‘Tied Up’ courtesy of ‘clydeorama’
Yes, yes, I know. There’s no actual hockey going on. But, there is.
News came down today that the NHL and NBC have announced the teams and location for the 2009-10 Winter Classic. As expected, it’s in Boston at Fenway Park. Yep, the Boston Bruins hosting. And following prior year NHL logic, the other team will also be a rising powerhouse with a top-notch superstar, right? Like, as expected, the Washington Capitals with Russian powerhouse Alex Ovechkin?
Wrong.
Nope, the League, in its continued head-scratching pathetic screwball logic, has named the hated Philadelphia Flyers as the other team. That’s right, those despicable FLYERS. Supposedly, the decision was made because Philadelphia has a bigger hockey television market than Washington.
Say what? Guess the NHL and NBC forgot about the tremendous buzz the Caps/Pens series put on. Or the continual highlight-reel goals by Ovie, or his mounting hardware from numerous awards, or the fact that the Caps are one of the top five most exciting teams to watch…
Yeah, I know. I don’t get it either. Stupid ****ing Flyers.
Having lived in the DC area for ten years, Ben still loves to wander the city with his wife, shooting lots of photos and exploring all the latest exhibits and galleries. A certified hockey fanatic, he spends some time debating the Washington Capitals club with friends – but everyone knows of his three decade love affair with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A professional writer, gamer, photographer, and Lego enthusiast, Ben remains captivated by DC and doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.
Bah, I say. Exhibition games suck anyway. Since this is actual teams it’s less repugnant than the MLB’s All Star game (which should be called “All Star Wankery, No Team Play”) it’s still a distraction and an opportunity for injury to the players who are out there.
I’m just as happy not to have our Caps out there. Let the Bruins and Flyers lose some players for a dozen games because they go down on inferior ice.
Eh, it’s not exhibition – this is a regular season game. Which means it means something, unlike the NHL All-Star Game. It’s a great idea and has done well in showcasing the league and the sport; revenues and ratings galore. (Better ratings than any ASG the NHL’s put out recently.) The teams exposed get huge bumps in PR and whatnot; the Caps, despite being the best game in DC, could use more national exposure.
But mainly? Just stinks we lost out to the Flyers. Again.
Ah, I had it in my head this game wasn’t played for points. Thanks for the ed-ju-ma-cation!
But, the important part is BRUINS ON JAN.1!!! WooooOOOOOOOT!
*ahem*
Er… sorry Caps. To be honest, I was looking forward to that matchup. The Flyers? Meh. Not nearly as much fun… much more likely to result in a win for the black-and-gold, at least, but thats small comfort.
*sigh* No way I could afford Fenway tickets for the game, but… oh if only…
It could be worse, Ben. The NHL could have selected Pittsburgh… ;D
By the way, Scott Burnside of ESPN.com is on board with the people angry about the Caps snub:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4329625&name=nhl
@Chris: Pittsburgh played Buffalo in the first Winter Classic. The other teams want to play now. :)
The longer-term problem here is that with Philly playing now, the NHL nixes a future matchup between the Flyers and Penguins. Seeing that in PNC Park would’ve been awesome. But noooooo…..
@Denverite: Yep. That’s the article I linked in this one. ;)
Hah hah!
Go Flyers!