Let me start this off by saying that I am neither a Capitals fan nor am I a Penguins fan, and I can honestly say that I despise(d) them both but with that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of HBO's popular documentary series. I enjoyed seeing all the inner workings of two (very)different professional sports organizations that just so happened to be playing the sport I've come to love. From seeing the far different coaching styles of Bruce Boudreau and Dan Bylsma to getting an intimate view of the personal lives of many of the NHL's finest, every minute of this was excellent television. I liked seeing Boudreau swear uncontrollably as if he were a victim of Turrets. I was entertained by the locker room antics of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I even enjoyed seeing one of my most hated players in the game, Sid Crosby, just having fun and doing some of the same things I do.
I was warned by my blog brothers here, Nick and Tony, that I would come to respect and maybe even start to like these guys that I was seeing on TV, but I thought "No, no way that could ever happen, not to me. Not to the guy who to this day looks away from the television screen when they show a clip of Crosby raising Lord Stanley's Cup high above his little head". I couldn't have been more wrong. As the poetic words came forth from Liev Schreiber's mouth, I felt the layers of hatred built upon my brain over the past few years begin to slowly melt away(but never completely). I felt a connection with these guys, seeing them suffer through the hardships any coach of ANY sport would put you through in times of failure. Seeing the inside of the Caps locker room, I pictured myself back in high school getting the very same scoldings from my coaches. Seeing the "trash talk" between players on the same team, the little pokes and jabs at one another, was I guess refreshing you could say. It reminded me that these were still just men playing a game, and in the morning they still put their pants on one leg at a time(as shown via a clip of what I think was Max Talbot getting dressed) just as we all do.
I'm not saying it was all positive for me, in changing my personal opinions about players. Watching Alex Ovechkin waking up and saying "No one should have to get up at 7:30" as he shuffled into a bathroom (showing off his awful "tramp stamps" of Asian tattoos) to shave for what is a lucrative endorsement by a popular shaving company. I actually had more respect for Ovie than Sid prior to watching this show, but that has changed. And if I see Mike Green in sun glasses one more time, I'll never watch a Caps game again, barring they aren't playing the Wings of course.
All in all though, I was very happy for what HBO did for hockey as a whole. This year's Winter classic was the most watched NHL regular season game since the Rangers played the Flyers in 1975 and was met with a great(for hockey) 2.3 national rating which meant it was up about 22 percent from last year's game. I credit this almost solely to the NHL's branding of Crosby and Ovechkin and to 24/7 for bringing hockey to many people who may not care about the game and changing their opinion. The series was incredible and I wish they would do the same for every Winter Classic pairing, but that would only happen in a perfect world. This show meant a lot to a lot of people and for that I applaud the respective teams that took place, HBO, and most all, all of the fans of this great sport we call hockey that watched.
In closing, I leave you with this...
Posted by: Erik
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