NHL NEEDS MORE VEGAS GLITZ
Gamble could pay off for Flames
Plenty has been made about what every team in the league has learned from the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team: Speed kills, and few things in today’s game can counter it, outside of more speed.
But a far more important lesson revolves around what NHL clubs have learned from the production enveloping the Knights games.
Inside the rink and out, the Knights have done what many expected from a team based in the live entertainment capital of the world: simply, they’re knocking it out of the park.
Knights of armour duelling on the ice before games, Michael Buffer introducing players, air sirens activated by celebrities: they’ve all been brilliant additions to a Stanley Cup final that has long been devoid of flash.
Some see it as cheesy, most see it as fun.
The Knights and the NHL certainly have Nashville to thank for setting a brilliant template a year earlier when great mystery and
anticipation preceded the unveiling of every celebrity anthem singer.
Prior to Game 3 of last year’s final in Nashville, Alan Jackson held a concert that drew more than 50,000 to Lower Broadway in front of Bridgestone Arena. Catfish were being twirled in the stands by a who’s who of country music, and an animated crowd full of quirky chants set the standard for how sports fans should act.
Kudos to both Vegas and Nashville for taking the Stanley Cup final to a level that now rivals spectacle.
It’s relatively new to the NHL, which has tried for years to get here.
In that spirit, the U.S. capital tried its best to rival the Vegas hype Saturday with the stuffy, government town’s only known celebrity, Pat Sajak.
Mere minutes after Sting and Shaggy drew an impressive crowd of Capitals fans to the steps of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery where they performed, the longtime Wheel of Fortune host showed up at centre ice to introduce the players.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have Vanna White by his side.
While predictably getting lit up on social media (who doesn’t?) Sajak botched Brayden McNabb’s
name to essentially kick off an exercise that eventually worked the crowd into a frenzy.
As T.J. Oshie said afterwards, “I’ve never seen the fans like this.”
And isn’t that the point of it all? As eye-rolling as the Sajak appearance was to many, it made for a surprising, entertaining deviation from the norm far too many NHL teams still employ.
Sajak, the well-known 13-year Capitals season ticket holder, riled up the fans, gave viewers a chuckle and added a new wrinkle to an old shtick.
Everyone will be talking about it at the office Monday, which is exactly why it was a brilliant move.
Just like the Preds and Knights have done the last few years, the
Capitals decided to take some chances, which is what every team in the league should be contemplating over the summer.
With the advent of affordable large screen TVs, HDTV and broadcasts that are making it far more sensible to stay home to watch games for free, selling tickets in today’s NHL has never been harder.
People need even more reasons to part with their hard-earned money to get down to rinks like the Saddledome where the atmosphere is rarely rocking.
Sellouts here are no longer the norm.
It’s not a swipe at the talented game-night staff that does yeoman’s work to make a dated building devoid of many bells and whistles a vibrant backdrop for games.
Granted, the best way to change all that is for the local heroes to go on a playoff run, where the city’s sheer excitement can carry the day, turning the C of Red into a raucous entity capable of turning the game into a rock concert.
But even for regular season games, teams need to consider the importance of thinking outside of the box and taking more gambles.
It’s not just about the good ol’ hockey game anymore, and it hasn’t been for quite some time.
It’s about providing an atmosphere and a vibe so infectious people are willing to spend ungodly amounts of money to come back regularly.
That takes innovation, that takes creativity, that takes money and that takes guts.
The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets preceding the national anthem at Capital One Arena were a hit. NBC’s intermission interview with longtime SNL staple Kenan Thompson was awkward at best as he struggled to name his favourite Cap.
Still, a talking point and a move worth the gamble. Hockey needs to take more gambles.
Criticize the Caps, praise the Knights, but recognize all serve as wonderful beacons for other teams to follow as they continue battling to put fans in seats.
A battle that’s only going to get harder and harder.