The Results Are In, and Winter Classic a Huge Hit

Those of you who read this blog frequently saw this "debate" of sorts Scott and I had last week.  

It was a classic argument between Scott and me.  Those of you that know us personally know that we've had many semantic arguments over the four and a half years we have known each other.  

This time, it was how big a deal the Winter Classic hockey game was January 1st.  Without rehashing the argument, which you can read in the link above, the basic premise was that I said the game was a big deal, and Scott did not.  My reasoning was that the star power of the teams (Red Wings and Blackhawks), the venue (Wrigley Field) and the building resurgence of league interest would make this a very highly rated and interesting game for all sports fans, not just hockey fans.  Scott disagreed, arguing that hockey was still not mainstream enough, and this match up only had appeal to viewers in the cities where the game was being played.

Greg Wyshynski, of the Puck Daddy Blog on Yahoo! Sports has settled this argument once and for all.  Here's what Wyshynski was able to dig up about the Thursday afternoon affair that theRed Wings won 6-4:

• "NHL Winter Classic 2009, broadcast New Year's Day on NBC from historic Wrigley Field, earned a 2.9 overnight rating and a 6 share (1-4:15 p.m. ET), the best overnight NHL regular season rating in nearly 13 years (Feb. 3, 1996 on Fox, six-game regional, 3.0/7) and a 12 percent increase over last year's inaugural event (2.6/5, 1-4:45 p.m. ET). The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 in the second U.S. outdoor game in NHL history." (From Wyshynski's entry January 3rd)

Obviously, the game was a big deal.  The most watched NHL regular season game in 13 years?  That's big stuff.  As for Scott's claim that this game would only be appealing to midwestern viewers?

• "And the Top 10 U.S. markets for the outdoor game, with ratings and shares? Glad you asked:  1. Chicago 11.8/21; 2. Detroit 10.5/20; 3. Buffalo 10.1/20; 4. St. Louis 5.3/10; 5. Pittsburgh 4.4/8; 6. Denver 4.2/10; 7. Providence 3.5/7; 8. Indianapolis 3.4/6; 9. West Palm Beach 3.3/6; 10. Orlando  3.2/5." (From Wyshynski's entry January 3rd)
  

Five of the top ten markets to view the game were East Coast cities.  So the East Coast wastuning in for the game.  But Scott wasn't completely wrong in all of this.  I argued that I thought the NHL was really taking a big step forward.  But, as Wyshynski points out, the league's popularity still pales in comparison to the big three leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA):

• "To put those somewhat nebulous TV numbers into context: Earlier this holiday season, ABC scored a 5.3 overnight rating for a Christmas Day NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. That's a comparable showcase sports event on network television, so it shows that, while hockey is still a distinct rung down the ladder from hoops (not to mention football and baseball), it's at least closer to the same neighborhood than it used to be." (From Wyshynski's entry January 3rd)
  

Then again though, I wasn't completely off-base.

• "And of course, the 2009 Winter Classic showing was a healthy increase over the 2.6 rating for last year's inaugural, featuring the Buffalo-Pittsburgh tilt. Basically, momentum is building, which is exactly what the league was hoping for." (From Wyshynski's entry January 3rd)
  

So there you go.  I won an argument, mostly.  I'll stick to these instead of predicting NFL games.