New Year’s Day is a college football fan’s dream day. Unfortunately, I am not much of a college football fan. However, since 2008, the NHL has given me something to watch. The Winter Classic is a yearly outdoor NHL hockey game played on the first day of the new year.

The first Classic in 2008 saw the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres in Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo (home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills). The game drew 71,217 fans, an NHL game attendance record.

The second Classic was held at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Unfortunately, my Blackhawks lost to the Detroit Red Wings. This game drew more than 40,000 and had the highest TV ratings for an NHL game in 33 years.

On Friday, the Philadelphia Flyers will face the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park in Boston. This is assured of being another success.

This is such a great event for hockey fans. Watching a hockey game played outdoors is very interesting. Sunlight, wind and temperatures all create situations not found in games indoors. By keeping the event to one game per year, the NHL is keeping it special.

This morning I heard sports talk radio guys saying the Classic would eventually fail. The only real reason they gave was lack of future possible locations. This is a ridiculous argument. The NHL has 30 teams, with only 10 teams in weather warm enough to possibly make the game unplayable (although technology might make it feasible).

Of course, another possibility is playing in a non-NHL city. There are plenty of colder weather cities who would have enough fans to support the Classic. This might even be a good way to market the product in other cities.

The NHL doesn’t need me to help them with the Winter Classic. They are doing a great job all by themselves. In an era of excess and flamboyance, the NHL is enjoying the success by bringing the game back to its outdoor roots.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist