11/05/24
May 08, 2003
The story's old news, but appears to have been overlooked outside of Canada: A plan is afoot to have the Canadiens and Oilers play outdoors Nov. 22 before 50,000 fans on an ice rink at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
That's pretty damn cool. Now if only the NFL would agree to have a cold-weather Super Bowl....
posted by tieguy at 05:45 PM on May 08, 2003
That sounds like it will be a lot of fun. How cold is it in Edmonton in November?
posted by eckeric at 06:24 PM on May 08, 2003
I remember hearing about this some time back. I sure hope this game is broadcast. It'd be sweet to watch.
posted by Ufez Jones at 07:26 PM on May 08, 2003
It is a fantastic idea. I think Michigan University (or Michigan State) did something similar to this, didn't they? Whoops... a quick google check shows that it was both of them. And eckeric, the average temperature from 1971-2000 for Alberta (Edmonton's province) in November was -4.7C (or 23.54F for the Americans), according to this government website. And I'm pretty sure it'll be broadcast. CBC would be all over something like this. I just hope it doesn't snow too much.
posted by grum@work at 08:33 PM on May 08, 2003
Old news indeed. I'm still looking forward to it though. Nov. 22 is a Saturday. AKA. Hockey Night In Canada. Outdoor hockey will be televised!
posted by mkn at 11:24 PM on May 08, 2003
Being an English ignoramus I must say I don't understand why this is such a big deal? Because I have to bring football into everything, I'll mention this: I was curious as to why the Canadiens are called the Habs. In the process of satisfying this curiosity I stumbled across this anti-Habs site. Are they really that hated? They seem just like the Manchester United of hockey.
posted by squealy at 03:16 AM on May 09, 2003
It's a pretty big deal because they don't play professional hockey games in the outdoors anymore (not since the early 1900's). It's a throwback to the old days of hockey. Having 50,000 people at the game (instead of the usual 15,000-20,000 that an indoor arena holds) is what will make it exciting. And the Canadiens used to be hated like ManU from about 1950-1970. They were the dominant team. But since they have hit hard times and don't spend money freely, they really aren't as despised. Except in Toronto, but that's more of a friendly hate since it's more fun to cheer against them when they are doing well. The "ManU" team in the NHL would probably be either Detroit or Colorado: great teams, big money players.
posted by grum@work at 07:14 AM on May 09, 2003
Besides, there's nothing quite like permanently freezing your hind-quarters to a stadium flip down seat, elevated above the treeline, and trying to see the puck through a snow-out. Actually, I've been excited about this ever since I heard about it on HockeyDayInCanada (the best damn 16 hours of CBC hockey. So cool, their cameras froze up getting footage of local town kids playing in the parking lot. That's what I call 'for the love of the game'). But I don't know if I could make it back to my seat after thawing in the concession line. Eskimo fans, you are tougher than I.
posted by garfield at 09:50 AM on May 09, 2003
Thanks Grum. That doesn't sound too cold, but last time I lived in weather like that I just darted from building to building, so what do I know (I get cold at Arizona football games now). I hope we can see this on American TV.
posted by eckeric at 10:28 AM on May 09, 2003
I think Michigan and Michigan State played outdoors in either Nov or Dec 2001. Now lets see if we can get them to have an NBA game outdoors.
posted by jasonbondshow at 12:32 AM on May 10, 2003
Rock on! Road trip!