Snore-Fest!

The 2012 Winter Classic has been announced. It will be the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the New York Rangers. The event will be held at Citizen’s Bank Park, which is home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Unlike every other Winter Classic, this game will be held on January 2nd instead of the 1st. This is most likely because Jan. 1st lands on a Sunday, and if the NFL does not go to a lockout, the Eagles will be hosting the Redskins. This will be the Flyers second trip to the Winter Classic and the Rangers first.

Now, here comes my rant:

HBO 24/7: Pens-Caps was pretty awesome. Getting to see practices and inside the locker rooms (especially Boudreau’s f-bombs) was something every NHL fan was excited about. Also hearing them on the ice gave you a feel of how it was out there. We also saw some of the interesting pre-game rituals some of the players did. The ratings were great and I even knew several people who never watch a single game of hockey that thought it was awesome. The only thing that would have made it better: if there was an actual rivalry between the two teams.

Last years Winter Classic was a snore-fest. It was very unexciting and was completely one-sided. Blackhawks vs. Red Wings was a great game, as was Bruins vs. Flyers. That is because THERE IS A RIVALRY. The Caps-Pens rivalry is completely made up by the NHL to gain ratings. “Ovechkin vs. Crosby” is what they promote like crazy, but there is no rivalry between the two. The Rags and Flyers have very little rivalry, other than being in the same division. If that is the NHL’s reasoning for this, why not Devils vs. Rangers? Two teams that hate one another. Have you ever watched those two teams play? Fantastic games every time.

There are so many other games that are more deserving:

-Kings vs. Ducks

-Devils vs. Rangers

-Ducks vs. Sharks

-Bruins vs. Habs (only problem is Bruins have already been in the WC)

-Rangers vs. Isles

The list goes on and on.

I expect this Winter Classic to be just as boring as last years.