NHL's Winter Classic in Wrigley

Wrigley Field, one of the most iconic images of baseball, was the home today of the NHL Winter Classic, when hockey leaves and goes outside to play the game. This has been done for a few years now and it has been very successful. Last year they filled up Buffalo for the game, which was why I was initially surprised when I heard it was being played in Wrigley, where there are not nearly as many seats as most baseball stadiums and for that matter, most football stadiums where it makes sense to play this game at. Anyway, I though I would be upset watching Hockey being played on the Wrigely infield and shallow outfield, but I actually wasn't. Now, I didn't really watch the game, I watch the introduction and a few minutes of the first period, which is about as much as Hockey as I can usually stand in one sitting (although going to a game is a different experience). But here is a description of what the field looked like:

The players came out of the dugouts and walked basically around the wall to the backstop behind home plate, at that point they walked on two separate paths to their seats next to the rink. The walkways were very close at the start, being separated by the length of home plate, which was left exposed. A bit farther up from the plate, the paths split to lead the different boxes, with the pitching mound in the middle of the paths. The Rink basically started with a line from first base straight to third base and then outward. In the Outfield they had giant logos for each team (Detroit and Chicago) and space for giant flags for America and Canada.

I guess the reason that I was not upset, and actually intrigued, by Hockey being played on Wrigley is because they did not try to hide the fact that it was a baseball field, that there was a baseball mound, that there was a very famous home plate. All of that stuff was still there which meant that it was like a compromise, they recognized that they were visitors of hollowed ground in Baseball. And then of course I realized how ready I am for Spring Training and the regular season to start.

Check 213 Miles From Shea!