Bernstein: NHL's Fresh Air Stadium Series Games Now Stale
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) We once had a dog that always wanted to go outside, only to get there and immediately want to come back in. This would happen often, with no apparent recollection ever strong enough to dissuade the behavior, even though whatever was so enticing on the other side of the door always ended up less than that.
That's the Blackhawks and these NHL Stadium Series games, still put on by a league that only knows desperation in its marketing. The NHL finds one thing that works well enough once, then knows nothing more than doing too much of it until it ceases to be special. They tap the Hawks for duty because of the size and power of their brand, ensuring a share of American eyes for an earnest national broadcast hitting the same overplayed notes.
And what they got was a dog, indeed. A dog jumping a shark.
If the NHL's marquee team itself isn't even interested in playing, how can you ask people to keep attending and watching? Chicago's 6-1 loss at Minnesota in TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday didn't even sell out, falling short by about 2,000 fans.
Out came the Blackhawks, serenaded by the University of Minnesota marching band with a song by Chicago, because they're from ... Chicago. Then the Wild entered to the curious choice of "Back in Black," particularly considering that they were wearing green.
There was some snow early on, an occurrence that for some reason caused NBC to react as if the production truck was staffed by toddlers waking up to the promise of sledding and hot chocolate.
It's just snow, people. You are in Minneapolis, in February.
But that's how hard they have to try to force the dwindling novelty of outdoor hockey, with most of it lost on the viewership to begin with. The idea is to conjure the joy and innocence of recreational neighborhood play to sell the essence of the sport, but the vast majority have never played on a pond or homemade backyard rink in their lives, let alone have it be a significant part of their childhood winter memories.
This may resonate in Buffalo or North Dakota, rural Massachusetts or the hills of the Upper Peninsula, but not so much anywhere else. Or any more, for that matter, with the league itself so openly concerned about the warming planet that they had an official make a presentation at the recent climate change conference in Paris.
Doc Emrick did his best, bless him, peppering his staccato bursts of description with all the requisite salesmanship. Everybody knows what they're trying to do, but it's not really connecting.
Not that the Blackhawks were doing any of their part to put on a representative show, always late to the puck from the moment it dropped. There was every single kind of defensive breakdown imaginable supplied by the end of two periods of some of the worst hockey they have played all year, the 6-1 loss dropping them to 1-3 in these games they have played in the elements since 2009.
This one outcome doesn't matter much in any big picture for the Hawks, but it was a bad look on a day that got a little more attention than it otherwise would have because of the lack of a roof. For the NHL, that's still a significant enough thing that everyone has to keep pretending it's a big deal.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
