The Winter Classic: Law of Supply and Demand

When supply goes up, demand goes down. When supply goes down, demand goes up.

I love hockey. I'm from Minnesota, the state of hockey, and have been playing the great sport my whole life. Hockey was made to be played outdoors. Nothing is better than getting a group of friends together for some pond hockey on those cold winter nights. Everyone's face is covered and the sound of the pond cracking beneath you.

The NHL has made outdoor hockey a reality. Every hockey fan knows of the Winter Classic. An outdoor hockey game, one time a year on January 1st. The venue and teams change every year.

The Winter Classic is not what is used to be. Everyone knows the saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well the NHL is taking that lemon and squeezing every last ounce of juice it has. It's the same thing Disney is doing to Pirates of the Caribbean and Toy Story.
The Winter Classic was special. It was the one time a year where the NHL had a big stage. Lets be real, the Stanley Cup Playoffs do not draw enough attention partly because of the NBA finals and it can last seven games. The Winter Classic was NHL's Super Bowl. It was one game that had a huge, unique stadium to play outdoor hockey on January 1st. It got people who didn't necessarily "love" hockey to watch it.

Now the NHL has created the stadium series. I've been wondering for years why the Minnesota Wild haven't had the Winter Classic. Minnesota is the state of hockey, we deserve it. Well the NHL announced Minnesota will have an outdoor hockey game in 2016. Only the Winter Classic is at Gillette Stadium between the Bruins and the Canadians. Should I be excited we have an outdoor game?

In 2010, I was in Boston visiting family. Never have I wanted to go to a sporting event as badly as the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway. Outdoor hockey at one of the most gorgeous ballparks ever made; what more could you want?

Now I have the chance to watch my home team, the Minnesota Wild, take on the Chicago Blackhawks in outdoor hockey. I'm just not that excited. It's not as special as it used to be. There are too many outdoor games. I didn't even watch the 2015 Winter Classic and I really enjoy the Capitals.

I get it, the NHL is trying to compete with the NFL, MLB and NBA, but I think they are starting to stretch themselves thin. Maybe I should be more appreciative, but I'm just not as excited as I would have thought.