I had the chance to be part of the Frozen Diamond Faceoff in Cleveland as the Michigan Wolverines beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 4-1. I was there covering the game for Fox Sports Detroit and it was my first opportunity to witness firsthand the phenomena that has grown over the past decade since the original outdoor event in 2001 — dubbed the Cold War — at Spartan Stadium between Michigan State and the University of Michigan.
The event in Cleveland intrigued me because the city is devoid of either a college team, or an NHL franchise. In fact, the city added the game as part of its Snow Days program, which began last year, where the Cleveland Indians open up Progressive Field from Thanksgiving on, building a skating track, mini-rink for toddlers and an impressive bobsled-style hill called the “Batterhorn” where kids zoom to the bottom on oversized inner tubes. The OSU vs. U of M rivalry fit the Snow Days schedule and MLB’s Indians reached out to the CCHA to see if they could make it work.
Mission accomplished. The game drew 26,000 fans and Snow Days will draw an additional 40,000-plus to Progressive Field this winter in downtown Cleveland. As I look at the proliferation of these outdoor events, the ancillary is what intrigues me. In Cleveland, youth teams, prep teams and girls’ teams all played games on the outdoor rink. It’s not quite the “if you build it, they will come” mantra, but it’s along those lines. These outdoor events become a reason to let more and more players connect with the roots of the game. In the moment, it is the time of their lives. Long-term, it ingrains a little bit of history and a touch of perspective.
Look, I get the economics of all of this. Retro sells. It’s no different than fashion recycling – look no further than skinny ties and narrow lapels, currently all the rage – hardly new, but cool as always. Just like playing hockey outdoors. Why? Because that part of the hockey playing experience isn’t nearly as prevalent as it once was. Believe me, when I was a kid the “neat” thing to do was to play a game indoors where the big kids played Jr. A at Windsor Arena. Now, youth players routinely face-off both there and at Compuware Arena in Plymouth where the OHL’s Whalers call home. Heck, even Mini-Mites get the opportunity to skate at intermission at the Joe as part of intermission entertainment!
So, indoors becomes commonplace, outdoors unique. Is it trendy? Sure. But it is much more than a gimmick because the exhilaration of what it is like to chase the puck around the ice in an open air environment lasts forever. Sure, some folks won’t get it. Next year’s game will take place in Ann Arbor between the Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the surrounding events – including the Great Lakes Invitational – hosted downtown at Comerica Park. The critics’ thoughts? Boring. Uncomfortable. Poor sight lines.
Talk about short-sighted. The reason the complimentary events continue to grow around the games themselves is that by staging events there is a chance to bring communities together through shared experience and interaction. Hopefully, Mr. Ilitch and the Tigers will open up the venue at Thanksgiving like the Indians do in Cleveland so everyone can be a part of what used to be common: Heading outdoors to have some winter fun. Teams from all over – on both sides of the border – would have a chance to experience competing outdoors and families could enjoy a variety of outdoor winter activities.
And here’s an idea: Maybe a media game could be part of the proceedings so naysayers can participate and replace their hot air cynicism with the fresh air sensation of playing hockey outdoors.
Like the Spartans’ first notion to take the game outside in Lansing, it’s definitely worth a try… on many, many levels.