Over the course of the past few months most have reported,
but no one has confirmed that the 2012 NHL Winter Classic will have the New
York Rangers traveling to Philadelphia to take on the rival Flyers. This morning, Larry Brooks of the New York
Post, via twitter
said that the match-up will happen on January 2 and that both teams will
participate in HBO’s 24/7 this fall.
Will be no surprise, but when NHL schedule is released, confirmed that Rangers will be in Philly for Jan. 2 Winter Classic w/ 24/7 coverage.
The most interesting thing about the reaction to Brooks reporting
was that much of it revolved around the Rangers being on 24/7 as opposed to the
game itself. Maybe that is partially
because the rumors of the
matchup have been out there for months, but so has
the assumption that any future participation in a Winter Classic required the
participation in the HBO series. It
appears that the behind the scenes look into the lives of the NHL and its
players has actually become bigger than the biggest regular season game itself. That is not a bad thing either.
The NHL was looking to use the exposure of the HBO mini-series to reach a wider group of viewers and that appears to be happening. Now instead of the focus just being on the fact that a
regular season NHL game is being played outside, there is a series of
discussions about what could be seen on this season’s show. That kind of buzz and talk is something that
the NHL needs in order to continue to grow the sport. The diehard hockey fan is going to watch both
the show and the game regardless of who is involved, but using the show to
bring in the casual fan and have them form an attachment to the players
increases the likelihood of them watching the game and sticking with the
sport.
The early favorite in discussing what could be seen on the
show revolves around New York Rangers coach John Tortorella and his already
colorful press conferences. To see what
he can do at press conferences, one gets excited to see what HBO could catch
behind the scenes. Will Tortorella curse
as much as Washington Capitals’ coach Bruce Boudreau? Do not discount the chances that it will be
Flyer coach Peter Laviolette who comes out with the mouth and temper as while
generally more composed with the media he gets very heated on the bench.
Having personalities like Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Martin Biron, Brandon
Dubinsky, Mike Richards and Chris Pronger should make for entertaining
television. There will be natural storylines of the rivalries between the cities and about whether each team will be able to contend for a championship. Much of the storylines have yet to be written because there is no way to fully know what the teams will look like until the offseason kicks into high gear with free agency next week. No matter what the teams look like the combination of personalities on the rosters and storylines to follow will lead to increased interest both during and after the completion of the series. It is likely that when
the Winter Classic itself is over this coming January that the most memorable
part of the whole event will be the mini-series and something that occurs on it
before the game ever happens, which would not bother the NHL in the least.
After only one year, HBO’s 24/7: Road to the Winter Classic has found a
way to dominate the game itself and the sport is better for it.
For an entertaining viewers
guide to things to watch for during this year’s 24/7 check
out this viewer’s guide.
