Ice Bowl tix officially go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am. According to the tribune-review, NBC will broadcast the game on New Years Day.
This is a great opportunity for two of the best teams in the league to demonstrate their offensive production to the extreme. Now, on a personal note, I've always hated soccer. So when someone told me the other day that hockey is like soccer on ice, you can only imagine I was pretty offended. I just hope those sentiments aren't the same for more Americans than I thought.
I commend the NHL for organizing an event such as this, but at the same time I can't believe they scheduled the game on a day otherwise dominated by college football bowl games. Of course, baseball is America's past time (or Nascar if you base things off of TV ratings), but New Years and college bowl games are practically synonomous. It's going to be tough to pull in decent ratings when in competition with the norm for most people.
Although, I can't necessarily guarantee the NHL did it for the ratings. Something tells me this is more of a marketing shot just to get the word out. Even if less people tune in to the game then expected, at least word spread of this 'outdoor game' in Buffalo with REAL hockey teams.
On a side note, why does the MLB TV cost $129.95 for a 162 game season, when NHL center ice costs $149.95 for an 82 game season? Nearly half the games for $20 more. Cable providers must know hockey fans are loyal and will pay practically anything for the games. I just wonder if the prices varies based on carrier...
