Outdoor Hockey Scores Big With Rangers, Devils Fans
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- History was made again at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, but it had nothing to do with the Bronx Bombers.
The Rangers and Devils squared off in the first-ever outdoor NHL game in New York City. As 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported, some hockey fans were so excited that they showed up hours before faceoff.
"The way I look at it, it's like the Super Bowl of hockey," said Mike Guido, of Queens, who was wearing a Rangers jersey. "It's the best thing to get out here and actually see hockey outside."
Another Mike, of Astoria, Queens, was also among those pinching himself to be there.
"It's unbelievable," he said. "It's going to be in such an iconic place that had so many Yankee World Series and so many amazing concerts. It's just finally great that hockey's being played here."
Another fan told Schuck: "Being outside, the atmosphere, and just getting the energy from 40, 50 thousand fans. You've got the Rangers, the Devils, Yankee Stadium. I think it's something I don't think I'd ever see in my lifetime."
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, inside the stadium, many fans were wearing hockey sweaters outside their parkas. But the cold -- the temperature was in the low 20s at faceoff -- didn't seem to kill the fans' excitement.
Once the puck dropped -- more than an hour late because of concerns about sun glare -- there were competing chants of "Let's go, Devils"" and "Let's go, Rangers!"
"It was a tough call, but I think I made the right decision (to come)," said Kristy Hunt, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who attended the game while nearly eight months pregnant. "I really want to be here. I think it's an opportunity that we'll probably never have again. I'm excited."
The game is the first of two at Yankee Stadium involving the Rangers this week. The Blueshirts will play there again Wednesday against the Islanders.
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