The Toronto Maple Leafs will play an outdoor game tomorrow vs the Washington Capitals.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, this is the second or third outdoor game in recent memory. I could check, but that’s the point – I could not possibly care less. So the game is tomorrow, but, like the second time you hear a novelty song, the charm is quickly wearing off the outdoor game. They even gave it a fancy name, to differentiate it from other outdoor games, but damned if I know or care what it is.
My problem with the outdoor game is the same as my problem with the pocket square: it serves absolutely no function. Might as well be a necklace. So, I’m a functionalist – sue me!
Most NHL games are played inside, in an arena. You know ahead of time that game will happen, because, due to it being held inside, you don’t have to worry about the weather. No one has to worry about it being too hot, too cold, too windy. No one cares if there is too much glare, or, the horror of horrors: Rain.
These are, at best, a novelty money maker that the NHL has completely run into the ground. I am just waiting for Gary Bettman to announce that there will be 17 outdoor games next year, followed up 29 the following year, and finally reaching critical mass in 2025 when all games will be held outdoors.
I just don’t see the point.
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Worse Hockey
The hockey is worse, the injury risk is higher, the chance of the game being canceled exists. What is the point? For me, when Brooks Laich almost ended Sidney Crosby’s career in the midst of a foggy outdoor game, that was it for me and outdoor games. Unfortunately, the NHL doesn’t care what I think, and the fans love them, so outdoor games are here to stay, even if they feel a little like Right Said Fred’s second single by this point.
(Speaking of Right Said Fred, they’re probably going to be playing an NHL Awards Show any time now).
Anyways, I’ll be watching tomorrows game, and if it’s a good game, I’ll enjoy it. But that’s the problem with outdoor games – they are almost always bad games. For whatever reason, most likely the logistics, the hype, the lead-up and the chance of poorer than usual conditions, the outdoor games are almost always terrible.
But they bring in money. So what can you do?
For me, the novelty is gone and I’ll be tuning in only because I’d tune in anyways. This is a spectacle meant for casual fans, and I’m fine with that, but I do with they’d lay off a bit; give it a rest. Maybe another outdoor game will be fun again in five years.
In the meantime, hopefully the Toronto Maple Leafs can pick up another two points and work on catching the Lightning. I just hope you’re not enough of a sucker to fall for the new jersey scam they are perpetrating for this game. The NHL is shameless.