans who don't care about hockey, the "What's this?" factor should cause a little spike in interest while surfing the channels. Will they stay or just turn away? Chances are, they'll watch for a few seconds, then flip the channel, but perhaps that's just the pessimist's point of view.
Now, ladies and little boys. I want you to go and catch the game~ :3 Okay?