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Hockey
gimmicks |
...
or if you prefer,
innovations. |
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| Saturday's
"Outdoor Game" generated a lot of positive buzz among
hockey fans and nostalgists. And if only for a moment, the NHL
created a welcome diversion from the gloom that overhangs hockey
with a labour crisis looming on the horizon.
Considering the role outdoor shinnies play in Canada's heritage,
the Outdoor Game just seemed so right (although, after Saturday,
the NHL players may dispute that). The game even had some U.S.
commentators pining for something like it to call their own.
In that vein, we went back and looked at other innovations the
NHL and hockey organizations have employed to draw in more fans
and enhance the image of their sport. We're calling them gimmicks,
although we don't want to imply that all of these ideas were
worthless or insincere. Of course, some of them certainly were,
but we'll let you be the judge.
CHEERLEADERS
| MINOR-LEAGUE PROMOTIONS |
ALL-STAR GAME FORMATS | THREE
STARS |
THE SHOOTOUT | THE SUMMIT SERIES
|
PARADING THE STANLEY CUP| THE FOX PUCK
|
THIRD JERSEYS | OUTDOOR GAMES
|
| HOCKEY
CHEERLEADERS |
|
New York Islanders Ice Girls shovel the ice during intermissions at Nassau Coliseum.
(AP Photo/Ed Betz) |
Leave it to the land of NASCAR and Hooters to introduce hockey cheerleaders. When the Carolina Hurricane introduced a cheer squad in 1999 -- with the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars soon to follow -- it drew scoffs from hockey purists. One initial reaction from some season ticket holders on the Island: "Um, could you please move? I can't see the game." (Islander Ice Girls now have duties around the exits during the game and shovel ice, among other things, during intermission.)
We do love the euphemisms NHL organizations use in describing their "spirit squads" -- they're never referred to as cheerleaders. For example, the girls are there to "enhance the entertainment value," as opposed to "giving men something to look at during intermissions."
While we won't belittle these cheerleaders' qualifications in enthusiasm and, er, athleticism, we do know that this trend is not spreading like wildfire. In other words, we don't see ice girls picking up octupus remains anytime soon in Detroit. |
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| MINOR-LEAGUE
PROMOTIONS |
|
There
are other ways to "enhance the entertainment value" of a game,
of course, and nobody tries harder than a minor-league franchise.
(Four words: Manute Bol on skates.)
There
are plenty of stories about promotions and contests gone awry,
but we like this one: The Columbus Chill of the East Coast Hockey
League featured a "Scream 'Til Your Brain Hurts" promotion in
the 1995-96 season, in which they gave a fan a roving microphone
and encouraged them to "Scream 'Til Their Brain Hurt." One fan
extended the spirit of the promotion and took the opportunity
to unleash a very loud diatribe against the opposing goalie.
That silenced the "Scream 'Til Your Brain Hurts" promotion.
And it proved that hockey fans are best heard, not understood.
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| EVER-CHANGING ALL-STAR GAME FORMATS |
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Its roots come from charity, but these days the NHL all-star game is about skills, scoring and more scoring.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, especially in these days of tight-checking, defensive hockey.
The all-star game has gone through a complete metamorphosis since the concept started in 1933-34 as a benefit game to raise money for injured Maple Leafs winger Ace Bailey and his family. The first official NHL all-star game was played in 1947 at Maple Leaf Gardens, featuring the Stanley Cup champion Leafs against a team of league all-stars.
The NHL's biggest showcase moved from that format to East vs. West, to Campbell Conference vs. Prince of Wales Conference, to North America vs. World and back to East vs. West.
Let's face it, the NHL wasn't making money off those orange and black Campbell Conference jerseys, anyway.
|
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| THREE
STARS |
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When Imperial Oil joined Hockey Night in Canada
as its principal sponsor in 1936-37, one of the traditions
it established on the program was the post-game ritual of
choosing the three stars of the game.
After the featured game ended, the three stars would be announced
and each player would skate out onto the ice separately to
receive applause -- or boos, depending on where the game was
played.
Though the custom initially started as a way for Imperial
to promote its "Three Star" brand of gasoline, it
was also a way for the NHL to get recognition for its best
ambassadors, players like Maurice "The Rocket" Richard
of the Canadiens and Johnny Bower of the Maple Leafs.
When Imperial Oil left HNIC as a sponsor in 1976, the tradition
of choosing the three stars remained.
Choosing the three stars of the game is not exclusive to
HNIC, however. Just about every level of hockey has adopted
the format as a way to recognize the best players on the ice
in games and tournaments.
One famous "Three Star" selection was on March
23, 1944, when Maurice Richard named the No. 1, No. 2 and
No. 3 stars after scoring all five goals in the Canadiens
5-1 playoff win over the Maple Leafs. |
|
| THE
SHOOTOUT |
|
| Long before the European invasion and the 1998 Nagano Olympics, the Canadian version of the shootout was "Showdown" on Hockey Night In Canada. Simply put, "Showdown" was a sponsored intermission filler pitting NHL skaters and goalies in penalty shots. Canadians claimed to love the concept of shootouts, that is before their NHL heroes lost one to Dominik Hasek and the Czechs. The NHL later used a shootout at the 2003 NHL All-Star Game, providing a thrilling finish to an otherwise uneventful 5-5 tie.
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| THE
SUMMIT SERIES |
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| The 1972 Summit Series was billed as an eight-game exhibition between Canada and Russia: a simple showcase, nothing more. Yet what began a goodwill gimmick became the stuff of legend, not to mention the model for all future international competitions. Not until Paul Henderson slipped the final puck behind Vladislav Tretiak did Canadians realize the importance of being No. 1. Since then, hockey fans worldwide have enjoyed several offshoots of the Summit Series, such as Rendezvous, the Canada Cup and the World Cup.
|
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| PARADING
THE STANLEY CUP |
|
The
Stanley Cup has stood as the symbol of excellence in hockey
for 110 years. Kissing and hoisting the Cup overhead, parading
around the ice and filling it with champagne are long-standing
traditions.
But for years, so was abusing Lord Stanley's Mug. In 1940, Hall
of Famer Lynn Patrick and his New York Rangers teammates celebrated
by urinating in it. Clark Gillies of the 1980 New York Islanders
allowed his dog to eat from it. And 12 years ago, the Cup was
found at the bottom of Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux's swimming
pool.
A new tradition was started in 1995: Making sure every Stanley
Cup-winning player has a chance to have the Cup for a day. Now,
parading the Cup through the downtown streets of a player's
hometown is the cool thing to do. |
|
| THE
FOX PUCK |
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What were they thinking? Leave it to those geniuses at Fox
- the same network that gave us Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?
and When Animals Attack - to come up with that abomination
known as FoxTrack (AKA The Fox Puck).
With American hockey fans complaining of not being able to
see the puck, Fox debuted FoxTrack during its telecast of
the 1996 All-Star Game in Boston. The rubber puck was specially
made with infrared sensors inside that, when working with
the corresponding sensors around the rink, enabled special
computers to track its movement and present the puck on-screen
as a blue dot and a streaking comet as it moved around the
ice.
Hockey purists cried foul, saying it made a mockery of the
game. Players were none too impressed, claiming the specially
made puck bounced around like a lacrosse ball. Thankfully,
the Fox Puck died a sudden death when it made its last appearance
during Game 1 of the 1998 Stanley Cup final.
|
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| THIRD
JERSEYS |
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| Something scary happened in the 1995-96 NHL season, and we're not
talking about the Florida Panthers making the Stanley Cup final. This is
an even uglier turn of events, worse than any mangy rubber rat.
That year, the NHL allowed five teams to wear special alternate or
third jerseys. What began as a way for squads to mix up their wardrobes
and sell more swag became the catalyst for some of the most horrendous
getups in sports history.
It would take a lifetime for the fashion police to bust all offenders.
The bear face in Boston. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks uniform with the
raging goaltender emblazoned on the front, and who could forget that
awful -- and thankfully shortlived -- cartoon-king atrocity Gretzky had to
wear one season in Hollywood. No team should be so cruel.
The trend shows no sign of dying, as nearly every club is cranking out
logos and jerseys at a rate that would make Jean Paul Gaultier envious.
Now there's even the retro craze to deal with. How long before the
Canucks bring back the double V? |
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| OUTDOOR
GAMES |
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Saturday's outdoor game between the Oilers and Canadiens won't mark the first time the NHL has ventured outside. In 1991, the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers played an exhibition game in the land of gimmick: Las Vegas. Specifically, in a parking lot outside Caesars Palace.
But the inspiration for Saturday's contest at Commonwealth Stadium was an Oct. 6, 2001 contest between Michigan State and the University of Michigan that drew 74,554 fans to Spartan (football) Stadium. That game broke the world attendance record for hockey set in 1957 when 55,000 fans watched Russia face off against Sweden at Moscow's Lenin Stadium.
Outdoor games have also been played at the Winter Olympics and world championships. Canada won the gold medal outdoors at the 1948 Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and ten years later clinched the world championship outside in Oslo, Norway during a driving snowstorm.
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