by Thalia Simmons

Created on: March 02, 2009   Last Updated: March 03, 2009

The Winter Classic is the best idea that the National Hockey League has come up with in years. For those who aren't familiar, the Winter Classic is an outdoor hockey game that takes place on New Year's Day. This spectacle attracts a diverse television audience. Hockey fans love to watch it, and since it is such a novel concept, even non-hockey fans tune in to watch.

Although the Winter Classic is good exposure for hockey, a sport that has a very limited television viewing audience, the NHL still has a long way to go in order to revive public interest in the sport. However, the Winter Classic is a great start. Sadly, this is probably the only hockey game that the average person will watch in the course of the regular hockey season. In order to attract new viewers, the major networks should televise one game each week. There are many intense rivalries around the NHL, and by broadcasting select games, the NHL can attract a larger audience.

It will be interesting to see if the Winter Classic continues to be a success once the novelty wears off. We should be able to know in a few more years, at this time it is still too early to tell. But who knows? This could definitely be the start of something big. After all, the first Super Bowl or the first Daytona 500 didn't attract much attention, yet they blossomed into must-see events for all sports fans. Hopefully the NHL Winter Classic will share the same fortune.

One thing that doesn't make much sense though is the fact that the Winter Classic is aired on a major network, but the NHL All-Star Game is aired on Versus, which most people don't even get. If the NHL wanted to increase the popularity of ice hockey, it would make sense for the All-Star game to be shown on a more reputable and easily accessible channel.

The Winter Classic is a fun game to watch, but personally I would like to see better match-ups. Even though this year's Chicago Blackhawks are a pretty decent team, they have traditionally been bottom feeders in the Western Conference. The year before, the Winter Classic featured a much better match-up with more important implications in the standings. Personally, I would rather see the Boston Bruins, the Maple Leafs, or the Philadelphia Flyers in the Winter Classic. The Leafs and Bruins are teams rooted in tradition, and the Flyers are passionate, hard-hitting and exciting to watch. I'd much rather see them play than the Buffalo Sabres, the Detroit Red Wings or the Chicago Blackhawks.

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