Frozen Four: Good Time But Not Sure It Worked.

So I'm sitting here at the Frozen Four during the 3rd period of the Miami-Boston College game and it has hit me that I don' think this works.  Don't get me wrong the idea is really cool, however if you came to the games you would realize that something about the scene is "off".  The first thing that sticks out to me is the lack of noise.  I know both games have been one-sided but I can yell right now from where I'm sitting and am pretty sure that the other side of the stands would be able to hear me.  There has been no electricity or buzz and I'm afraid that this event unlike most events that Detroit has hosted will get ripped apart by the critics.

The sight lines from the stands are better than they were for the Final Four but with that being said there is not a really great seat in the house.  The closest seats in the building are still pretty far from the ice.  To me, hockey is an intimate game and there is nothing intimate about what is going on here in Downtown Detroit.  I think there is a good reason that previous Frozen Fours have been held in NHL hockey arenas and this is it.  I feel like I'm detached from the game, add that to the fact that there are a ton of premium seats that have gone unsold and I think it's time to decide not to do this again. 

In fact when you think about it, I'm over "the hockey in football stadium thing".  There is no doubt that the last couple NHL Winter Classic's have been successful because they were at places that you would never think a hockey game would be played....Wrigley and Fenway.  But have'nt we seen enough of this game being played in football venues.  There is nothing new or unique about this anymore.  It's funny because as I write this blog an announcement has just been made that 34, 954 fans have filled Ford Field which is an indoor hockey crowd record, but as I have heard many times in my life..."bigger doesnt necessarily mean better".  I say if you want to be creative and think of new places to play this great game then you by all means you should, however just don't make that place a football venue anymore! 

Wait... I'm not done!  I just showed the above blog to another media member and while he said this blog was well written ( I think he is lying to me) he totally disagrees with me.  He has enjoyed everything that has gone down in this building tonight.  He loves the fact that tickets are so readily available and that anyone who wanted to come could.  You can't say that about a lot of major championships.  He loves that most of the tickets were affordable.  He goes on to say that he can bring a family of four to the event and for about $200 he can get a full weekend of high-end hockey that means something.  Tickets obviously would be limited, if this event were held at a 20, 000 person venue like any hockey arena out there.  Finally he loves that this is another championship that Detroit not only was selected to host but they hosted well.  He thinks for the city of Detroit to rebuild they need events like this!

Just wanted to tell both sides of the story...

What do you think?