After all, it was only four years ago that the 88th season of the National Hockey League was lost to a bitter labor dispute. THE PUCK WASN'T DROPPED ONCE! At least the IRL and CART kept racing. As a Detroit Red Wings fan for 20 years I was crushed and disgusted. I had no problem downgrading my allegiance since I live in the Colts, basketball and racing capital of the world.
But this year, as my eight-year-old son Charlie starting taking an interest in Hockey all on his own, I decided to take him to an Indiana Ice game. We had a blast, so we went to another, and then another. He banged on the glass and was stared down, in jest, by an opposing player. I even dusted-off the EA Sports NHL '99 . . .I must say the dormant Hockey fan inside of me began to wake from its four-year slumber.
Then the NHL started to do some things that the casual and die-hard hockey fan thought was cool: like playing a game OUTSIDE in the SNOW. The NHL on NBC meant cooler camera angles, in-game interviews and the emergence of players with a Gretzky-like aura such as Sindey Crosby.
All of this on top of aggressive franchise expansion in the South and West and traditions such as the original eight, hat tricks and sprawled octopuses have rekindled this fan's interest.
And as icing on the cake, both the NHL brass and fans got the series it wanted, the tradition-steeped and defensive juggernaut Wings vs. the sleek and Crosby-captained Penguins. Even though it ended in six instead of seven games, the teams gave us a nail-biting 3-OT match Monday and an exciting game tonight that ended with a last second S-T-R-E-T-C-H by Wings goalie Chris Osgood to keep the puck in the crease but out of the goal.
So what do YOU think? Is the NHL better than ever?
Or should we care since Indiana has no major league hockey team? Since so many of us follow and take interest in brands and public perception, I'm interested in your take.
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