NHL Winter Classic logo

[Drew22]

I know you are all waiting for Thrashers vs. Predators @ Turner Field.

[YELDARBfield]

I know you are all waiting for Thrashers vs. Predators @ Turner Field.

Or better, Neyland Stadium. It'll hold the hundreds of thousands hockey hicks that're down here.

[DDR]

This event has quickly taken on the nickname of the "Ice Bowl".

Any chances the NHL changes the name in following years?

I prefer Winter Classic as the official, but we'll see.

I like the Ice Bowl as a nickname, Winter Classic as the official name. Reminds me of calling the World Series the Fall Classic.

[Drew22]

I know you are all waiting for Thrashers vs. Predators @ Turner Field.

Or better, Neyland Stadium. It'll hold the hundreds of thousands hockey hicks that're down here.

I would go to that.

Maybe play a UGA vs. UT hockey game before it? That may be the only way to get fans.

[YELDARBfield]

I know you are all waiting for Thrashers vs. Predators @ Turner Field.

Or better, Neyland Stadium. It'll hold the hundreds of thousands hockey hicks that're down here.

I would go to that.

Maybe play a UGA vs. UT hockey game before it? That may be the only way to get fans.

...at Neyland or in Thompson-Boling?

[Drew22]

I know you are all waiting for Thrashers vs. Predators @ Turner Field.

Or better, Neyland Stadium. It'll hold the hundreds of thousands hockey hicks that're down here.

I would go to that.

Maybe play a UGA vs. UT hockey game before it? That may be the only way to get fans.

...at Neyland or in Thompson-Boling?

Neyland. Definitly.

[VC//]

I don't know how the Pens vs Sabres outdoor game is going to be any fun, there is no real rivalry there at all...i'd like to see a game, or rather, a venue like that which has some bad blood or at least some sort of history between the two teams.

An Alberta one would be fantastic, the Oilers vs Flames outside...Vancouver doesn't get along with either team, mostly Calgary and you can have one there as well with Vancouver & Calgary squaring off in BC or Alberta...

But the Sabres vs Pens, no thanks. I don't think there are any US team rivalries that would be that great to watch in a venue like this and that's not being biased towards american teams, considering my #1 team is Pittsburgh Penguins, of which i am a diehard fan of and pretty much all pro pgh sports.

An Ottawa vs Montreal/Toronto or Montreal vs Toronto series would also be pretty interesting to watch. What would be great for Canada is a Canadian series with the 6 teams facing each other in a home and home series type of deal...well not sure the specifics, just throwing that idea out there.

[Gothamite]

This event has quickly taken on the nickname of the "Ice Bowl".

Any chances the NHL changes the name in following years?

I prefer Winter Classic as the official, but we'll see.

I like the Ice Bowl as a nickname, Winter Classic as the official name. Reminds me of calling the World Series the Fall Classic.

Sorry, "Ice Bowl" is taken....

[powersurge]

Yah, some team from Wisconsin or Iowa or something played in the first one....a long looooong time ago.

When I hear the word "classic" used in a name like this it just doesn't work for me. A 'classic' should be used for a tournament style event, like a golf CLASSIC or World Baseball CLASSIC. I don't like it very much as a moniker for one game unless that game is the championship of something.

I hope they change the name to something else next year.

[SabreGuy]

I don't know how the Pens vs Sabres outdoor game is going to be any fun, there is no real rivalry there at all...i'd like to see a game, or rather, a venue like that which has some bad blood or at least some sort of history between the two teams.

I don't know that you'd call it a longstanding rivalry, but there is a bit of something there based on the geographic location, and I very often see a large contingent of Pens faithful in and around Buffalo on days when the Pens are in town, and from what I understand Sabres fans have been traveling well lately.

Many of the old rivalries are dead or dormant as former powerhouse teams like Chicago and Boston and Philly suffer through the lean years, and though those rivalries still exist with the Canadian teams, there's something to be said for the fact that it doesn't do the league much economic good to market solely to its hardcore Canadian fan base. If they can drum up a stronger rivalry between Pittsburgh and Buffalo (two teams who look to have the majority of their current runs of success ahead of them instead of behind them) that does more good for the league than re-hashing Calgary/Edmonton or Toronto/Montreal. Frankly, those fans are going to spend money on the NHL whether there's a special event or not. You don't need to advertise the NHL in Canada, it advertises itself.

I think that the game will be "fun" simply BECAUSE of what it is, not because any pre-existing rivalry needs to be celebrated here. If it's a good, compelling game (which, frankly, Pittsburgh/Buffalo has much more promise to be these days as opposed to, say, Toronto/Montreal) then there's a chance that people tuning in for the novelty of an "outdoor hockey game" will give the league a second look when the game is over.